Kalenjin names (sing. kainet, pl. old Kalenjin - kainok [1] pl. modern Kalenjin - kainaik [2] ) are primarily used by the Kalenjin people of Kenya and Kalenjin language-speaking communities such as Murle in Ethiopia, Sebei of Uganda, Datooga, Akie and Aramanik of Tanzania.
The Kalenjin traditionally had two primary names for the individual though in contemporary times a Christian or Arabic name is also given at birth such that most Kalenjin today have three names with the patronym Arap in some cases being acquired later in life e.g Alfred Kirwa Yego and Daniel Toroitch arap Moi.
An individual is given a personal name at birth and this is determined by the circumstance of their birth. For most Kalenjin speaking communities, masculine names are often prefixed with Kip- or Ki- though there are exceptions to the rule e.g Cheruiyot, Chepkwony, Chelanga etc. Feminine names in turn are often prefixed with Chep- or Che- though among the Tugen and Keiyo, the prefix Kip- may in some cases denote both males and females. The personal name would thus be derived through adding the relevant prefix to the description of the circumstance of birth, for example a child born in the evening (lagat) might be called Kiplagat or Chelagat.
Some examples of popular Kalenjin names and their meanings;
Male name | Female name | Meaning |
---|---|---|
Kimutai | Chemutai/Jemutai | Time based |
Kipchirchir | Chepchirchir | From 'chirchir' implying haste e.g born earlier than expected or after a short labour |
Kipchoge | - | From 'choge', store/granary i.e born near the granary/store |
Kipchumba | Chepchumba | Implies relation to westerners (i.e Chumbin), e.g - born in a hospital, in a foreign country etc. |
Kipkoech | Chepkoech | Time based; born during the first part of the day (kaech) i.e 5am to 6am |
Kiprono | Cherono | Time based; born around dusk (rot nego) i.e 5pm to 6pm |
The tradition of giving a family surname to an individual dates to the colonial period and in most cases the surnames in use today were the second names of the family patriarch of two to four generations ago. Traditionally an individual acquired their father's name after their initiation. Females took on their father's name e.g Cheptoo Kiplagat being the daughter of Kiplagat while males took on just the descriptor portion of the father's name such that the Kiprono son of Kiplagat would become Kiprono arap Lagat. [3]
Arap is patronym meaning son of. It was traditionally given following the labetab eun (kelab eun) [4] ceremony and all initiates would after the ceremony acquire their father's name e.g Toroitich son of Kimoi and Kipkirui son of Kiprotich would after the ceremony be Toroitich arap Moi and Kipkirui arap Rotich. In modern times it is confined to progressing age-sets independent of the individual initiation ceremony such that if the current age-set is Nyongi, all individuals of preceding age-sets may use the term Arap.[ dubious ]
In the past, praise names were sometimes acquired through various acts of courage or community service. A previously common example of the former was Barng'etuny (one who killed a lion).
The Kipsigis or Kipsigiis are a Nilotic tribe in Kenya. They are contingent of the Kalenjin ethnic group and speak Kipsigis language, a tonal language which is closely related to a group of languages collectively known as Kalenjin language. It is observed that the Kipsigis and an aboriginal people native to Kenya known as Ogiek have a merged identity. The Kipsigis are the most numerous of the Kalenjin. The latest Census population in Kenya put the kipsigis at 1.972 Million speakers accounting for 45% of all kalenjin speaking people. They occupy the highlands of Kericho stretching from Timboroa to Mara River in the south, the west of Mau Escarpment in the east to Kebeneti in the west. They also occupy, parts of Laikipia, Kitale, Nakuru, Narok, Trans Mara District, Eldoret and Nandi Hills.
A patronymic, or patronym, is a component of a personal name based on the given name of one's father, grandfather (avonymic), or an earlier male ancestor.
Daniel Toroitich arap Moi was a Kenyan statesman and politician who served as the second president of Kenya from 1978 to 2002. He is the country's longest-serving president to date. Moi previously served as the third vice president of Kenya from 1967 to 1978 under President Jomo Kenyatta, becoming the president following the latter's death.
The Kalenjin are a group of tribes designated as Highland Nilotes and are descended from Maliri people (thus related to Daasanach of Ethiopia.) The Kalenjin are cousins with Datooga people of Tanzania. In contrast, their designation groups them with other Nilotes including Maasai, Luo, Turkana and Nuer, Dinka among others. They are indigenous to East Africa, residing mainly in what was formerly the Rift Valley Province in Kenya and Eastern slopes of Mount Elgon in Uganda. Upon their arrival in the forest region of Mau, the Kalenjin assimilated the aboriginal hunter-gatherer people known as Okiek. They number 6,358,113 individuals per the Kenyan 2019 census and an estimated 300,000 in Uganda mainly in Kapchorwa, Kween and Bukwo districts. They have been divided into 11 culturally and linguistically related tribes: Kipsigis, Nandi (937,000), Sebei Keiyo, Marakwet, Sabaot (296,000), Pokots, Tugen, Terik, Sengwer, and Ogiek. The Kalenjin speak the Nadi-Marakweta languages but can also be inclusive of Akie language in Tanzania and Pokot language spoken in Kenya; all being classified collectively as Kalenjin Language; while in combination with Datooga languages of Tanzania, this cluster is called Southern Nilotic languages.
The Tugen are a sub tribe of the Kalenjin people alongside the Nandi, Kipsigis, Keiyo, Pokot, Marakwet, Sabaot, Ogiek, Lembus and Sengwer sub-tribes. They occupy Baringo County and some parts of Nakuru County and Elgeyo Marakwet County in the former Rift Valley Province, Kenya. Daniel arap Moi, the second president of Kenya (1978–2002), came from the Tugen sub-tribe. The Tugen people speak the Tugen language. The Tugen population was 197,556 in 2019.
