The Samburu are a tribe of nomadic pastoralists who live in the remote lands north of Mount Kenya. They live in small settlements called manyattas, consisting of a cluster of huts encircling a central area used to house the livestock. Manyattas are surrounded by a thorny boundary to keep marauding wild animals out. Once the grazing in an area has been exhausted, the Samburu move on, creating a new manyatta somewhere else.
Samburu men are initiated into warrior-hood following circumcision in their late teens. The circumcision ceremony is quite a spectacle; the men are able to agitate themselves into an almost trance-like state prior to the actual circumcision. Any movement or sound during the procedure is a sign of weakness and brings great shame onto the warrior’s family. However the ensuing parties go on for days while the warriors recover from their ordeal.
The women are noticeable by their beautifully intricate beadwork; beads are a form of currency and each set of beads indicates some significant part of their life, such as the birth of a child. When a woman is in the prime of her life she may have over 5kg of beads around her neck and they often unsurprisingly present to our clinic with a sore back!
Although the Samburu lead a simple life, they are an honest, kind and hospitable people who are always smiling and have an amazingly intricate culture, which is both fascinating and awe-inspiring. The charity I work for, the Ol Malo Trust, aims to improve their standard of living whilst being sensitive to their lifestyle and culture by providing basic sustainable healthcare, education, water and food.
Samburu women with their many beads
