Journal of African Cultural Studies Vol. 21, No.

2, December 2009, 145 158

The concept of heroism in Samburu moran ethos

Peter Wasamba
University of Nairobi, Kenya The tenacity of the Samburu to tradition has interested anthropologists and missionaries for decades. One of the enduring aspects of the Samburu tradition is the institution of moran young Samburu men admitted into warrior-hood upon circumcision. In this paper, I argue that the title of moran is a metaphor for heroism due to the military and aesthetic exploits morans are famed for. Basing my analysis on the data gathered during eldwork in the community between 2004 and 2008, I interrogate the concept of heroism in the Samburu moran ethos. I contend that though threatened with modernity, moranism is still a coveted institution among the Samburu that promotes comradeship, self-esteem, courage, strength, perseverance, self sacrice and adventurism in young men. Finally, I argue that, in spite of the challenges it is facing, moranism still remains the foundation on which the pride of the Samburu community is grounded. Young boys are looking forward to the day they will join the prestigious club of morans. Though traditional moranism celebrates war-like activities, the roles are changing because of modernization. The future of moranism among the Samburu, therefore, lies in maintaining a delicate balance between cultural pragmatism and nostalgic attachment to the heroic past. Herein lies the changing concept of heroism in Samburu folklore.

1.

Introduction

This paper examines the concept of heroism as addressed in moran narratives of the Samburu people of Kenya. In order to provide a context for the paper, the following section explores briey the origin, values, language and social organization of the Samburu. Section 3 then outlines the research methodology employed and briey discusses the process of sampling, interviewing, recording, transcription, translation and analysis of the data on which the ndings in this paper are based. In the main part of the paper, I introduce the Samburu concept of moran and discuss the local understanding of moran ethos and analyze selected narratives to interrogate the concept of heroism. Furthermore, I assess womens role in the moran narratives and show how the narratives question Samburu womens assumed docility to reveal their suppressed heroic qualities. Then I discuss some of the narrative techniques employed by artists to imbue the performances with aesthetic appeal and meaning. Finally, I briey survey the future of moranism in Samburu society before summarizing research ndings and presenting the conclusion.

2.

Context

This paper interrogates the institution of moran as reected in oral narratives, and shows that it refers to a heroic age-group of young men who are proud, courageous, war-like and heir to the Samburu tradition. The term moran is used by Maasai and Samburu in Kenya to refer to young men who have graduated from boyhood into warrior-hood after circumcision, and whose prime

Email: pwasamba@googlemail.com

ISSN 1369-6815 print/ISSN 1469-9346 online # 2009 Journal of African Cultural Studies DOI: 10.1080/13696810903259343 http://www.informaworld.com

146 Peter Wasamba duty is to protect the society from external aggression. Previous studies have addressed the culture of the Samburu, including Spencer (1965, 2003, 2004), Da Ross et al. (2000) and Mote (2004). The interests of these writers are as diverse as their backgrounds, ranging from evangelical, anthropological, literary to commercial interests. Spencer, more than any other scholar, has conducted research among the Samburu spanning three decades resulting into three groundbreaking publications on Samburu and Maasai folklore. Despite the diverse interests mentioned above, there has been no multi-disciplinary approach to the study of the moran ethos in Samburu. This paper opens up the moran institution to scrutiny from a literary perspective by analyzing oral narratives of the Samburu. Apart from the recorded performances, the study also relies on information collected through interviews and review of literature on moranism among the Samburu. Oral literature, as a verbal artistic expression, is a reection of life in society. It mirrors societies achievements and challenges as they struggle to maintain cultural balance in a constantly changing environment. It is in this regard that this paper examines the selected oral narratives of the Samburu together with the recorded interviews to assess the societys treatment of the theme of heroism. Moran is the heroic age-group in Samburu. Lurumpan Loolkokoyo (interview, 16 March 2005, see References section a) asserts that the institution of moranism is the heart-beat of the Samburu society. It plays a big role in the life of any Samburu man or woman, young or old, literate or illiterate. Though moranism is the fulcrum where the heroic past of the Samburu is linked to its uncertain future, its survival in a changing society has not been examined. Since literature reects society with its values, institutions, philosophy and history, the study of the concept of heroism in Samburu moran narratives is timely (Mote 2004, 23). Before presenting the analysis of heroism in Samburu narratives, it is important to outline the context in which the moran institution exists. The Samburu are nomadic pastoralists of the Olmaa or Maa speaking group comprising of the Maasai, Njemps and Samburu (Kipury 1983, 1). Samburu inhabit Samburu district, which lies in the semi-arid and arid parts of Kenya. The district borders Turkana to the North, Borana, Rendille and Somali to the East and Pokot to the West (Herlocker 2000, 96). According to Lekarikai (interview, 7 June 2006), the Samburu are a proud pastoral people who value elegance, courage and nkanyit. Although all the values mentioned are important, the social value that is the most esteemed is nkanyit, which refers to a passionate sense of self-respect, fearless defence of ones dignity, honour, duty and decency. Nkanyit is expected from any mature Samburu person, especially the morans. Spencer, quoting a Samburu elder reports that:
Nkanyit is a wonderful thing. . ..When the other elders see that a man has nkanyit, they all respect him (keanyil), for his heart and his stomach are good.. . .He may not be rich. He may not be a skilled debater. But he is a worthy man, and no one will curse him. God (Nkai) likes nkanyit (Spencer 1965: 135).

