The Ilchamus (sometimes spelled Iltiamus, also known as Njemps), are a Maa-speaking people living south and southeast of Lake Baringo, Kenya. They number 40.500 people (Peoplegroups.org, 2024) and are closely related to the Samburu living more to the north-east in the Rift Valley Province They are said to be the smallest ethnic group in Kenya.
Their language is one of the Eastern Nilotic Maa languages, closely related to the Samburu language (between 89% and 94% lexical similarity), to the point of it being considered a Samburu dialect by some. Together, Samburu and Ilchamus form the northern division of the Maa languages.
In their oral traditions, the Ilchamus economy underwent a succession of elaborations: from foraging and fishing to a sophisticated system of irrigation, and then this was mixed with pastoralism under the influence of Samburu immigrants and neighbouring Maasai. These changes involved a series of embellishments in their culture and social organization. However, this evolving system did not survive the challenges of the capitalist economy in post-colonial Kenya, leading to a more polarized society with diminishing prospects for the majority of Ilchamus.
Ilchamus arrived in earlier than all other residents of Baringo South around the shores of mparingo. Which later scholars from Germany who first colonized one Ilchamus Lekeper manyatta registered the mparingo "Lake Baringo" due to pronunciation error. So Baringo county is from the Root word mparingo. On arrival ilchamus occupied areas around mparingo. "Lake Baringo". Cradle land is Laikipia which was the dispersal area after then mass movement of the maasai under Lenana the "Loibon" ...lhoiboni. Ilchamus is one of the sub-dialectical groups found among the maa speaking communities of Kenya and Tanzania in East Africa. Other dialectical groups are Ilpurko, Lkieek onyokie, Lkaputei, Lmatapalo, Lkisonko, Larusa of Tanzania, Sambur of maralal, Lmomonyot and Ldikirri of Laikipia. On arrival on the shores of mparingo "Lake Baringo", Ilchamus settled around doing fishing activity and anting only to spread out latter to their respective manyattas of melwat and wasu Nanyokie Ilchamus le keper. "Sokon" the only original true Ilchamus dialectical group is ILKEROI; these are few families which have attached themselves to the following hosts:
The rest of Ilkeroi fled to become Sabaot or Elgon Maasai around mt. Elgon through kapchomus near Osen highland of Baringo.
Camus or Chamus (autonym: il-Chamus) is classified under the Maa languages in the Eastern Nilotic language branch. It is closely related to the Samburu language (between 89% and 94% lexical similarity), to the point of being considered a Samburu dialect by some. Together, Samburu and il-Chamus form the northern division of the Maa languages.
The peoples who speak nilotic languages constituted the second largest population group in Kenya at the end of the 20th century. The first nilotic speakers moved to Kenya from the north, probably at the beginning of the first millennium of our era. However, most of the languages that constitute this group arrived in Kenya during the second millennium. Linguistics classifies them between groups: rivers and lakes (or western), high (or central) lands and plains (or oriental). The Western group is formed by Luo communities, this language was brought west of Kenya by Uganda immigrants, probably at the end of the fifteenth century. The nilotic speech group of the highlands that came to reside in Keny Ethnic known as Masái, Teso, Turkana, Samburu and Njemps.
Traditionally the family was the smallest social unit among the Njemps. All family members had different roles to play. Men would normally fish, farm, hunt, herd and protect the whole community. Women, on the other hand, would take care of the children and the homestead, and make pots for their own use. Children would help their parents with domestic chores.
The Njemps have long practiced farming and fishing. They keep small herds of cattle, goats and sheep. They also gather honey from large tree trunks. Men traditionally also engaged in hunting game, to supplement their diet, but hunting is illegal in Kenya today.
Fishing: They built canoes known as "Kaldich", made with amber wood and united with Sisal Silvestre (Rapai) strings. The men sat these light pieces and used two oars of kaemai wood to move the canoe in Lake Baringo, where they fished.
Agriculture and irrigation: with wood hoe, they dug into the land on Lake Baringo. Lands that are usually dry and do not have periodic rains, so they developed an irrigation system that allowed them to support their agriculture.
Honey collection: used to feed or as raw material to make beer, honey collection was an important activity of the NJEMP economy. It was stored in wooden barrels covered with cow leather and subjects with twist belts.
Hunting: In addition to the spears with spikes, the njemps used a club (Eng'udi), made of Salabani wood, which was carved with a panga and a razor. They threw themselves into the legs of the animals to leave them on the floor.
Livestock: They practice a semi-harvest cattle.
The Njemps share many cultural traits with other Maa-speaking communities, especially in their mode of dressing. They make clothes and ornaments from leather, beads, brass and copper among other items. Different clothes and ornaments are worn to indicate status among members of the community.
Sura: The njemps place some wooden hoops made of tazkeil wood to young children. At six years of age (Libatin Awari), the lobes of the ears are cut and the plugs were inserted into the central space left by the hoop.
Oichonyi Onkiya: Hunted women look a couple of very colorful accounts sewn in leather and placed in each ear lobe. Copper pending: also traditional are manufactured by the Njemps blacksmiths. In the case of male earrings, they can be turned copper threads on an iron bar.
Olekesena: It is a skirt with rhinestones made with goat or cow skin. The beads decorate the piece. Women used to built them with goat's skin. They softened with sheep fat mixed with red ocher.Beaded skirt. The skirt (Olekesena) is decorated with beads. Women would scrape off the hair from the goat skin and make it supple by rubbing sheep fat mixed with red ochre. Then colorful beads would be sown on. It is worn by women.
Nkamuka: Sandals of leather vaccine with double sole and a roll of cow skin on the straps as a decoration. They were built by work but also used women.
Most of the NJEMPS retain their traditional beliefs and rites, but a minority participates in some Christian confession after the arrival of missionaries. Christian churches offer some teaching and medical services.
Music and chewing tobacco were popular recreation activities. This musical flute (masilingi) is made from iron obtained from used water pipes. It consists of two carefully crafted holes, shaped to help direct the passage of air to produce the desired sound. It was used and played by young men, while herding livestock, as a form of leisure.
Ilkidong: tobacco box made of a black plastic pipe with cow skin ends and a handle. The elders used it to save tobacco that chew for pleasure.
Masilingi: Musical flute made of iron obtained from used water pipes. It consists of two carefully elaborate holes, whose form helps direct the air passage to produce the desired sound. The young people used and played, while grazing cattle, as a form of leisure.
The Njemps warriors used a lion hair headdress that indicated their status within the group. Each soldier carried shield, spear and ax. They had spearheads or arrows with spikes made of iron, sticks and feathers. The men used them to hunt wild animals or as a weapon when they were attacked.
There are two theories about the origin of the njemps. One suggests that they came from a section of the Samburu people, called Il-Doigolo that separated in the mid-18th century. The other theory proposes that they are a remnant of one of the IL-OIKOP or IL-KWAVI MASÁI, who were defeated by the Ikapi Masái and were forced to move to the territories of the south and east of Lake Baringo where they passed from livestock to a sedentary agricultural culture.
Lake Baringo (168 km²) in the Rift Valley was then populated mainly by three ethnic groups, the Pokot shepherds to the north and east, also the pastors and fishermen of the njemps people to the south; and the tunish west of the lake in the hills that bear their name. The lake,
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