The Maasai and Kalenjin factor in the settlement of Western Kenya: a study in ethnic interaction and evolution

Abstract

Whereas much has been said about the abilities of Bantu-speaking people to impose their customs on aliens, the role of non-Bantu tribes in this respect has been underestimated hitherto. This article aims to emphasize the positive way in which Maasai and Kalenjin have contributed to the settlement of Kenya's Western Province in the past. By tracing back the history of these tribes original settlement pattern and dispersion to earlier centuries, one gets more insight into their impact on the coming about of the cultures of some of the Bantu groups in the Western Province. A few aspects of influence, which prove former migrations of Maasai and Kalenjin, are discussed here