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The Karamajong Cluster

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 August 2012

P. H. Gulliver
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Extract

Within the Nilo-Hamitic group of tribes in East Africa is a sub-group, the tribes of which speak closely related dialects. So close are these dialects that a native speaker of any one can understand a speaker of any other. In the normal intercourse between the peoples this does in fact happen constantly. Linguistically this group of dialects might be called the Teso Dialect Cluster, after the tribe of that name.

Résumé

LE GROUPEMENT KARAMAJONG

Le Groupement Karamajong est un rassemblement de sept tribus du groupe nilo-hamitique, parlant toutes des dialectes qui sont mutuellement intelligibles, et ayant toutes une origine commune et des systèmes sociaux et culturels communs. Ces tribus sont les Karamajong, les Jie et les Dodoth dans l'Ouganda, les Turkana au Kénia, les Toposa et les Jiye au Soudan anglo-égyptien et les Donyiro dans la zone frontière du Soudan et de l'Éthiopie. Les régions tribales constituent un territoire continu et ont une population to tale de 214.000 habitants environ. Le développement historique de ces tribus, à partir de la tribu Karamajong primitive, est exposé, ainsi qu'une description de la répartition des tribus et de leurs guerres avant l'occupation britannique; de brèves indications suivent sur chaque tribu avec des détails un peu plus amples sur les Turkana et les Jie. La communication se termine par une note brève au sujet de quatre petites tribus non-apparentées qui habitent dans la région du groupement. Trois d'entre elles ne sont pas encore classées—les Teuso, les Tepes et les Diakwai; la quatrième est la tribu Labwor de langue acoli.

Type
Research Article
Information
Africa , Volume 22 , Issue 1 , January 1952 , pp. 1 - 22
Copyright
Copyright © International African Institute 1952

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References

page 1 note 1 It should be noted that linguistically the Teso themselves are not one. There are several dialects. ‘Standard’ Teso is taken to be that of the Ngora District.

page 4 note 1 Cf. Schapera, I., ‘Herding ritual of the Bechuanaland BaKaxtla’, American Anthropologist, xxxvi, 4, 1934, for an account of cattle ritual in contrast to this.Google Scholar

page 5 note 1 In A preliminary survey of the Turkana (school of African Studies, University of Cape Town, 1951) I referred to this group as ‘the Turkana-speaking peoples ’; but this name, based on language, cannot exclude the Teso, and possibly others. At the time of writing that monograph I was not sufficiently aware of the interconnexions of these tribes.

page 5 note 2 The point is, here, that spears must not be used in fights between members of the same tribe. Permittcd weapons are fighting-sticks, clubs, and wristknives.

page 5 note 3 In this account I omit all linguistic prefixes, Strictly the full name here is Ŋijie. Literally this means, ‘the ones who fight’; no one has ever suggested to me that the name was given for the obvious reason, though this is probably the case.

page 5 note 5 The significance of the reference to wild fruits is that in Turkanaland, as distinct from Jieland, wild fruits, berries, and nuts today form an important part of the normal diet of the people, and are almost everywhere plentiful.

page 6 note 1 I can suggest several reasons, such as the increasing pressure of population in the Koten area and increasing aridity there, defeat at the hands of the rather stronger Karamajong, and also the possibility that the southward-moving Lango might by that time have left modern Jieland empty. The move certainly gave the Jie better country and more accessible cattle pastures in the west.

page 6 note 2 In correspondence Capt. G. King informs me that the Jiye claim this link, naming the Jie as their parent tribe. See also A tribal survey of Mongalla Province, ed. Nalder, , 1937, Part 2, chap. 1.Google Scholar

page 8 note 1 It is hoped to make a detailed comparative study of the Turkana and Jie in the near future. Field-work was carried out under the auspices of the Colonial Social Science Research Council.

page 8 note 2 A complete bibliography on Turkana is given in Appendix No. 1 of A preliminary survey of the Turkana, already cited.

page 17 note 1 Figure taken from Beaton, ‘Record of the Toposa tribe’, Sudan Notes and Records, xxxi, June 1950, p. 129Google Scholar.

page 17 note 2 Cf. Turkana, about 4 cattle and camels per head, and jie about 3-4 cattle per head.

page 17 note 3 Manuscript by Shackleton, Government of Kenya, N.A.D.M. 19, iv, no. 193, 1933.

page 18 note 1 I am indebted to Canon and Mrs. Clark, B.C.M.S., Lotome, for help and information.

page 19 note 1 Uganda Journal, xiv, Sept. 1950, pp. 215–18.Google Scholar

page 20 note 1 Information from Canon Clark.

page 21 note 1 According to Fosbrooke, the Masai proper are the putative descendants of the culture-hero Maasinda. See Fosbrooke, H. A., ‘An administrative survey of the Masai’, Tanganyika Notes and Records, 1948.