More on the Turkana

A typical Turkana village

Miscellaneous thoughts on the Turkana:

To a large extent, the Turkana have been lost in the folds of time.

They are a hardy people born of a warrior tradition. Cattle raiding is as much a sport as football (soccer) is elsewhere in Kenya. To this day, disputes are settled by gun and spear without any formal law and order.

Turkana are reputed to be fierce and intelligent. Two adjectives that could be very easily used to describe them are:

• Belligerent (spoiling for a fight, aggressive, argumentative)
• Bellicose (warlike, combative, confrontational)

We experienced these aspects of their personalities often!

They are a tall, graceful people, with an elegant build and delicate facial features. Seeing them lean on their long spears and gazing dreamily at outsiders or watching them lead their herds into the distance, you find it hard to imagine them as fierce bandits.

They are extremely adaptable; they've become skillful fishermen and farmers while continuing their traditional raising of cattle and camels. Rapidly expanding millet farming is not necessarily incompatible with nomadism. The seeds are sown before rainy season and harvested before they move cattle to a new grazing area.

Turkana inhabit some of the most inhospitable land on earth (hot and dry). They're used to famines that wipe out herds and people. Despite the intense heat of the area, their main article of clothing is a wool blanket – often red.

I find them to be a most fascinating people group.

I managed to take these two photos from our bus window. I did it as discreetly as possible. One woman managed to see me and started hollering, "picture!" Fortunately I was inside the safety of our bus, otherwise it could have turned ugly.

These people are selling charcoal to passersby on the highway. Our bus driver purchased several of these large bags. Charcoal is a common cooking fuel, especially in the rural areas of Kenya.




Still to come from our trip/adventure - photos from Kakuma Refugee Camp