The Nandi are part of the Kalenjin, a Nilotic tribe living in East Africa. The Nandi ethnic group live with close association and relation with the Kipsigis tribe. They traditionally have lived and still form the majority in the highland areas of the former Rift Valley Province of Kenya, in what is today Nandi County. They speak the Nandi dialect of the Kalenjin language.
The Orkoiyot occupied a sacred and special role within the Nandi and Kipsigis people of Kenya. He held the dual roles of chief spiritual and military leader, and had the authority to make decisions regarding security particularly the waging of war. Notable Orkoiik include Kimnyole Arap Turukat, Koitalel Arap Samoei and Barsirian Arap Manyei.
The Elgeyo are an ethnic group who are part of the larger Kalenjin ethnic group of Nilotic origin. They live near Eldoret, Kenya, in the highlands of the former Keiyo District, now part of the larger Elgeyo Marakwet County. The Elgeyo originally settled at the foothills of the Elgeyo escarpment, in the area between Kerio river to the east and the escarpment to the west. Due to drought and famine in the valley, the Keiyos climbed the escarpment and started to settle on the highland east of Uasin Gishu plateau. When the British came, the Keiyos were pushed to settle in clusters called reserves.
Rono is a name of Kenyan origin that may refer to
Nandi County is a county in Kenya in the North Rift, occupying an area of 2,884.4 square kilometres. Its capital, Kapsabet, is the largest town in the county while other towns include Mosoriot, Tinderet, Kobujoi, Kaiboi, Kabiyet and Nandi Hills. According to a 2019 census, the county had a population of 885,711, made up of a number of Kenyan communities, the majority of whom belong to the native tribe called Nandi.
Gideon Kipsielei Towett Moi is a Kenyan politician and former senator of Baringo County, from 2013 to 2022. He was elected with a landslide win of over 80%, trouncing his opponent Jackson Kosgei. He is also the party leader of the Kenya African National Union (KANU), which for decades was the ruling party in Kenya. He is the youngest son of Kenya's second president, Daniel arap Moi, and Lena Moi. His siblings include; Phillip Moi, Jonathan Moi, John Mark Moi, Raymond Moi, Jennifer Jemutai Kositany, Doris Moi, June Moi.
Kiplagat is a personal name used by the Kalenjin people in Kenya and Uganda, meaning son born at dawn. The son of Kiplagat would be lagat. This may also mean:
The Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission of Kenya (TJRC) was established in 2008. Kenya’s modern history has been marked not only by liberation struggles but also by ethnic conflicts, semi-despotic regimes, marginalization and political violence, including the coup d'état of 1982, the Shifta War, and the 2007 Post-election violence.
Kipchoge is a name of Kalenjin origin meaning "of the store ". The name follows a Kalenjin naming custom where the birth name has to describe the time or place of birth, physical attributes of the baby, the circumstances surrounding the birth, ancestral reincarnation, initiation rites, military exploits or the family's prized possessions. Famous people with this name include:
Traditional Kalenjin society is the way of life that existed among the Kalenjin speaking people prior to the advent of the colonial period in Kenya and after the decline of the Chemwal, Lumbwa and other Kalenjin communities in the late 1700s and early 1800s.
A bororiet was a kind of geographic division of the traditional society of the Nandi people of Kenya. It had military and political functions in addition to the territorial element. Each bororiet was made up of kokotinwek which were groups of homesteads within the same locality, roughly equal to a hamlet but smaller than a village. The bororosiek were, in turn, grouped into emet but these were only of territorial significance.
Kalenjin mythology refers to the traditional religion and beliefs of the Kalenjin people of Kenya.
Kamuratanet is a Kalenjin traditional process of teaching its members appropriate behavior, knowledge, skills, attitudes, virtues, religion and moral standards. Kamuratanet provides parameters that are used to determine what is acceptable and normal and what is not acceptable, and therefore abnormal. Though carried out throughout an individual's lifetime, it is formalized during yatitaet (circumcision) and subsequent tumdo (initiation).
The Kalenjin are a Nilotic people living in Kenya. They speak Kalenjin language which is spoken in dialects specific to individual contingent tribes and/or sub-tribes. The system observes that every name of a person, object or place has a meaning. The system has been subject to westernization and attrition to linguistics due to the Kenyan adoption of Swahili language as a lingua-franca and the dynamic view that indigenous languages are provincial and irrelevant.
Oretab Talai is one of the ortinwek or clans of the Kalenjin, a Nilotic tribe living in East Africa. Nandi Talai elders gained particular notability during the 2022 Kenyan general elections when a blessing ritual they performed on then Deputy President William Ruto gained symbolism as an act perceived as bestowing not just community leadership but also future national leadership. Much was made in the commentary surrounding the event of the fact that Nandi Talai elders had performed similar blessing rituals for the late Kenyan Presidents Jomo Kenyatta, Daniel Arap Moi, Mwai Kibaki and even the former Prime Minister Raila Odinga before they ascended to national leadership positions. The perception of symbolism was heightened when Gideon Moi, former president Daniel Arap Moi's son and political heir, and William Ruto's primary competitor for regional political dominance at the time, attempted to have the blessings conferred upon him but was blocked. He later had the ceremony carried out by Nandi Talai elders from the Kapsisiywo family at Kabarak, the Moi family's seat of political power, both these events made national news and were widely commented upon.