A Day in the Life of a Nomad

4.00 a.m

Cow-bells outside

An occasional howl

Everything is peaceful

The village is calm and sleepy

5 a.m

Mothers milking cows at cow-sheds

The low of cows

Life is catching up

The village is waking up

7 a.m

Basking in the sun, taking tea

Counting cows and seeing them off

These cows needs to be rid of ticks

Time they were taken for cattle dip

9 a.m

Busy brushing teeth with kamsityan

Singing songs of my bull

The cows are grazing

It is me, my cows and my world

I am all peaceful

10 a.m

Gathered at baraza

Chief has a message

From serikali

Half asleep, resting my head on ng’achar

Looks like I will spend the whole day here

“Supay Kokwo,” Kirwokin greets

“Mmmmh,” we respond

“Bad news people, you stole from Turkana

It is in K.B.C and everywhere

I am in hot soup”

Age-old animosity

Tired culture

Spoilt image

Time folks went to school

Stopped this polygamy circus

Changed from nomadism to “somadism”

It is crazy!

1 p.m

Still half-awake, half-asleep under oron tree

Fellow old man is telling me how he first tasted rice

At the D.C’s compound

Then we hear a case of stolen donkey

Most complicated case

We listen on and on and on

5 a.m

I sprint from the baraza

Cut through thorn trees and shrubs

To go look for my cows

I pass through the market-place to buy tobacco

To keep the nostrils of an old man busy

Then I drive my cows home

Whistling and singing my bull songs

7 p.m

Seated at the aperit

With fellow old men

Fire lit to scare away witches

And to keep the stomach of old men

Warm and cared-for

We keep our guns at the ready

And sleep in the cold

Lorot Son of the Hills’ Notes

Kamsityan- A traditional toothbrush from a tree branch mostly from select trees.

Baraza- a Public gathering where information to the community is disseminated; a Kiswahili word.

Serikali- Kiswahili word for government.

Ng’achar-A Pokot traditional stool.

Supay kokwo- A form of Pokot greeting especially when addressing a large gathering of people.

Kirwokin- Pokot name for a chief.

Oron- a Tarmarind tree, most Pokot gatherings in Kacheliba are done under this tree.

Aperit- A resting place for Pokot men outside in the compound where fire is lit and from which they keep watch of their cows.