Day 1 of the tribal tour brought us to Neshipa Eco Camp, outside of Archers Post. A lovely tour of the local manyatta introduced us to the beautiful, friendly and welcoming Samburu tribe.
The Samburu are a Nilotic people of north-central Kenya. Samburu are semi-nomadic pastoralists who herd mainly cattle but also keep sheep, goats and camels. The name they use for themselves is Lokop or Loikop, a term which may have a variety of meanings which Samburu themselves do not agree on. Many assert that it refers to them as "owners of the land" ("lo" refers to ownership, "nkop" is land) though others present a very different interpretation of the term. Samburu speak the Samburu dialect of the Maa language, which is a Nilotic language. The Maa language is also spoken by other 22 sub tribes of the Maa community otherwise known as the Maasai. There are many game parks in the area, one of the most well known is Samburu National Reserve. The Samburu sub tribe is the third largest in the Maa community of Kenya and Tanzania, after the Kisonko (Isikirari) of Tanzania and Purko of Kenya and Tanzania.
Beaded Jewelry is highly common and valued. Many tribes in Kenya excel in making elaborate necklaces and bracelets. The beads come from Nairobi, we were told. Later we have read that most of them come from the Czech republic! Throughout centuries, beads were obtained by different means and always intermixed themselves into the culture of the Maasai. They traveled through the trans-Saharan and coastal trade from as far as India.
