Nandi warriors came from the Nandi sub-tribe of the Kalenjin community in Kenya which occupied the Rift Valley region of the country. The Nandi warriors had a mixture of origin which ranged from Nilotic, Bantu and Hamitic. The warriors used the ranges of the land they occupied to help them come up with easily coordinated units. These ranges were Wareng in the North, Soiin in the South, Aldai and Chesumei in the West, Mosop in the East and Em-gwen in the central part. The established units were being led by a strong and powerful leader called Orkoiyot.
Wakafale noted that, by the advent of colonization Nandi Warriors were the most militarized group in Kenya replacing the previous Masai dominant as an ethnic political power (69). The success of these warriors was based on strong economy and age set system. Strong economy was obtained from agricultural produce and the livestock rearing. Some of their livestock was acquired through successful raids by the warriors from neighboring communities.
The warriors used the age set system to make sure there was controlled succession plan and to increase their number for remarkable protection for their community. The ranges formed the basic units of their military organization and were charged with the responsibility of protecting their community and conducting community raids.
At the peak of civilization, Nandi Warriors posed the greatest challenge to the construction of the Kenya Uganda railway and subsequent fight for freedom. Politically, Nandi Warriors were organized for the raids under strong leadership of the Orkoiyot who was a symbol of unity to them. The Orkoiyot served both political and religious functions with the most famous Orkoiyot being Koitalel Arap Samoei.
Omotayo observed that the fall of the Nandi community as a power was characterized by the agreement of the leader to meet with the colonialists in a stage managed meeting where the leader was shot (178). Hence without a symbol of unity, the Nandi Warriors were unable to prolong the fights against the British colonialists.
Nandi warriors made sure that their community obtained great wealth through successful cattle raids and high protection from any attack posed to them by other communities. Due to great agricultural produce by the Nandi community, Nandi Warriors were able to meet all the community members during social gatherings and ceremonies. Womack stressed that the frequent social gatherings helped the Nandi Warriors helped them to maintain connections amongst both the various units of the warriors and the members of the community (172). The gatherings therefore served as a bonding factor between the entire team of Nandi Warriors and the community too.
Consequently, the Nandi Warriors were admired by warriors from other communities in East Africa for their military superiority and great unity amongst the various units. Nandi Warriors therefore served as a role model to East African communities and this made the other East African Warriors to want to achieve those military levels. Because of this dominance, other weak communities from East Africa formed alliances and collaborations to fight the Nandi Warriors. Take for example the Nabongo of Wanga Kingdom who got guns from Arabs for self defense against the constant raids from the Nandi Warriors.
One should admit that, through the strong admirable military dominance of the Nandi Warriors and through their resistance to the colonialists, many East African countries discovered their ability to fight back. Starting from Kenyan national politics, other ethnic communities regrouped to fight the colonialists. Take for example the Mau Mau amongst the Kikuyu tribe from the Mt. Kenya Region and the Dini ya Musambwa amongst the Bukusu from the Western Region, just to mention a few. These regional movements came together to form a national wide struggle for independence in Kenya.
James noted that due to the great opposition to the British colonialists in Kenya, other British territories in the East African protectorate strengthened their fights (124). For instance, the Maji Maji rebellion in Tanzania under Abushiri and the Kabaka of Buganda Kingdom. These entire changes contributed to the development and growth of Pan-African movement in Africa.
All this points to a conclusion that, Nandi Warriors gained their popularity after replacing the Masai as an ethnic political power in Kenya during the precolonial and colonial period. Although the Nandi Warriors were from Kenya, their organized military activities through their leader (Orkoiyot) was admired by many tribes in East Africa and this contributed greatly to the fight for independence. As a result, Nandi Warriors greatly contributed to the strong resistance to the British colonialists in East Africa both directly through fights and indirectly through influencing other communities in the region.
Work Cited
James Lawry., British in Africa: Kenyan Opposition. London: University Press of Virginia, 1997.
Wakafale Peter., A Modern Approach to Social-Political Issues. Nairobi: Long Horn Publishers, 1995.
Omotayo Richie., Understanding African Communities. New York: Transitional Publishers, 2003.
Womark Mari., Being Human: An Intro. to Cultural Anthropology. 2nd Edition Prentice H: Upper Saddle, 2001.