Nomad_Africa_Edition12

The marriage ritual is highly revered in the community
since it is regarded as a continuation of the society. A man is
allowed to marry at any age as long as he is capable of paying the
dowry. The dowry is usually comprised of livestock. A Turkana
wedding normally takes about two to three days because the
ceremony involves a number of rituals.
From that moment on they were referred as
the "People of the grey bull."
The Turkana considered Nayeche their tribal
mother and regard her burial site as a holy
place of prayer. every year, they hold a festival
at the grave site, but visitors can only be
accompanied by a local so that the customs
are not violated even in the slightest.
The people of Turkana are still defined by
their pastorolistic way of life and are known
to be exceptional cattle herders with a fondness
for berries. Their cattles provide them
with milk, meat and blood. They also keep
camels and are talented basket weavers.
They are also great at honey hunting.
The Turkana native group is made up of two
major divisions, each consisting of territorial
sections. The major divisions are: the Ngimonia,
divided into Ngissir and non-Ngissir sections;
and the Ngichoro, divided into
Ngilukumong, Ngiwoyakwara, Ngigamatak,
Ngibelai, and Ngibotok.
The Turkana are very traditional both in religion
and their social structure. They believe
in a supreme being known as akuj. They believe
that he is the creator of the world, the
controller of rain and blessings of life. They
also believe in the evil one referred to as
ekipe who is supposed to be shunned. For
them, it is imperative to maintain a good relationship
with akuj everyday, so that he can
give them blessings of life such as a family,
food, water and livestock.
in order to get these blessings, they must
avoid breaking the traditions (ngitalio). The
Turkana still believe in ancestors who they
refer to as ngikaram or ngipean. They offer
animal sacrifices to the ancestors in a bid to
appease them. They claim that when the ancestors
are angered they possess a family
member and use them as tools for communication.
They have religious specialists who they
refer to as ngimurok. a ngimurok acts as an
intercessor between the living and the living
dead. They are supposed to speak to the ancestors
to find solutions to the problems facing
the people. The most honoured
ngimurok is elevated to be a "diviner of god"
or an emuron.
The emurons or the dreamers are said to be
able to read akuj's moods. The emurons receive
direct messages from akuj in their
dreams and relay them to the people. However,
the ngimurok is more respected in the
community and can still be found even
today in the Turkana territory. They still carry
out important cultural rituals such as birth
(akidoun), male and female initiation (asapan
and akinyonyo), marriage (akuuta), yearly
blessing sacrifices (apiaret an awi), and the
death ritual ( akinuuk). even though these rituals
are overseen by elders, it is of great importance
for an ngimurok to be in
attendance.
The marriage ritual is highly revered in the
community since it is regarded as a continuation
of the society. a man is allowed to
marry at any age as long as he is capable of
paying the dowry. The dowry is usually
comprised of livestock. a Turkana wedding
normally takes about two to three days because
the ceremony involves a number of
rituals.
on the first day, the man is escorted by his
age mates to deliver the dowry to the
bride's parents. They are also expected to
perform the ekimwomwor dance. The marriage
takes place on the second day. it is a
ritual-filled day and is taken very seriously. all
the rituals are performed in accordance to
the customs and traditions of the community.
each ritual is believed to have heavy
consequences if broken. The new bride is
officially moved to her husband's home on
the third day.
The Turkana are polygamous in nature. a
wife is viewed as a blessing and a sign of
wealth. They are among the few cultures
that actually value a girl child more than a
boy child. a Turkana man can divorce his
wife or marry another woman for the main
purpose of siring a girl. a man is allowed to
marry as many wives as he can afford to pay
dowry for. a man with a large number of animals
is expected to have more than one
wife to help him in herding. according to an
old Turkana proverb, a man with one wife is
like a man with one leg.
The Turkana distinguish between development
stages, age groups, occasions and status
of individuals through clothing. This
explains why they have such an intricate and
decorative style of clothing. a number of
Turkana still wear their traditional attires.
Women put on beaded jewelry such as
necklaces, earrings and bracelets. They also
shave their hair and leave just a few strands
which they attach some beads to. The
women wear two pieces of rectangular
woven materials and animal skins.
The men wear a one piece rectangular cloth
with one end tied on their right shoulder.
often, the men carry small knives and a
small stool known as the ekicholong on their
waist. The stool is used as a chair or a head
rest on a hot herding day. The small wrist
knives are mostly used as a weapon and
protection measure. They also carry a long
herding stick to prod the livestock. The men
also cover part of their hair with mud and
later dye it blue and decorate it with ostrich
feathers.
The Turkana houses are built over a wooden
structure of domed young trees. leaves of
the Doulm palm trees, hides and skins are
thatched on the wooden framework. Their
houses are big enough to accommodate a
family of six. During the wet season, the
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