The Sirikwa culture was the predominant
Kenya
)
, national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"()
, image_map =
, map_caption =
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, capital = Nairobi
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, largest_city = Nairobi
, ...
n hinterland
culture
Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups.Tyl ...
of the Pastoral Iron Age, c.2000 BP. Seen to have developed out of the
Elmenteitan culture of the
East Africa
East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territories make up Eastern Africa:
Due to the historical ...
n
Pastoral Neolithic
The Pastoral Neolithic (5000 BP - 1200 BP) refers to a period in Africa's prehistory, specifically Tanzania and Kenya, marking the beginning of food production, livestock domestication, and pottery use in the region following the Later Stone Age. ...
c.3300-1200 BP, it was followed in much of its area by the
Kalenjin Kalenjin may refer to:
* Kalenjin people
The Kalenjin are a group of tribes designated as Highland Nilotes and are descended from Maliri people ''(thus related to Daasanach of Ethiopia.)'' The Kalenjin are cousins with Datooga people of Tan ...
,
Maa, western and central Kenyan communities of the 18th and 19th centuries.
The archaeological evidence indicates that from about AD 1200, the Central Rift and Western Highlands of Kenya were relatively densely inhabited by a group (or groups) of people who practiced both cereal cultivation and pastoralism. They made occasional use of metals and created distinctive roulette-decorated pottery. These people are principally known from their characteristic settlement sites, commonly known as
'Sirikwa holes or hollows'. These comprise a shallow depression, sometimes reinforced at the edges by stone revetments, around which habitation structures were built. There are a number of indicators that the central depression was a semi-fortified cattle
boma, with people living in connected huts around the exterior.
The evidence suggests that this culture was fully formed in the central Rift Valley at least by 1300 A.D. From here it spread westward to Sotik and Nyanza province, northwards to Cherangani hills and then to Mt. Elgon area and possibly into Uganda. This way of life would decline and eventually disappear by the 18th and 19th centuries.
Etymology
The name Sirikwa derives from the name that various early informants gave to the builders of the structures today known as
Sirikwa Holes Sirikwa holes are saucer-shaped hollows found on hillsides in the western highlands of Kenya and in the elevated stretch of the central Rift Valley around Nakuru. These hollows, each having a diameter of 10–20 metres and an average depth of 2.4 me ...
.
The oral literature of the
Sengwer people
The Sengwer people (also known as Cherang'any and previously as Sekker, Siger, Sigerai, Segelai, Senguer, Senguel and Jangwel) are an indigenous community who primarily live in the Embobut forest in the western highlands of Kenya and in scattered ...
, a community that has been associated with the culture, features a patriarch named Sirikwa whose descendants occupied the Uasin Gishu pateau.
Other
Nilotic
The Nilotic peoples are people indigenous to the Nile Valley who speak Nilotic languages. They inhabit South Sudan, Sudan, Ethiopia, Uganda, Kenya, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, Burundi and Tanzania. Among these are the Burun-sp ...
and
Bantu
Bantu may refer to:
*Bantu languages, constitute the largest sub-branch of the Niger–Congo languages
*Bantu peoples, over 400 peoples of Africa speaking a Bantu language
* Bantu knots, a type of African hairstyle
*Black Association for National ...
peoples that today inhabit the eastern Great Lakes region have other names for the Sirikwa and Sirikwa-like communities. The
Dorobo
Dorobo (or ''Ndorobo'', ''Wadorobo'', ''dorobo'', ''Torobo'') is a derogatory umbrella term for several unrelated hunter-gatherer groups of Kenya and Tanzania. They comprised client groups to the Maasai and did not practice cattle pastoralism.
Et ...
refer to them as the Mokwan,
the
Meru
Meru may refer to:
Geography Kenya
* Meru, Kenya, a city in Meru County, Kenya
** Meru County, created by the merger of
*** Meru Central District
*** Meru North District
*** Meru South District
* Meru National Park, a Kenyan wildlife park
Tanza ...
as the Mwoko,
the
Kikuyu Kikuyu or Gikuyu (Gĩkũyũ) mostly refers to an ethnic group in Kenya or its associated language.
