Ihe past, the tribe we historically know today as the Wakwavi was part of the greater Masai or Maasai of Laikipia and Uasin Gishu regions in Kenya and Usambara in Tanzania respectively. Warfare and other natural disasters such as locust invasions and widespread drought reduced their numbers resulting in their total assimilation with the Kikuyu, Taveta and the Meru of Kenya.
European etymological definitions of the Loikop people who spoke a language similar to that of the Maasai are contradictory compared to the interpretations given by the Swahili people, Turkana, Meru and other Bantu communities. A Kenyan Somali poet who is versed with the traditions of some of the speakers of Omotic and Nilo-hamitic languages, told me exactly the same historiographical perspectives mentioned earlier regarding the demise of the Wakwavi.
The Wakwavi have been called different names by other ethnic groups and by European explorers of the past. According to Beidelman (1960), they inhabit the central and northeastern parts of Tanzania and are part of the Maa speaking ethnic groups, however, to Hurskainen (1994), the names Kwavi and Baraguyu are synonymous.
It was the Laikipia Masai that finally, after thirty years of fighting hip to thigh (1850-1880) dispersed the once formidable Wakwavi to different destinations. This prolonged non-stop warfare caused tremendous destruction to their population numbers. In other oral narratives, the Wakwavi were torn apart by divine force in the form of locust invasions that devastated the greener pastures they enjoyed eventually leaving behind skeletal remains of the forests and livestock they herded for survival.
The Wakwavi were numerous in numbers and enjoyed large tracts of land for herding their livestock before facing the stronger, war-hardened Maasai warriors who almost obliterated them. Though tough and determined to reclaim their realms from every obstinate and rebellious tribe, the Wakwavi ended up experiencing unprecedented misfortunes and calamities that left them end up in total surrender, assimilation, and integration with other Bantu tribes.
The assumption that the name Kwavi is derived from Somali or Oromo is open for debate. Sometimes spelled Baraguyu or Parakuyo, currently, they have changed their old livestock herding lifestyle to farming like their neighbors who are mostly of Bantu classification around the agriculturally productive Kilimanjaro mountain region in Tanzania. There are written records that some have assimilated with the larger coffee growers of Chagga of Tanzania.
In my scholarly observations of old colonial European transcripts pertaining to other ethnic groups appearing not thorough or detailed, their records of the Wakwavi mainly revolved around the era of contemporary history. With materials reminiscing the medieval times remaining unavailable and modern DNA testing still in infancy in Tanzania and Kenya, intensive archeological and anthropological research will be required to decode the past Wakwavi historical mystery.
At long last the Maasai transformed into a force to reckon with. However, despite the Maasai defeating enemy after enemy in their invasions, their final confrontation was with the Aji Somalis---a confederation of various tribes brought together by the will to fight all enemy provocations. The Aji Somalis who were always certain to encounter new enemies during their long migratiory patterns, ultimately infiltrated Laikipia Maasai territories either deliberately or surreptitiously.
Some Somali oral historians are of the opinion that the Samburu tribe of Kenya are a miscegenation or are a reproduction of the Laikipia Maasai and the Rendille and that the Maasai were the main instigators of the burning of the Qur'an by the Rendille. The cohabitation between the Maasai and Rendille resulted in the birth of a child with a broader nose and thus the Somali name 'San' meaning 'nose' plus 'buur' implying 'big, fat, flat' when put together produced the name 'Sanbur' which later got adulterated to Samburu.
Before European arrival of East Africa and before the proselytization of the Christian faith by their missionaries, apart from the Rendille who practiced religious monotheism and worshiped a God they called 'Waq' or 'Wak', the Maasai followed African religious practices. Apart from a few who converted to Christianity and Islam, to this day, majority of the Maasai have no defined religion. There is a prominent hill within the Rendille periphery that they turn to for prayers and invocations. It's the same hill they burned the Glorious Qur'aan.
