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Courtship of young girls begins around this time. The new
il - murran will give beads to young girls they favour. They
will gradually add more beads to the girl's collection hence
giving a good indication of whom they will choose as their
bride in future years.
Marriage ceremonies
The young warriors cannot marry until ilmugit lolaingoni,
a ceremony that signifies the warriors' transition to manhood
and allows him to marry. A bull is suffocated by the young
warrior and then distributed amongst the village and eaten.
The evolution of the warrior is complete and he is free to
marry.
As with other tribes and parts of East Africa, the girl the
warrior chooses to marry is also circumcised. This occurs
and hour or so before the ceremony. The marriage is then sealed
when the warrior and his companions drive a bull into the
village and it is slaughtered. The village elders give the
blessing and then the girl will leave the village with her
husband.
Circumcision
President Moi made female genital mutilation illegal on December
13th 2001, however, it is difficult to enforce this in rural
areas and it is also a challenge to intrinsic beliefs of the
Samburu and other tribes about the rite to adulthood. There
have actually been cases where girls are getting circumcised
very young to avoid government intervention. There is some
hope to eradicate this practice in the ntanira na mugambo,
or 'circumcision with words', project. A Kenyan group called
Maendeleo Ya Wanawake and the Programme for Appropriate Health
Technology (PATH) founded this in August 1996. Girls are educated
about sexual health and sex issues and allowed to retreat
and mediate for a week before their marriage. Unfortunately
many young women are still shunned if they refuse circumcision,
but this scheme offers an alternative for future generations.
Cattle culture
The significance of cattle and livestock is always evident
in Samburu culture and life as is illustrated in the sacrifice
of bulls at every momentous stage in an adolescent's passage
to adulthood. They also provide the dowry for a girl to get
married. It also played a part in social ties. If one man
gives an animal to another man then he will be called by that
name by the man who received the gift. It is therefore not
uncommon for Samburu to have names such as 'castrated sheep'!
Much like the Maasai the Samburu live off their herds and
a simple diet of blood and milk. This along with other aspects
of traditional life is slowly being eroded. The terrible droughts
throughout the 1990's depleted the livestock herds dramatically.
The onset of desertification and changing rainfall patterns
combined with El Nino meant in 1997 that some Samburu herdsmen
were losing 50% of their herd.
As a result of this, a Samburu livestock market was
established in Suguta Marmar town in 1991. The tribe
now buy in livestock and are eating more meat than they did
in the past. This use of money has spread to other areas and
girls are replacing their skins with cheap textiles, with
even some young men sporting watches.
Changing tribes
Modernisation will always infringe upon people and has done
throughout time. It seems that the Samburu who were one of
the last traditional tribes in Africa are going through their
transition. Their changing attitudes to female circumcision
are seen as positive; however change comes with affluence.
Unlike the Maasai they have placed less importance on being
a warrior and instead cherish nkanyit, or respect.
Unfortunately, an element such as the livestock market and
increased tourism on their land has led to friction with other
tribes. Some members of the Samburu are buying AK47's from
Somalians and Ethiopians to protect themselves in raids from
other tribes such as the Turkana. This is not to say
that the Samburu are blameless and have not become aggressive
outside their tribe. Times are changing radically for this
tribe as all others in Kenya. It is important to show respect
for their beliefs and remember that tourism impacts upon culture
as much as the land, so try to avoid situations that you find
to be exploitative to local tribal tradition.
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