Baringo Culture
Kenya is endowed with the richest prehistoric fossil heritage dating over 100 Million years ago, back into the dinosaur age. The National Museums of Kenya holds the world’s largest collection of human prehistory, the longest and most complete record spanning over 27 Million.
Over the last 50 years researchers working in Baringo County have produced a wealth of paleontological and archaeological data. Research in the area has revealed a long history relating to human biological, behavioural and technological evolution in the area. More than 5,000 fossil and archaeological specimens have been collected from Baringo county. This includes one Orrorin Tugenensis (millenium man) one of the oldest early humans of our family tree dated 6-7 Million years . Other findings have contributed significantly to our present understanding on the diversity of human biological, behavioural and cultural evolution through time and space. Hominid behaviour, including technological advancement evidenced in the use of tool use, pastoralism has been interpreted from the prehistoric remains. The large collection of prehistoric sites such as the Rondidin and Toicho prehistorial site, and other networks of prehistoric formation such as those within the Ngorora formation, provides an opportunity to trace the evolution of numerous mammalian species and history of environmental change through time. The fossil museum is at kipsaram has a gallery of some of the documents from this.
The great potential of the proposed Baringo Great Rift Valley Aspiring Geopark, in terms of new fossil discoveries, human adaptations and technological change, lies in the fact that sites with fossil exposures such as those within the Ngorara and Lukeino geological Formations preserves some of the best evidence of associated with ancient fossils and archaeological assemblages. Much of this includes unexplored areas, and areas previously explored have undergone significant erosion over the years, yielding freshly exposed fossils and archaeological artefacts.
All have huge potential to turn out new finds which will contribute greatly to furthering our understating of the geological processes, so as to support the conservation and promote the conservation of prehistoric heritage.
Endorois Cultural Dance
Cultural Heritage
Cultural heritage in its broadest sense, is both a product and process which provides societies with a wealth of resources, that is inherited from the past, created in the present and bestowed for the benefit of the future generations. Traditionally, while cultural heritage has been associated with monuments and collections of objects, it now also covers the traditional and living expressions inherited from ancestors and passed on to descendants.
Baringo is a culturally diverse County in Kenya that hosts various communities including Lchamus, Pokot and Tugen, who are also composed of different sub-dialects living within the same geographical boundary. The different sub-groups/ sub dialects of the Tugen include; Arror, Samor, Endorois, Lembus, Pokor,Kakimor and Keben. Communities from other parts of Kenya are represented and include Nubians, Kikuyu, Turkana, Luos among others.
These communities have different sacred sites dotted across the expansive landscape, which includes and not limited to sacrificial altars (Kapkoros), ritual sites, (Kapindasim), ceremonial sites (Kaptum). They also have traditional trails and pathways that connect the various cultural, natural and sacred sites, facilitate trade and exchange, linking villages and communities, and also used for traditional sports such as village marathons.
Having interacted with each other over a long period of time, these communities also share common cultural practices, more so, as they are considered to be the main subgroups forming the Kalenjin community. For example, they all share the same age-set system (ipinda) which provides a basis for indigenous governance mechanisms, while also fostering intercultural dialogues, understanding, peacebuilding, social cohesion, and inter-generational knowledge exchange and transmission. Each clan within the various subgroups have specific sites where they conduct initiation rites. Besides the age-set, they all also share a similar traditional food (yoghurt) famously known as Mursik. Due to their extensive and close interaction with their environment, the communities identify certain plant resources that are utilized as traditional medicine.
They also have rich and diverse Intangible cultural heritage such as oral traditions and expressions including language which acts a vehicle for ICH, performing arts, social practices, rituals, and
festive events, traditional craftsmanship and knowledge and practices concerning nature and the universe, which are all vastly disappearing due to the effects of modernity and and rampant globalization. All these domains are well articulated and protected under the 2003 UNESCO conventions on Safeguarding Intangible Cultural Heritage which is ratified by Kenya. Also as a strong link between nature and conservation these communities have identity totems which includes animals and natural features/ phenomenon such as thunder, moon, sun, stars, e.t.c. They also utilise indigenous plants as traditional medicine to cure various diseases. All these aspects have enormous potential in terms of promoting the creative cultural industry for the socio-economic advancement of the region, and the Country as a whole.