Cattle keeping is common among the Kalenjin community but do you know why?
I will deal with this issue from a different angle in terms of housing, marriage, food and economy.
Housing
Traditionally, the houses were made of mud and cow dung and roofed by grass. These houses were valued up to date. One cannot cut off the hand that helped him or her in time of need and hence they valued cattle keeping since it was and is useful to them
Food
The staple food of the Kalenjin community is ugali. As we know, you cannot take ugali alone without vegetables. The ugali must be substantiated with other meal. The commonly known meal to accompany ugali is mursik, that is, milk that has been fermented. This is also a traditional meal. Apart from milk, the cows provide meat which acts as a meal.
Marriage
The cows play a great role in marriage. Dowry payment is a nome that is honoured among the Kalenjins and hence they use the cows to pay dowry. Dowry helps to build strong bonds between the two families.
Economy
Every community has its way of putting food on the table. The Kalenjins use cattle keeping as a tool to fight poverty and as well win bread to their families.
In the past, a majority of the community also engaged in cattle rustling to make sure they have enough cattle in their farms, a practice that is now being discouraged.
#historynow