It may also refer to:
* Kikuyu people, a majority ethnic group in Kenya
*Kikuyu language, the language of Kikuyu people
*Kikuyu, Kenya, a town in Cent ...
as the Enjoe, and the
Maasai Maasai may refer to:
* Maasai people
*Maasai language
* Maasai mythology
* MAASAI (band)
See also
* Masai (disambiguation)
* Massai
Massai (also known as: Masai, Massey, Massi, Mah–sii, Massa, Wasse, Wassil or by the nickname "Big Foot" Mas ...
as the Eboratta.
Periodization
Radiocarbon dating
Radiocarbon dating (also referred to as carbon dating or carbon-14 dating) is a method for determining the age of an object containing organic material by using the properties of radiocarbon, a radioactive isotope of carbon.
The method was dev ...
of artifacts from Sirikwa sites indicates traces of a Proto-Sirikwa culture dating from c. 700 AD to c. 1200 AD and a Sirikwa Culture proper from c. 1200 AD to c. 1800 AD.
Range
Sirikwa-inhabited territory is believed to have extended from
Lake Turkana
Lake Turkana (), formerly known as Lake Rudolf, is a lake in the Kenyan Rift Valley, in northern Kenya, with its far northern end crossing into Ethiopia. It is the world's largest permanent desert lake and the world's largest alkaline lake. B ...
in the northern part of the Great Lakes region to
Lake Eyasi
Lake Eyasi (formerly german: Njarasasee, "Njarasa Lake", and ''Hohenlohesee'', "Hohenlohe Lake") is a lake located in Karatu District of Arusha Region in north Tanzania. Lake Eyasi is the largest body of water in Arusha region. It is a seasonal ...
in the south. Its cross-section stretched from the eastern escarpment of the
Great Rift Valley
The Great Rift Valley is a series of contiguous geographic trenches, approximately in total length, that runs from Lebanon in Asia to Mozambique in Southeast Africa. While the name continues in some usages, it is rarely used in geology as it i ...
to the foot of
Mount Elgon
Mount Elgon is an extinct shield volcano on the border of Uganda and Kenya, north of Kisumu and west of Kitale. The mountain's highest point, named "Wagagai", is located entirely within Uganda. . Some of the localities include Cherengany, Kapcherop, Sabwani, Sirende, Wehoya, Moi's Bridge,
Hyrax Hill
Hyrax Hill is a prehistoric site near Nakuru in the Rift Valley province of Kenya. It is a rocky spur roughly half a kilometer in length, with an elevation of 1,900 meters above sea level at its summit. The site was first discovered in 1926 by L ...
,
Lanet
Lanet is a commune in the Aude department in south-western France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Ameri ...
, Deloraine (
Rongai
Rongai is a town in Nakuru County, Kenya. It lies 30 km west of Nakuru, along the A104 Road and the railway line between Nakuru and Uganda. It is about 10 kilometres north of Elburgon and 15 kilometres east of Molo.The Rough Guide Map - Ke ...
), Tambach,
Moiben
Moiben is a settlement in Moiben Constituency, of Uasin Gishu County of Kenya's former Rift Valley Province
Rift Valley Province ( sw, Mkoa wa Bonde la Ufa) of Kenya, bordering Uganda, was one of Kenya's eight provinces, before the Kenyan ...
, Soy, Turbo, Ainabkoi, Timboroa, Kabyoyon, Namgoi and Chemangel (Sotik).
Archaeology
The archaeological evidence indicates that from about AD 1200, the Central Rift Valley and Western Highlands of Kenya were relatively densely inhabited by a group (or groups) of people who practiced both cereal cultivation and pastoralism. They made occasional use of metals and created distinctive roulette-decorated pottery. These people are however principally known from their characteristic settlement sites, known as
'Sirikwa holes or hollows'.
Numerous saucer-shaped hollows have been found in various areas on the hillsides of the western highlands of Kenya and in the elevated stretch of the central Rift Valley around Nakuru. These hollows, having a diameter of 10–20 metres and an average depth of 2.4 metres, are usually found in groups sometimes numbering less than ten and at times more than a hundred. Excavations at several examples of these sites in the western highlands and in the Nakuru area have shown that they were deliberately constructed to house livestock.
These hollows were surrounded by a fence or stockade and on the downhill side, a single gate, usually with extra works and flanking guard houses. In rocky terrain, notably the Uasin Gishu Plateau and the Elgeyo border, stone walling substituted for fencing or provided a base for the same.
[Kyule, M., The Sirikwa Economy; Further work at Site II on Hyrx Hill, 1997] At the time of the first recorded accounts during the late 18th centuries, some of the dry stone walling could still be seen though they were mostly in deteriorated state.
