Kamau

Last updated

Kamau is a male name of Kenyan origin that may refer to: It is primarily a masculine name in the Kikuyu, belonging to the Bantu group who migrated from the Congo region. The name was given to a group of young men who went through initiation together. The group was called Rika. The initiation process involved circumcision, training and mentoring to help transition from childhood to manhood. The young men in the group would take up their initiation group's name as a given name (Ritwa ria Rika) as a form of association, but would still keep their original name. Thus the man's original name may be Wambugu, but he may choose to use his Rika name Kamau. As a result, men usually had two or three names (Given/birth name, Initiation name and Nickname).

Though the tradition is not practiced, the name is passed on through the naming system in a family from the ancestor who had received the name through the initiation to the next generation. As a result it is now used as a birth/given name inherited from a relative and to many it has become a family name.[ citation needed ]

Related Research Articles

Kipsigis people

The Kipsigis, are one of Kenya's 47 tribes and together with Nandi, Tugen, Marakwet, Sengwer, Pokot and Sebei make up the Kalenjin ethnic identity. It is observed that the Kipsigis and an aboriginal race native to Kenya known as Ogiek have a merged identity. The Kipsigis people speak the Kipsigis language; a Nilotic language which falls under the Nandi-Markweta cluster of the Kalenjin languages. 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.

Kikuyu people Ethnic group in Kenya

The Kikuyu are a Bantu ethnic group native to Central Kenya. At a population of 8,148,668 as of 2019, they account for 17.13% of the total population of Kenya, making them the largest ethnic group in Kenya.

Initiation Rite-of-passage ceremony

Initiation is a rite of passage marking entrance or acceptance into a group or society. It could also be a formal admission to adulthood in a community or one of its formal components. In an extended sense it can also signify a transformation in which the initiate is 'reborn' into a new role. Examples of initiation ceremonies might include Christian baptism or confirmation, Jewish bar or bat mitzvah, acceptance into a fraternal organization, secret society or religious order, or graduation from school or recruit training. A person taking the initiation ceremony in traditional rites, such as those depicted in these pictures, is called an initiate.

Rite of passage Ritual reflecting change of social status

A rite of passage is a ceremony or ritual of the passage which occurs when an individual leaves one group to enter another. It involves a significant change of status in society. In cultural anthropology the term is the Anglicisation of rite de passage, a French term innovated by the ethnographer Arnold van Gennep in his work Les rites de passage, The Rites of Passage. The term is now fully adopted into anthropology as well as into the literature and popular cultures of many modern languages.

Kalenjin people Group of Southern Nilotic peoples indigenous to East Africa

The Kalenjin are a group of Southern Nilotic tribes descending from Maliri people (thus related to Daasanach of Ethiopia.) They are indigenous to North and East Africa, residing mainly in what was formerly the Rift Valley Province in Kenya and Western slopes of Mount Elgon in Uganda. They are closely associated with Datooga of Tanzania and are thought to have interacted extensively with Iraqwi (for whom they called various names including: Sengwer, Jengwel, Chemwal, Sikker, Sirikwa and many more.) Upon their arrival in the forest region of Mau, the Kalenjin assimilated the aboriginal hunter-gatherer race known as Okiek. They number 6,358,113 individuals as 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, Keiyo, Marakwet, Sabaot, Pokots, Tugen, Terik, Sengwer, Lembus, and Ogiek. They speak Kalenjin languages, which belong to the Nilotic language family.

Luhya people Number of ethnic groups in Kenya

The Luhya comprise a number of Bantu ethnic groups native to western Kenya. They are divided into 20 culturally and linguistically related tribes.

Bukusu

The Bukusu people are one of the seventeen Kenyan tribes of the Luhya Bantu people of East Africa residing mainly in the counties of Bungoma and Trans Nzoia. They are closely related to other Luhya people and the Gisu of Uganda. Calling themselves BaBukusu, they are the largest tribe of the Luhya nation, making up about 34% of the Luhya population. They speak the Bukusu dialect.

Kamba people Ethnic group in Kenya

The Kamba or Akamba people are a Bantu ethnic group who predominantly live in the area of Kenya stretching from Nairobi to Tsavo and north to Embu, in the southern part of the former Eastern Province. This land is called Ukambani and constitutes Makueni County, Kitui County and Machakos County. They also form the second largest ethnic group in 8 counties including Nairobi and Mombasa counties.

Nandi people

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.

Teso people North African ethnic group

The Iteso are a Nilotic ethnic group in eastern Uganda and western Kenya. Teso refers to the traditional homeland of the Iteso, and Ateso is their language.

William Ruto Kenyan Politician

William Samoei Arap Ruto is a Kenyan politician currently serving as Deputy President of Kenya since April 2013. On 15 March 2022, Ruto was endorsed by UDA as the party's presidential candidate for Kenya's presidential election set for August 2022. On 12th April 2022, Kenya Kwanza political coalition endorsed Ruto as its presidential candidate for 2022 elections.

Peramangk Aboriginal people of South Australia

The Peramangk are an Aboriginal Australian people whose lands traditionally comprise the Adelaide Hills, as well as lands to the west of the Murray River in mid Murraylands and through to the northern part of the Fleurieu Peninsula in the Australian state of South Australia.

The Pokomo people are a Bantu ethnic group of southeastern Kenya. The population in Kenya was 112,075 in 2019. They are a distinct ethnic group with their own sub-clans/tribes. Despite their proximity, they are not of the nearby Mijikenda people. They are predominantly agriculturalists and both freshwater and ocean fishermen living along the Tana River in Tana River County. They speak the Pokomo language, which is similar to Swahili.

Dikshit is traditionally a Hindu family name.

Maina is a name with multiple independent origins.

Maragoli Kenyan people

The Maragoli, or Logoli (Ava-Logooli), are now the second-largest ethnic group of the 6 million-strong Luhya nation in Kenya, numbering around 2.1 million, or 15% of the Luhya people according to the last Kenyan census. Their language is called Logoli, Lulogooli, Ululogooli, or Maragoli. The name Maragoli probably emerged later on after interaction of the people with missionaries of the Quaker Church.

To become a full member of the Mafia or Cosa Nostra – to become a "man of honor" or a "made man" – an aspiring member must take part in an initiation ritual or initiation ceremony. The ceremony involves significant ritual, oaths, blood, and an agreement is made to follow the rules of the Mafia as presented to the inductee. The first known account of the ceremony dates back to 1877 in Sicily.

Kenyatta is an East African surname derived from the beaded belt worn by Maasai.

Women in Kenya Overview of the status of women in Kenya

The history of the evolution of the traits of women in Kenya can be divided into Women within Swahili culture, Women in British Kenya, and Kenyan Women post-Independence. The condition and status of the female population in Kenya has faced many changes over the past century.

Kalenjin names 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.