The Nandi is a Kenyan ethnic group or tribe living in the highland areas of the Nandi Hills in Rift Valley Province; they form a sub-group of the Kalenjin Before British colonization, they were sedentary cattle-herders, sometimes also practicing agriculture; their settlements were more or less evenly distributed rather than being grouped into villages. Like other Nilotic peoples, they were noted warriors. They traditionally practice circumcision of both sexes as a rite of initiation into adulthood. Boys' circumcision festivals took place about every 7 and a half years, and boys circumcised at the same time are considered to belong to the same age set; like other Nilotic groups, these age sets were given names from a limited fixed cycle. About four years after this festival, the previous generation officially handed over defense of the country to the newly circumcised youths. Girls' circumcision, excising the clitoris, took place in preparation for marriage. They traditionally worship a supreme deity, Asis (literally "Sun"), as well as venerating the spirits of ancestors. They were divided into a variety of clans, each with a particular "totem" animal which its members could not eat. Their land is divided into six "counties" (emet): Wareng in the north, Masop in the east]], Soiin/Pelkut in the south, Aldai and Chesumei in the west, and Em-gwen in the center. The Orkoiyot, or medicine man, was traditionally acknowledged as an overall leader.The orgoiyot not only led in spiritual matters but also during wars as evidenced during the war between the british clonials building the railway and the Nandi worriors.The leader at the time was Koitalel Arap Samoei who was brutally murdered by a british Solidier.The nandi are known for there couragous and swiftness.The Arabs in trying to get slaves passed through their land and they were all killed. Viewed historically or developmentally, a tribe consists of a social formation existing before the development of, or outside of, states. ... Rift Valley is the largest and one of the most economically vibrant provinces in Kenya. ... The Kalenjin is a combination of seven tribes of a Nilotic ethnic group or tribe living in the Great Rift Valley in western Kenya. ... Nilotic refers to a number of indigenous East African peoples originating in northeast Africa in the region of the Nile River. ... Circumcision is the removal of some or all of the prepuce (foreskin). ... In anthropology, an age set is a social category or corporate social group, consisting of people of similar age, who have a common identity, maintain close ties over a prolonged period, and together pass through a series of age-related statuses. ... A womans clitoris extends from the visible portion to a point below the pubic bone. ... A totem is any natural or supernatural object, being or animal which has personal symbolic meaning to an individual and to whose phenomena and energy one feels closely associated with during ones life. ...

See also

• Rulers of the Nandi
• Terik people

List of Rulers of the Nandi (Kenya) (Dates in italics indicate de facto continuation of office) The Orkoiyois originated as chief ritual leaders, later emerging as leaders exercising both political and military authority. ... The Terik people are a Kalenjin tribe inhabiting parts of the Kakamega and Nandi Districts of western Kenya, numbering about 120 000 people. ...

Bibliography

• A. C. Hollis. The Nandi: Their Language and Folklore. Clarendon Press: Oxford 1909.