Samburu People are the Guardians of Samburu National Reserve

The Samburu people are one of the most fascinating Kenya tribes.

They inhabit a swathe of country between Mount Kenya and Lake Turkana in the country's Rift Valley province.

Samburu National Reserve as well as Buffalo Springs National Reserve occupy their tribal land and these people are virtually regarded as the guardians of these wildlife parks.

These reserves however, do not fall within Kenya's frequented tourist circuit. They, together with the larger Samburuland, have therefore been able to escape the adverse effects of mass tourism and remain largely remote and unspoiled.

Cousins of the Masai People?

The Samburu people's culture is as fascinating as that of the Masai people. Indeed, the language and customs of the 2 tribes are so strikingly similar and there is a sense in which it is unfair that the Samburu are nowhere as famous as the Masai.

Samburu Lives Revolve Around Livestock

The Samburu are semi-nomadic pastoralists. Livestock, particularly cattle, plays a central role among the Samburu tribe and the lives of both the men and women revolve around their domestic animals. As such, cattle, sheep and goats are a livelihood as well as a wealth and status symbol.

While herding livestock is the preserve of boys, it is the women and girls who milk the cattle and prepare the raw milk and blood mixture that is a delicacy in the community.

Gender Roles

Samburu men and women spend the days performing their gender-determined roles. After learning the art of livestock herding from their elders, they are solely in charge of the grazing the herd.

Unfortunately, as elsewhere in Africa, women and girls bear a disproportionate work burden. So besides milking the cattle, they collect the building materials and construct the mud, wattle, pole and thatch huts. They also collect water and gather fuelwood, cook and look after the children.

Although their staple of milk and blood is not cooked, the women often cook a maize porridge which they eat with a stew made from vegetables and tree roots and bark.

Cultural Practices

The Samburu people celebrate births, initiations and marriages with much pomp and ceremony. The highlight of a Samburu's life is initiation into adulthood...

This climaxes into circumcision for a teenage boy afterwhich he earns the title of a Moran (warrior) and the right to defend the community and livestock from belligerent neighbors and wild animals.

The parallel clitoridectomy for girls - also referred to as female genital mutilation (FGM) - is obviously a lot more controversial. However, although campaigns against the practice are gathering momentum around the country, the practice continues unabated in the community.

Marriages are polygamous unions where a man can marry as many wives as he is able to pay bride price for. The more livestock a man has, the easier it is for him to obtain a wife as bride price is paid with livestock, typically cattle. Intra-clan marriages are forbidden and marriages are arranged by families.

Sophisticated Dressing

Like the Masai, the Samburu people have a remarkable sense of style that continues to resist Western influences.

They wear bright red, blue or purple plain or checkered sheets or more lightweight cotton sheets with large bright prints called lessos or khangas.

They complete the look with earrings in their torn and elongated earlobes, bungles and armlets and some pretty elaborate beadwork around the neck.

The warriors, in addition, braid their hair and dye it with red ochre. They may also apply ochre to parts of their bodies such as the face and arms.

Up, Close and Personal with the Samburu People

The Samburu tribe live in the northern reaches of Kenya so you best bet for getting up, close and personal with these fascinating people and experiencing their culture is a Samburu safari.

The Samburu safari would help you hit 2 birds with 1 stone... You get to meet these people and see the Samburu National Reserve and Buffalo Springs National Reserve's unique animal species.

The rare Kenya animals that inhabit these reserves that you will not see in the southern Kenya national parks are the reticulated giraffe, beisa oryx and the Grevy's zebra.

The Samburu and Buffalo Springs reserves also presents the best opportunity to spot leopards, the most elusive of the country's "Big Cats."

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