(or ) is a Kalenjin term for the largest recognized territorial division within the Kalenjin society of pre-colonial

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

. The word in contemporary Kalenjin as used to denote a country derives from this term.

Origin

Ehret posits that the territorial division of the Kalenjin is of ancient origin. From linguistic evidence, it seems probable that the Southern Nilotes, organised themselves into clans or at least different clusters of associated clans – what could be called tribes – which coincided with particular territories. These "tribes" and the territory they occupied were called .

Function

The traditional Kalenjin geographic division, , primarily served as a territorial identity, it had limited military mobilization capacity and played no administrative functions.

Current use

In contemporary Kalenjin lexicon, the word is used to mean country, e.g. , where is 'of'.The Kalenjin are on trial, not Sang, says lawye
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References

{{reflist Kalenjin