According to Somalis who are familiar with the Rendille religious practices, they pray five times a day in a mosque-like structure they call Naabo in their language. Modern Rendille practice exogamous marriages where intermarriage with unilineal members of another group sharing the same patrilineal or matrilineal descent is common unlike endogamous marriage that is within a single ethnic group. To Somalis, those Rendille tribesmen and women who have not been exposed to other ethnic groups through intermarriage are referred to as Asli or Asal---a term implying pure, clean or undiluted while their opposites are categorized as "bad" like those who intermarried with the Samburu. The Asal term would be equivalent to "nasab" or hyperdescent in modern ethnogenesis meaning dominant or superior while the "bad" would be "nasab dhiman" that translates to hypodescent for belonging to a subordinate group.
The Somali system of social grouping is like the caste system of India where the Brahmins, because of their knowledge of the Hindu religious practices and their proficiency in the divine scripture, the Zend Avesta, make them the most superior followed by the Kshatriyas who are regarded landowners and warriors. The third group, the Vaishyas are expert artisans, craftsmen and farmers while the fourth group are the Shudras who are known for being the main flock of followers or the reliable, dedicated subjects. Unfortunately, the rise of the most despised of all, the Dalits or untouchables, an oppressed group who were named Harijans by Mahatma Gandhi, a name meaning 'god's people', still remain the lowest of the ladder.
Upon the death of a Maasai, the body is neither buried nor cremated but disposed off after being sprinkled with liquified animal fat to attract wild animals especially the carnivorous or those who survive on the remnants left by the fresh eaters. Apart from the Rendille who are Cushitic or Afroasiatic like the Somalis and the Oromo, the Maasai and the Samburu are Nilo-hamitic.
The governing styles of most Cushitic or Afroasiatic and Nilo-hamitic ethnic groups depend on traditional matters that fall under the science of Gerentology where dispute resolutions, matters related to war declarations, change of venues during encounters with drought and famine, and circumcision rituals and promotion to warrior category are determined by the elders.
In African ancient oral history, the belief that the current Lake Turkana (formerly Lake Rudolph) was the original settlement of the Cushitic or Afroasiatic and the Nilo-hamitic ethnic groups until each group embarked on great dispersals to various destinations, is a theory worth following up for research purposes.
According to a familiar figure who lived among the Rendille for work related duties, he was fortunate enough to learn from the elders what they had to say about the unsubstantiated abandonment, burying or burning of the Qur'aan in the past. The assumption that they were forced to burn the Qur'aan by a new ethnic group that hosted them around Korondile or Qur'aan Dile is an exaggeration. Instead, they had a credible claim. Since the books got old or torn apart or got eaten by rats after years and years of lack of replacement, republishing or "replenishment", they had no other option but to bury them or burn them. What they did not explain further is how they abandoned their Islamic faith and how they ended up to worshipping the ancient Waq or Wak.
The name Waq or Wak---a sound unique to the wild raven bird or the regular town dwelling crow reportedly detested by the Arabs, has no relationship or common features with the monotheistic God revered by the Rendille and other Cushitic ethnicities. It is comparable to the old Yemeni females of the isolated Island of Socotra who use the sap of the Dracaena tree species for hand decorations because they believe it was under that tree the two sons of Prophet Adam fought each other eventually leading to Abel (Qabiil) killing Cain (Haabiil). The sap for body decoration is synonymous of the blood shed by Cain. Such beliefs are comparable to the legacies of Arab historical ignorance that have been on from generation to generation.
After mentioning all the places he has been to such as the settlements that were exclusive to the Rendille, my friend had nothing to hide about their generosity especially to Somalis on transit to other regions or those engaged in carrying out humanitarian services within their territories. One thing he noted was that the camels they kept were smaller than the normal Somali dromedary. When hosting guests, they are known to roast or barbeque the goat after cutting it into three or four pieces or sections. Other than smearing it with ghee, they do not add anything else to the meat, not even salt.
"They are coming back to reclaim their lost identity." For identity reclamation, he meant reclaiming their lost Somali glory of the past and reverting to Islaam. To wrap the Rendille narrations, Any Somali man who asks for the hand of a Rendille bride is given one without any livestock or monetary payment attached. Instead, the to-be bridegroom is given free livestock. The issue of the Rendille reclaiming their Somaliness and their intentions to revamp and
References
T.O. Beidelman, T.O (1960). "The Baraguyu", in Tanganyika notes and records, 1960, no. 55, p. 244–278.
