A history of the Kipsigis of western Kenya 1700 -1940

Abstract

This study is the result of research conducted during the years 1973 and 1974. It is based on both written sources and oral traditions collected during that period. The work is divided into eleven chapters. The first chapter is devoted to a survey of the existing literature on the subject, outlining its major characteristics. Both those who trace the origin of the Kipsigis to the north of Kenya and those who see them as a society that has come about as a result of some sort of evolution are agreed in this literature in tracing the break up of one originally united group called Kalenjin. This thesis departs from this tradition and asserts that the Kipsigis as such, have not come from there. They have evolved where they are to-day from various ethnic interactions. Thus the origins of the society are diverse. The rest of the chapters, except the conclusion, are devoted to various aspects of how this came about