Sebei people

Last updated
Sebei
Total population
377,030 [1]
Regions with significant populations
Flag of Uganda.svg  Uganda
Languages
Sebei, English
Religion
Christianity, Traditional African religions, Islam [2]
Related ethnic groups
Kalenjin people, other Nilotic people
Location of the Sebei People in Mt. Elgon. Location in Uganda.png
Location of the Sebei People in Mt. Elgon.

The Sebei are a Southern Nilotic ethnic group inhabiting western Kenya, eastern Uganda, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Sudan and Democratic Republic of the Congo. They speak Kupsabiny, a Kalenjin language. The Sapiiny occupy three districts, namely Bukwo, Kween and Kapchorwa in Uganda, Transnzoia county, Bungoma county and West Pokot county in Kenya

Contents

Religion

The majority of Sabiny are Christians. According to the 2002 Census of Uganda, 40.5% of Sabiny are Anglican (Church of Uganda), 23.4% are Roman Catholic, 18.3% are Pentecostal, 9.7% are Muslim and 7% follow other religions. [3]

Culture

The Sebei people lead a fairly simple life style. The main structures of their lives are centered around cattle keeping, growing crops, and making beer. Common jobs held by the Sebei include cattle rearing and farming. The jobs depend on where you live. Because of their fairly laid back culture, the need for major social structure is limited. Sebei people are relatively peaceful, there are limited criminal offenses that one could do. In Sebei culture, there are two levels of criminal offense. The highest level is for murder and physical assault, the lower level is for property or major civil disputes between people or groups of people. [4] The Sebei people also circumcise teenage boys and girls as a right of passage to adulthood. [5]

Language

The Sebei commonly known as Sabiny speak a language called Kupsabiny. This is linked to the Kalenjin dialect spoken by smaller groups that have settled on the slopes of Mount Elgon. [5]

Locations

The Sebei's live primarily on the slopes of Mount Elgon in eastern Uganda. [6] They number about 300,000 people and occupy an area of 1,730.9 square km in the districts of Bukwo, Kapchorwa and Kween. Their territory borders the Republic of Kenya which is a home to more than six million Kalenjin, a large ethnic group to which the Sebei belong. The Sebei's now known mainly as Sapiny, speak Kupsabiny, a Kalenjin language spoken by other smaller groups of Kalenjin stock around Mount Elgon. The Sebei and Kenyan smaller groups (Book, Kony, Mosoop, Someek, Bongomek) inhabiting the hills of Mount Elgon are collectively referred to as the 'Sabaots. [7] [8]

In Uganda

The majority of the Sebei people live in the country of Uganda. The percent of the Ugandan population that is Sebei is only 0.6%; meaning that there are about 300,000 Sebei in Uganda. [9] [10]

Notable Sebei

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kalenjin people</span> Group of Southern Nilotic peoples indigenous to East Africa

The Kalenjin are a group of tribes indigenous to East Africa, residing mainly in what was formerly the Rift Valley Province in Kenya and the Eastern slopes of Mount Elgon in Uganda. They number 6,358,113 individuals per the Kenyan 2019 census and an estimated 273,839 in Uganda according to the 2014 census mainly in Kapchorwa, Kween and Bukwo districts.

The Southern Nilotic languages are spoken mainly in western Kenya and northern Tanzania. They form a division of the larger Nilotic language family, along with the Western Nilotic languages and the Eastern Nilotic languages.

The Elgon languages are languages of the Southern Nilotic Kalenjin family spoken in the Mount Elgon area in western Kenya and eastern Uganda. According to the Ethnologue, there are two main Elgon languages: Kupsabiny and Sabaot dialects. Sabaot is a common name assumed by various related peoples, including the Koony, Sapiiny, Pook, and Bong'om, whose respective languages are considered separate languages by Rottland (1982).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kapchorwa District</span> District in Eastern Uganda, Uganda

Kapchorwa District is a district in the Eastern Region of Uganda. The town of Kapchorwa is the district's main municipal, administrative, and commercial center, and is the site of the district headquarters. It is also the home district of Stephen Kiprotich, the men's marathon gold medalist at the 2012 Summer Olympics, and Joshua Cheptegei, the men's 5,000 m gold medalist at the 2021 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elgeyo people</span> Ethnic group

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kapchorwa</span> Town in Eastern Uganda, Uganda

Kapchorwa is a town in the Eastern Region of Uganda. It is the main municipal, commercial, and administrative center of Kapchorwa District. Initially, the town of Kapchorwa was known as the Sebei Region.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bukwo</span> Place in Eastern Uganda, Uganda

Bukwo is a town in Eastern Uganda. It is the main municipal, administrative and commercial center of Bukwo District and the headquarters of the district are located there. The district is named after the town.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bukwo District</span> District in Eastern Uganda, Uganda

Bukwo District is a district in the Eastern Region of Uganda. The town of Bukwo is its main political, administrative, and commercial center and the site of the district headquarters.