Hurskainen, A. (1994). "Plant taxonomy of the Parakuyo (Tanzania)" in Nordic Journal of African Studies, vol. 3, no. 2, p. 117–162.
European etymological definitions of the Loikop people who spoke a language similar to that of the Maasai are contradictory compared to the interpretations given by the Swahili people, Turkana, Meru and other Bantu communities. A Kenyan Somali poet who is versed with the traditions of some of the speakers of Omotic and Nilo-hamitic languages, told me exactly the same historiographical perspectives mentioned earlier regarding the demise of the Wakwavi.
The Wakwavi have been called different names by other ethnic groups and by European explorers of the past. According to Beidelman (1960), they inhabit the central and northeastern parts of Tanzania and are part of the Maa speaking ethnic groups, however, to Hurskainen (1994), the names Kwavi and Baraguyu are synonymous.
It was the Laikipia Masai that finally, after thirty years of fighting hip to thigh (1850-1880) dispersed the once formidable Wakwavi to different destinations. This prolonged non-stop warfare caused tremendous destruction to their population numbers. In other oral narratives, the Wakwavi were torn apart by divine force in the form of locust invasions that devastated the greener pastures they enjoyed eventually leaving behind skeletal remains of the forests and livestock they herded for survival.
The Wakwavi were numerous in numbers and enjoyed large tracts of land for herding their livestock before facing the stronger, war-hardened Maasai warriors who almost obliterated them. Though tough and determined to reclaim their realms from every obstinate and rebellious tribe, the Wakwavi ended up experiencing unprecedented misfortunes and calamities that left them end up in total surrender, assimilation, and integration with other Bantu tribes.
The assumption that the name Kwavi is derived from Somali or Oromo is open for debate. Sometimes spelled Baraguyu or Parakuyo, currently, they have changed their old livestock herding lifestyle to farming like their neighbors who are mostly of Bantu classification around the agriculturally productive Kilimanjaro mountain region in Tanzania. There are written records that some have assimilated with the larger coffee growers of Chagga of Tanzania.
In my scholarly observations of old colonial European transcripts pertaining to other ethnic groups appearing not thorough or detailed, their records of the Wakwavi mainly revolved around the era of contemporary history. With materials reminiscing the medieval times remaining unavailable and modern DNA testing still in infancy in Tanzania and Kenya, intensive archeological and anthropological research will be required to decode the past Wakwavi historical mystery.
At long last the Maasai transformed into a force to reckon with. However, despite the Maasai defeating enemy after enemy in their invasions, their final confrontation was with the Aji Somalis---a confederation of various tribes brought together by the will to fight all enemy provocations. The Aji Somalis who were always certain to encounter new enemies during their long migratiory patterns, ultimately infiltrated Laikipia Maasai territories either deliberately or surreptitiously.
Some Somali oral historians are of the opinion that the Samburu tribe of Kenya are a miscegenation or are a reproduction of the Laikipia Maasai and the Rendille and that the Maasai were the main instigators of the burning of the Qur'an by the Rendille. The cohabitation between the Maasai and Rendille resulted in the birth of a child with a broader nose and thus the Somali name 'San' meaning 'nose' plus 'buur' implying 'big, fat, flat' when put together produced the name 'Sanbur' which later got adulterated to Samburu.
Before European arrival of East Africa and before the proselytization of the Christian faith by their missionaries, apart from the Rendille who practiced religious monotheism and worshiped a God they called 'Waq' or 'Wak', the Maasai followed African religious practices. Apart from a few who converted to Christianity and Islam, to this day, majority of the Maasai have no defined religion. There is a prominent hill within the Rendille periphery that they turn to for prayers and invocations. It's the same hill they burned the Glorious Qur'aan.
According to Somalis who are familiar with the Rendille religious practices, they pray five times a day in a mosque-like structure they call Naabo in their language. Modern Rendille practice exogamous marriages where intermarriage with unilineal members of another group sharing the same patrilineal or matrilineal descent is common unlike endogamous marriage that is within a single ethnic group. To Somalis, those Rendille tribesmen and women who have not been exposed to other ethnic groups through intermarriage are referred to as Asli or Asal---a term implying pure, clean or undiluted while their opposites are categorized as "bad" like those who intermarried with the Samburu. The Asal term would be equivalent to "nasab" or hyperdescent in modern ethnogenesis meaning dominant or superior while the "bad" would be "nasab dhiman" that translates to hypodescent for belonging to a subordinate group.
