Grupos de estudio e instrumentos en la etapa de diseño e intervención

Similarly among the Samburu, raids occurred for various purposes. It was a social-cultural and economic activity among the Samburu people (Kaimba 2011; IRIN News 2014; KHRC 2010). The Samburu are also motivated to raid to protect their pastures from intrusion by other groups (Mutsotso 2013; KHRC 2010; Osamba 2000). As with the Turkana, the Samburu also engage in raids for revenge purposes (SCCRR 2013). Further revenge raids may be conducted to draw even over battles lost in the past36. Raids are first organized before they are conducted to make them successful. There is no limited or specific number of people required to conduct a given raid but the number can vary depending on the motivations for the raid and its type. The Samburu classify raids in two broad categories: Lwuampa and Njore. Similar categorisations have been recorded by Masuda (2009) in his study of the Banna of Ethiopia. Lwuampa is a raid organized by a small number of warriors ranging between four and twelve. Normally an even number is preferred since it’s believed to have a high probability of success based on past experiences. The prime purpose of Lwuampa is to steal from the enemies without engaging in a gun battle unless the raiders are identified by the enemies either before stealing the animals or when caught during recovery of stolen animals. In this raid, minimal or no destruction is done to the enemies except confiscating a small number of livestock from them, which are then driven away stealthily. In any case rituals are performed before the occurrence of any raid. These include blessings from elders, girls and preferably from a blessing specialist traditionally called ‘Lais’ or ‘Lamayianani’. A Lamayianani often hails from a family known to have been naturally endowed with powers to provide blessings. In most cases nowadays, the warriors may seek the blessings secretly from a Lamayianani without the knowledge of other elders.

Njore is a raid comprising of not less than 50 armed people and has no maximum limits. It’s normally a well-organized raid whose planning and organization can take up to a whole month

36 _{For instance the 1}st _{Lokorkor massacre of the Samburu by the Turkana in 1969 and the 2}nd _{Lokorkor massacre}

57 and a minimum of two weeks. Njore mostly takes place as a response to an immediate situation, these can be seen in terms of revenge raids or politically organised raids in which various vested interests of raiders and other actors are galvanized around ethnic identity and warriorhood. The occurrence of a Njore is therefore a consequence of effective mobilisation and planning by the warriors and those who support them. The imminence of Njore in Baragoi town is often noticeable. Morans can be seen purchasing large amounts of food in the shops; many morans can be seen roaming the town in the evenings and at night (NPS 2013). The planning of Njore requires series of meetings to lay appropriate strategies that will ensure the defeat of the targeted enemies. These meetings are usually stage managed/ masterminded by a ‘laigwanani’ (an orator). A Laigwanani is a vastly experienced retired moran most often a junior elder with an excellent track record in planning, organizing and successfully commanding raiders. During these meetings, the prospective raiders are motivated through war songs. They can also be rebuked to make the cowards and undecided lot make informed decisions in regard to the raid. Those who show any form of cowardice and those perceived to be unfit to participate in the raid as a result of cultural considerations are eliminated from the njore at this point.

Moreover, before a final move to launch an attack, a secret perambulation is done in the area to be attacked by a minimum of two and a maximum of four people selectively and categorically chosen. Those chosen must be courageous warriors with a well proven track record in successful spying on enemy territories. The core reason sending the spies are to gain clear knowledge of the terrain and the targeted area of attack. They are expected to achieve the following; to fully understand the terrain, identify the access routes, they should also identify the well-guarded routes, the approximate guns possessed by the enemies and establish the levels of alertness amongst enemy ranks. This exercise takes around a week depending on the time taken to fully gather the information. After such extensive arrangements, with well laid strategies, the raid is then conducted usually at dawn between 4-5 am or before sunset at around 5pm or 6pm. If the raid turns successful, massive looting is usually done and a maximum number of livestock are confiscated. Among the Samburu, successful raids are also marked by songs by the morans. War songs among the Samburu aim to instill bravery among the warriors and to promote the war discourse as a necessity to correct past wrongs. War songs therefore form part of the socialization narratives that children are inculcated in from an early age. Warriors sing these

58 songs to convey their victory over the common enemy and the ability of the warrior as an individual to contribute towards the required collective effort of the community to stand up and be counted as a defender of the community against the common ‘enemy’. As Spencer (1965) noted, the Samburu warriors invoke the names of their fathers during some of these victory songs to show the high honor and family pride that taking part in war bestows upon the individual warrior but also to the afore mentioned father. War songs therefore present narratives of dehumanisation of the enemy and legitimization of the acts violence as heroic and for the common good of the community.

