The People of Kenya

Kenya is made up of about 40 tribes. These are categorized into the Bantu, Nilotic and Cushitic speaking people. The biggest group is the Bantu speakers and the Kikuyu dominate the group. The Bantu originated from western Africa, the nilotic people came from Sudan and the Cushitic people came from Somalia and Ethiopia. The cushitic people are mainly pastrollists and they mostly live in the arid parts of the country. This is the northern part of Kenya.

Kikuyu make up the greater part of the population of Kenya. They are more than 21% of the entire country’s population. They occupy the fertile slopes of Mount Kenya. As a result, they are farmers. The other main tribes are the Kisii, meru. kamba. luo, luhya swahili and Masai. The smallest tribe in Kenya is the elmollo and it is being threatened by intermarriege. Soon it might not exist anymore.

Most people of Kenya are traditionally farmers, pastollists or traders. Westernization has introduced other forms of livelihood but agriculture remains the backbone of the Kenyan economy. The most famous people of Kenya are the Masaai. This is because of there culture. It is known and embraced the world over. It is a major tourist attraction in the country and it earns a substantial amount of revenue from it. The Masai artifacts and jewel are very popular especially with people from the western countries. Today the official language of the people of KENYA is English while Kiswahili is the national language. In all major towns, kiswahili is the main language used.