Kalenjin Kipsigis

The Kipsigis and Nandi trace their origins to a common group and separated during a southward migration, probably sometime between the seventeenth and early nineteenth centuries. When the British arrived in the early twentieth century, white settlers took almost half of Kipsigis land, and the people were drawn into the colonial market economy.

They practice mixed farming. Almost every adult man owns at least one cow, and cattle are still used in marriage payments. Maize has replaced older grains such as millet and sorghum and is also sold. Tea is grown at higher elevations and sold to state-owned factories. Many families supply milk through cooperatives, and church women’s groups have also formed cooperatives. In recent decades, many Kipsigis have moved to towns and cities.

There are seven age groups that recur in a cycle, called ipinda: men belong to these groups, and a woman joins her husband’s group when she marries. Boys and girls undergo separate initiation rites shortly after puberty, although some Protestant families no longer send their daughters. Basketry and woodworking are crafts with a long tradition.

Many Kipsigis are Christians in name, with varying levels of commitment, and what they learned in childhood still competes with a biblical outlook. Some say their own tradition is better than Christianity: “We are already better Christians than the Christians.”

Those who are not Christians believe in a distant but attentive god, called Asis, who reveals himself mainly through the sun. Misfortune is often linked to wrongs committed against God, the dead or spirits by an individual or close relatives. Traditionally, spirits of the dead were seen as a cause of illness, and a newborn was believed to receive the traits of the deceased relative after whom the child was named.

The New Testament has been available in Kipsigis since 1953, but the complete Bible is not yet available. There is an audio Bible online, the Jesus film and other videos in Kipsigis, as well as Bible stories for children, such as creation, Noah, the birth of Jesus and the first Easter.

Many Kipsigis consider themselves Christians, but childhood teachings remain influential, and some think tradition is better than Christianity. Others believe that people are saved through morality and good works, without needing Christ. Among teenagers, traditional initiation competes with the teachings of Jesus.

A 2018 study in Fort-Ternan, in Kericho county, interviewed childless Kipsigis Christian couples. In their culture, infertility is seen as a woman’s problem, and even when the cause lies with the husband, family members and neighbors continue to blame the wife. Childless women reported feeling ashamed, and in this culture a childless woman may be sent away from her home. Some couples even came to think they were suffering the consequences of past wrongs. The author says most churches are not prepared to support these couples and recommends that they teach what the Bible says about childlessness and welcome them.