A famous song after Samburu raids is called Lkushorodo [a Samburu War Song] Wooyio wooyio

Woooo Woooh[eeeh] Nturukunya yieyio wo papa

Lmuran wootuata alimu [chorus] Kobore lmuran wotua nkalup Wo lpisiai woti ntomoni [chorus] Supuko loo lkuume

Kirishakita mperia wuanata [chorus] Yabayie nkishuang’ youreisho

Kira nkera napoypoy [chorus] Kore payee abulu nang’enu kore naigutie lowuoru lebata neigutie lowuoru lesoro naitoki aigutie lepere Meibai ntae kule

Kulo kishami lemong’or Lmuran woong’or ntoyie Nomongor mparakuo Lmeirishi lenaasakalai Nkejek yeishirakini Nyoshi natii ale owuo Loturia laing’ok yedir Kedir ltipilit nkong’u Loomoidio lemekwet

Wooyio wooyio Wooo Wooo (eeeh)

Exercise perseverance you mum and dad as I announce to you the dead warriors the number of dead warriors

exceeds a thousand [chorus]

The Turkana homesteads we have raided With our superior weapons [chorus]

The last time our community [cattle and children] was living In fear of adversaries was while we were young children, After we grew up and developed bravery,

We scared away the wild animal and

The ill-motivated human beings [enemies] [chorus]

May the curse be cast upon you all those who drank the milk of this cattle [livestock]

And yet you fail to assume your responsibility of protecting the community [livestock and children]

Instead, you fight over girls rather than fighting to ensure protection of the community, [chorus]

My much treasured cattle, now that you have decided to side with me, lets run away from these village of cowards which have failed. [Chorus]The renowned brave proverbial warrior [Lenaasakale] the community depends on and yearns for your protection against the enemies.

59 This song also shows the way in which victory in war is celebrated as a familial and communal feat. A victorious warrior is seen as a ‘real’ son of his parents and the parents take great pride in identifying with his victory in cattle raids. This song also implies that victory in war is not only seen in joy at the present time but also as a means of avenging past wrongs which the warriors were informed of as children, thus violence is seen to be linked with a peoples past, present and their future aspirations (Galaty 2016). The socialization of warriors into narratives of war therefore emphasizes the need to avenge past defeats as a way of inculcating violent action as a legitimate means of correcting past wrongs (Wood 2007). The killing of the ‘enemy’ does not end the enmity, the mutilation and desecration of the enemy is seen to fulfill the real meaning of victory. Violence is therefore not only just a means of defeating the enemy but a means of dehumanizing and debasing a human being to distinguish ‘them’ from ‘us’ (Tablino 2006). This song therefore seeks to instill group ethos among the warriors as those charged with security of the community. It identifies the enemy and dictates how to relate with the enemy.

3.5 Conclusion

The practice of cattle raiding among pastoralists in Eastern Africa fulfills political, social and economic functions in these societies. Organisation of raids among the Samburu and Turkana of Baragoi reveals the participation of various key stakeholders in the processes of violence preparation among these groups. The practice of raiding is not just aimed at the acquisition of livestock from neighbouring groups but rather to build internal cohesion among a group of warriors and also to unite the community behind the warriors through events that seek to appreciate and display certain societal values such as ferociousness and other leadership skills deemed critical for success in raids against enemy communities. The practice of raiding therefore not only brings prestige to successful raiders and enables them to acquire cattle to pay bridewealth; it also raises their stature as leaders among their peers and in the eyes of the larger society. Successful raiders (and killers of the enemy) among the Samburu wear copper bracelets to signify their achievements at war.