Kiprop is a name used by the Kalenjin people. People with this name include:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kween District</span> District in Uganda

Kween District is a district in Eastern Uganda. The district headquarters are located at Binyiny, one of the two town councils in the district.

Kipruto is a surname of Kenyan origin meaning "one who likes travelling" or "one who was born on a travel/journey." Notable people with the name include:

Sabaot is a Kalenjin language of Kenya. The Sabaot people live around Mount Elgon in both Kenya and Uganda. The hills of their homeland gradually rise from an elevation of 5,000 to 14,000 feet. The Kenya–Uganda border goes straight through the mountain-top, cutting the Sabaot homeland into two halves.

Kupsabiny (Sabiny), or Sebei, is a Kalenjin language a Southern Nilotic language of eastern Uganda.

The Kapchorwa–Suam Road, is a rural road in the Eastern Region of Uganda. The road links Kapchorwa, the district capital of Kapchorwa District to Suam, at the international border with Kenya.

Suam, Uganda is a border crossing between Uganda and Kenya. The settlement sits directly across the Suam River from Suam, Kenya.

Jemutai or Chemutai is a name of Kalenjin origin. It indicates that the bearer is a girl or lady and was born near dawn ("Mutai"). It is closely related to "Chepkoech", " Chelimo", "Chepkorir", and "Chepyego". Its masculine equivalent is Kimutai among the Marakwet, Keiyo, Sabaot, Nandi, and the Kipsigis.

Kapchorwa General Hospital, also Kapchorwa Hospital, is a public hospital in the Eastern Region of Uganda.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sabaot people</span> Sub-tribe in east Africa

The Sabaot are one of the nine sub-tribes of the Kalenjin of Kenya and Uganda. The Sabaot in turn are divided into six sub-tribes largely identified by their dialects. These dialects of the Sabaot language are the Pok, Somek, Mosop, Koony, Bong'omek and Sabiny. Being resident around Mount Elgon, the original homeland of most Kalenjin, the Sabaot are seen as the keepers of the authentic Kalenjin tradition. They and the area they inhabit are often referred to as Kapkugo by other Kalenjin.

Kapchorwa Central Forest Reserve is a forest reserve located in Kapchorwa district found in the eastern part of Uganda at the slopes of Mount Elgon. It is bordered by Mbale, Bulambuli, and Sironko in the south-west, Nakapiripit and Moroto in the north, and the republic of Kenya in the east. The area largely comprises the sabiny, pokot and the nandi communities of western Kenya. The 0.06 square kilometer forest reserve is located at an Altitude of 2,100 to 2,400 meters above sea level.

Toroitich is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:

References

  1. ↑ Uganda Bureau of Statistics. [National-Population-and-Housing-Census-2024-Preliminary-Report.pdf "National Population and Housing Census 2024 - Main Report"] (PDF).{{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help)
  2. ↑ "Population composition" (PDF). ubos.org. Retrieved 7 August 2024.
  3. ↑ "Population Composition" (PDF). ubos.org. Retrieved 7 August 2023.
  4. ↑ "Demographics". www.daviddfriedman.com. Retrieved 2016-10-25.
  5. 1 2 "Sebei People. Sabiny People. Mount Elgon National Park". Inside Mount Elgon National Park. Retrieved 2024-02-01.
  6. ↑ Goldschmidt, Walter; Gale Goldschmidt (1976). Culture and Behavior of the Sebei: A Study in Continuity and Adaptation. Berkeley, California: University of California Press. p. 11. Archived from the original on 5 August 2011. Retrieved 11 September 2010.
  7. ↑ "The Sebei People and their Culture in Uganda". Go Visit Kenya. Retrieved 2020-05-25.
  8. ↑ "INTRA-ETHNIC RELATIONS AMONG THE SABAOT OF MT.ELGON, KENYA, 1945-2010" (PDF). S2CID   157202293. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2020-02-08.
  9. ↑ "Sebei People and their Culture". Archived from the original on 2021-12-12. Retrieved 2020-05-25.
  10. ↑ "Refugee Review Tribunal" (PDF).
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.