The Somali system of social grouping is like the caste system of India where the Brahmins, because of their knowledge of the Hindu religious practices and their proficiency in the divine scripture, the Zend Avesta, make them the most superior followed by the Kshatriyas who are regarded landowners and warriors. The third group, the Vaishyas are expert artisans, craftsmen and farmers while the fourth group are the Shudras who are known for being the main flock of followers or the reliable, dedicated subjects. Unfortunately, the rise of the most despised of all, the Dalits or untouchables, an oppressed group who were named Harijans by Mahatma Gandhi, a name meaning 'god's people', still remain the lowest of the ladder.
Upon the death of a Maasai, the body is neither buried nor cremated but disposed off after being sprinkled with liquified animal fat to attract wild animals especially the carnivorous or those who survive on the remnants left by the fresh eaters. Apart from the Rendille who are Cushitic or Afroasiatic like the Somalis and the Oromo, the Maasai and the Samburu are Nilo-hamitic.
The governing styles of most Cushitic or Afroasiatic and Nilo-hamitic ethnic groups depend on traditional matters that fall under the science of Gerentology where dispute resolutions, matters related to war declarations, change of venues during encounters with drought and famine, and circumcision rituals and promotion to warrior category are determined by the elders.
In African ancient oral history, the belief that the current Lake Turkana (formerly Lake Rudolph) was the original settlement of the Cushitic or Afroasiatic and the Nilo-hamitic ethnic groups until each group embarked on great dispersals to various destinations, is a theory worth following up for research purposes.
According to a familiar figure who lived among the Rendille for work related duties, he was fortunate enough to learn from the elders what they had to say about the unsubstantiated abandonment, burying or burning of the Qur'aan in the past. The assumption that they were forced to burn the Qur'aan by a new ethnic group that hosted them around Korondile or Qur'aan Dile is an exaggeration. Instead, they had a credible claim. Since the books got old or torn apart or got eaten by rats after years and years of lack of replacement, republishing or "replenishment", they had no other option but to bury them or burn them. What they did not explain further is how they abandoned their Islamic faith and how they ended up to worshipping the ancient Waq or Wak.
The name Waq or Wak---a sound unique to the wild raven bird or the regular town dwelling crow reportedly detested by the Arabs, has no relationship or common features with the monotheistic God revered by the Rendille and other Cushitic ethnicities. It is comparable to the old Yemeni females of the isolated Island of Socotra who use the sap of the Dracaena tree species for hand decorations because they believe it was under that tree the two sons of Prophet Adam fought each other eventually leading to Abel (Qabiil) killing Cain (Haabiil). The sap for body decoration is synonymous of the blood shed by Cain. Such beliefs are comparable to the legacies of Arab historical ignorance that have been on from generation to generation.
After mentioning all the places he has been to such as the settlements that were exclusive to the Rendille, my friend had nothing to hide about their generosity especially to Somalis on transit to other regions or those engaged in carrying out humanitarian services within their territories. One thing he noted was that the camels they kept were smaller than the normal Somali dromedary. When hosting guests, they are known to roast or barbeque the goat after cutting it into three or four pieces or sections. Other than smearing it with ghee, they do not add anything else to the meat, not even salt.
"They are coming back to reclaim their lost identity." For identity reclamation, he meant reclaiming their lost Somali glory of the past and reverting to Islaam. To wrap the Rendille narrations, Any Somali man who asks for the hand of a Rendille bride is given one without any livestock or monetary payment attached. Instead, the to-be bridegroom is given free livestock. The issue of the Rendille reclaiming their Somaliness and their intentions to revamp and
References
T.O. Beidelman, T.O (1960). "The Baraguyu", in Tanganyika notes and records, 1960, no. 55, p. 244–278.
Hurskainen, A. (1994). "Plant taxonomy of the Parakuyo (Tanzania)" in Nordic Journal of African Studies, vol. 3, no. 2, p. 117–162.
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