Socialization into violence among new age-sets starts by the strangling of an ox with bare hands as a display of braveness among the Samburu. In many cases, revenge raids are justified through songs, this shows that every day narratives of raids lost and those won play a big role in

60 inculcating into young boys their future roles as defenders of their communities for past injustices through revenge raids. Even though the practice has changed over time, this chapter shows that culture plays a big role in the organisation of violence as evidenced by similarities portayed in my study among the Samburu and Turkana of Baragoi and those of Bollig (1990) among the Pokot of Baringo, Northern Kenya and Knighton (2007) among the Karamojong of Uganda.

61

Approaches to the Phenomenon of Violence

4.0 Introduction

This chapter provides the theoretical foundations of violence among the Samburu and Turkana of Baragoi who inhabit Samburu North sub-County in Northwestern Kenya. In this chapter, I base my social and cultural analysis of the phenomenon of violence by making the following conceptual assumptions; that violence is strategic action aimed at achieving well planned ends. My analysis of violence among pastoralists in Baragoi is based on the premise that it is beneficial to the communities involved; it is a transaction that utilises the patron-client networks that exists locally and these are exercised to bring positive returns to key actors on both sides of ethnic divide. Turkana and Samburu warriors, ammunition sellers and gun traders involved know and ‘trust’ each other enough to enable the trade in arms and ammunition in spite of the ‘traditional’ enmity and contempt with which these two groups treat each other. I analyse violence as a power contest exercise; the use of violence is aimed at gaining power or asserting the power and hegemony of one community or group of warriors as a collective over the other at any particular moment. Chance of occurrence of violence between groups of herders’ or between a herder and an individual passerby is based on place-identity; how one is identified during periods of heightened violence determines whether they are attacked or not.

Violent acts between herders have meanings. The gorging of the eyes and cutting of limbs of captured raiders by their ‘enemies’ or the collection of genital trophies by the Samburu, cannot simply be ignored, these actions that mutilate the bodies of fallen raiders must draw deeper interpretations and meanings. The culture of raiding and how it legitimizes violent action and behavior among the warrior age-sets among the Samburu and Turkana is also looked into. The central role of revenge in the production and reproduction of violence among the Samburu and Turkana is used in this chapter to draw theoretical meanings of violence in this thesis. Further, the state plays a prominent role in the production and reproduction of violent relations between itself on the one hand and the Samburu and Turkana groups on the other. My analysis of violence in Baragoi further looks into how acts of revenge through raids and torching of manyattas reproduce enmity between the Samburu and Turkana that further fans the violence. In my

62 analysis of the socio-political interactions of day to day life of the Samburu and Turkana of Baragoi, violence is seen as a resource used to negotiate inter-ethnic relations of power, to cement in-group relations and to precipitate social change from time to time.

The choice of these dimensions of violence is informed by the nature of pastoralists’ violence as observed among the Turkana and Samburu of Baragoi. I analyse violence among pastoralists in Baragoi as a social process given the history of the Turkana and Samburu and how violence between the groups have transformed their relations since 1911. In looking at violence as strategic action, I focus on logistical support that propels violence as well as actors and interests that buttress processes of collective violence. By focusing on the communicative role of pastoralists’ violence, I am informed by my own observations of the symbolism of violence among the Samburu and Turkana and how symbolic acts are interpreted culturally to communicate imminence of violence. Further I focus on the transactions that underlie pastoralists’ violence among the Samburu and Turkana to emphasize the agency of actors in the value chain of the business of violence. By focusing on violence as power relations, my aim is to situate power in the different forms of violence such as raids, highway banditries and attack on women. Similarly, contests over social and physical spaces of pastoral productions are also viewed as power contests over productive spheres of pastoralists’ economy. The focus on culture is critical as it is the basis of socialization for power contests. Culture is vital in understanding violence socialization and how it impacts on narratives that inform future acts of violence. Lastly, I focus on revenge as ‘cog in the wheel’ of pastoralists’ violence. As one of the key motivations for pastoralists violence revenge enables our understanding of violence as a political process.