What connects butterflies and Samburu?

What connects butterflies and Samburu? The pastoralists who own cattle and are proud members of the Samburu warrior race. They are a member of the Maa-speaking group, most famously represented by the Maasai.

Though they speak their dialect faster than the Maasai, it still has a lot of terms that they both use. The Maasai word “Samburu” also derives from the customary leather bag that they wear on their backs to carry meat and honey.

They live in the Northern Kenyan Highlands, but their territory was never a part of the White Highlands, which were formerly home to European ranchers and immigrants. Rather, it was situated in the far more isolated and dry Northern Frontier District (NFD), requiring a special travel document to enter. It’s interesting to note that even after Kenya gained independence, this condition continued for a little while.

Because only government officials were allowed to visit in the NFD in the past, the Samburu people were essentially cut off from the rest of the country and were mostly oblivious of the significant changes that were occurring there. Because Samburu Land has avoided the detrimental effects of mass tourism, it is still isolated and pristine today.

The Samburu still appreciate and uphold the customs and ceremonies of their forebears, unlike most other tribes in Kenya.

Happy of their culture and traditions, the Samburu retain their forebears’ customs and ceremonies, unlike many Westernized communities in Kenya.

The long history and exact origin of the Samburu people are hard to determine beyond a period of about 100 years. Oral histories quickly blend into mythology, becoming one with it. Some people think they may have originated in the Sudan, while others think they are the offspring of a Roman army that vanished in Egypt.

They are known as “The Butterfly People” by true Maasai tribesmen; they are a branch of the main society that stayed behind when others moved further south. The Samburu people are fiercely loyal to their livestock and place it above everything else.

Their cattle are their way of life. It serves as both a source of income and a symbol of their affluence. Additionally, it represents achievement and prestige in the community. Cattle raiding other communities’ cattle has always been a major concern of the warriors, as they, like the true Maasai, feel that all cattle belong to them.

A boy who has had his circumcision joins his age group of peers and stays close to them till he passes away. Girls live in two distinct periods of life: girlhood and womanhood. They do not belong to any age group.

The males, on the other hand, pass through three. Identified as a boy from birth to adolescence before reaching a specific age, a man from circumcision until marriage as a warrior, and an elder from marriage to death.

The Samburu people practice polygamy. The women are solely in charge of taking care of the house, and the family all shares the same manyatta. The circumcision that elevates a guy from boyhood to adulthood is the most important event in his life.

This occurs while he is in the range of 14 and 25 years old. The average lifespan of an age group is 14 years. Young ladies naturally find the most remarkable members of Samburu society, the warriors, or moran, to be appealing.

For almost 14 years, they have a happy, carefree existence filled with liberal sexual behaviours. The majority of them would at some point have numerous lovers who show their love with extravagant bead presents.

The Moranis are extremely conceited and have extravagant clothing. They usually paint abstract patterns in red ochre on their heads, necks, and shoulders, and orange on their faces. They can braid one other’s long, ochred hair for hours on end. Moranhood is unquestionably the highest point in a man’s existence. It’s a time when possibilities are endless and every second is exciting and adventurous. He is at his best during this time, fearless and conceited, with much freedom to do as he pleases.

Girls assist with domestic tasks and take care of their siblings at a young age, preparing them for parenthood. Girls put appearance first at clan dances.

They paint elaborate drawings on their cheeks, darken their eyebrows with charcoal, and apply ochre paste to their shorn hair. The morans will then presumably laud them, making them their mistresses and allowing them to guard them.

They create their connection based on their shared physical and sexual desire, even though they both know it has no future. Because of their family links, it is frowned upon for members of the same clan to get married.

As a token of his devotion, the moran will accumulate beads throughout the years to shower his bead girl or girlfriend with them. Girls are socialized to suppress their sentiments for men, even though they may have them. They are aware as they grow up that they will never be able to marry the person of their dreams.