From the remains it is apparent that houses were not built inside the actual Sirikwa holes but were attached however and were constructed on the outer side of the fence, being approached through the stock-pen and entered through a connecting door.
These hollows are mostly covered over by grass and bush today.
The Sirikwa practiced
pastoralism
Pastoralism is a form of animal husbandry where domesticated animals (known as "livestock") are released onto large vegetated outdoor lands (pastures) for grazing, historically by nomadic people who moved around with their herds. The animal ...
. They herded
goats
The goat or domestic goat (''Capra hircus'') is a domesticated species of Caprinae, goat-antelope typically kept as livestock. It was domesticated from the wild goat (''C. aegagrus'') of Southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a membe ...
,
sheep
Sheep or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are domesticated, ruminant mammals typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus ''Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to domesticated s ...
, and
cattle
Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus ''Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult mal ...
. There is also evidence that they raised donkeys, as well as domesticated dogs. The Sirikwa focused on milk production, which is shown by the lack of lactating age cows in archaeological assemblages. Large herds of sheep and goats were kept for meat, and made up a large proportion of the Sirikwa diet.
In the
Kerio Valley
Kerio Valley lies between the Tugen Hills and the Elgeyo Escarpment in Kenya. It sits at an elevation of 1,000 meters in the Great Rift Valley, Kenya, Great Rift Valley.
Geography
The isolated Kerio Valley is situated in a narrow, long strip that ...
of
Kenya
)
, national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"()
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, image_map2 =
, capital = Nairobi
, coordinates =
, largest_city = Nairobi
, ...
, among other neighboring areas, there are vestiges of elaborate irrigation systems.
At one site six coins were found at a depth of between 45 cm and 50 cm (except one) and have been dated to between about 60 and 500 years old. These coins (three of them copper and three of silver) are all of Indian origin and are believed to have come from the Gulf of Kutch. Two of them, a rupee and an anna, had some inscriptions in English while the rest were inscribed with an Indian language.
Cup like holes pecked into the rocks in two rows are found in a number of places around
Hyrax hill
Hyrax Hill is a prehistoric site near Nakuru in the Rift Valley province of Kenya. It is a rocky spur roughly half a kilometer in length, with an elevation of 1,900 meters above sea level at its summit. The site was first discovered in 1926 by L ...
and were used to play bao.
Bao is a game of skill played in diverse places, from the Far East and Arab world to Africa and the Caribbean. There are a number of these "bao boards" around the hill and some are exposed for public view.
[Kyule, David M., 1989, Economy and subsistence of iron age Sirikwa Culture at Hyrax Hill, Nakuru: a zooarcheaological approach p. 8]
See also
*
Chemwal people The Chemwal (also Chemwel, Il-Tengwal, Jangwel, Senguel, Senguer) people were a Kalenjin-speaking society that inhabited regions of western and north-western Kenya as well as the regions around Mount Elgon at various times through to the late 19th c ...
*
Loikop people
*
Chok people The Chok were a society that lived on the Elgeyo Escarpment in Kenya.
Etymology
It is noted that the old men living in Pokot County, Pokot during the early 20th century were unanimous in declaring that;
Territory
Their territory was "on the Elge ...
*
Sengwer people
The Sengwer people (also known as Cherang'any and previously as Sekker, Siger, Sigerai, Segelai, Senguer, Senguel and Jangwel) are an indigenous community who primarily live in the Embobut forest in the western highlands of Kenya and in scattered ...
*
Maliri people
The Maliri were a people, recalled by various communities in Kenya and Uganda today, that inhabited regions on the north east of and north west borders of Uganda and Kenya respectively and later spread to regions in southern Ethiopia.
Origins
The ...
*
Lumbwa people The Lumbwa (also Lumbua, Umpua, Humba and Wakwavi) were a Pastoralism, pastoral community which inhabited southern Kenya and northern Tanzania. The term ''Lumbwa'' has variously referred to a Kalenjin-speaking community, portions of the Maasai langu ...
*
Oropom people
*
Yaaku people The Yaaku are a people who are said to have lived in regions of southern Ethiopia and central Kenya, possibly through to the 18th century. The language they spoke is today called Yaakunte. The Yaaku assimilated a hunter-gathering population, whom t ...
References
{{Reflist
Archaeological sites in Kenya
Archaeology of Eastern Africa