Karamajong culture

The Karamajong culture revolves around cattle. Interestingly, they did believe and perhaps many still do (I'm not clear on this) that all of the cattle of the world belong to them. That's an impediment to friendly relations with your neighbors if your neighbors happen to also herd cattle, which they do. The disastrous consequences multiplied when they began exchanging spears and bows for AK-47s in the 1980s. (See the earlier entry about the Peace Villages and you will appreciate what a great accomplishment they have been. The residents of the Peace Villages are prohibited from grazing cattle in or around the villages to decrease the risk of raids.)

They live a semi-nomadic lifestyle to seek grass for their cattle in a dry area of the country. The Karamajong are accustomed to walking long distances with little water or food. We gained first-hand experience trying to match a comfortable pace for them with what seemed like a very fast walk. Their custom is to build small villages in a circle with an open area in the center for safe-keeping of their cattle at night.

We also witnessed an enjoyable aspect of their culture. After darkness fell, 50 or more of the villagers, young to old, women and men, gathered in a circle not far from our tents and began singing. One of the children used a plastic jerry can for a drum. Their songs were often repetitious with one or two people singing verses and the whole group singing the chorus. Of course, we couldn't understand the words, but Dr. Val said that many of the songs were Christian ones that the villagers had written. The singing itself was a treat but the unique part was the jumping. Several members at a time took turns jumping to the rhythm. It was on a four-count: swinging arms back; swinging arms forward and making a small jump; swinging arms back; swinging arms forward and making a high jump. Scott shows you how in the photo.