Indeed, the moran ethos is meant to inculcate the values of nkanyit in young men. Myth has it that the rst man Samburi descended from heaven at Malalua, a perennial spring located in the Leroki plateau in what is now known as Kisima sub-location (Mote 2004, 1). The life of the Samburu people, like other nomadic pastoralist communities, revolves around cattle keeping. The society demands that morans not only protect their cattle, but also bring many more from the neighbouring communities through armed raids. According to the Samburu, other communities should not own cattle since all cattle were given to them by god. For this and other socio-economic reasons, raiding other communities is not associated with guilt. Raiding successfully is an economic activity and an act of heroism for which morans are kept, pampered and decorated. Although they present a linguistic and cultural unity, there are noticeable dialectic and cultural differences between the Samburu and Maasai (Kipury 1983, 1).

Journal of African Cultural Studies 147 Among the Olmaa speaking community, the Maasai have interacted with modernity more than the Samburu and they are often seen as overshadowing the Samburu whenever they come together (Mote 2004, 38). Kipury contends that the Samburu and other Maa sub-groups are being assimilated by the Maasai and that with time we may only have the Maasai community (Kipury 1983, 1). Interviews conducted reveal that the Samburu are conscious of the threat of domination by the Maasai and are protective of their linguistic, cultural and political space. The language of the Samburu people is called Samburu. It is a Maa language very close to the Maasai dialects. The Samburu language is also related to Turkana and Karamojong, and more distantly to Pokot and the Kalenjin languages. In normal conversation the two languages are largely mutually intelligible. I observed this during the eld work when one of my research assistants of Maasai origin reported that she did not need local assistance as she could easily communicate with the Samburu respondents in their language. This research assistant recorded, transcribed and translated the Samburu narratives and interviews without local assistance. When I shared her translated version with a Samburu eld assistant, he did not nd any major difference. Nguru (interview, 11 June 2008) observes that the two languages do not have signicant lexical differences but differ in pronunciation. Yet, the quest for hegemony by the Maasai and deant assertion of independence by the Samburu has taken a linguistic dimension. The Maasai argue that their language is superior to Samburu because the Samburu speak like their children (Nguru, interview, 11 June 2008). Though the Maasai judge the Samburu language to be imperfect, the discrepancy is only in the manner in which the Samburu articulate words, which to the Maasai is like someone learning a new language, which makes one a child in their eyes. Though ridiculed as children or people with imperfect speech, the Samburu are proud of their culture and take every opportunity available to assert their independence from the Maasai. Mote (2004) records an incident during an oral literature performance where Apaaiya Lesilele, a Samburu elder, digressed from a narrative to give explanations about the Samburu culture. When asked to explain the purpose of the intrusion he asserted that: People need to know Im narrating about the Samburu (Mote 2004, 39). Apaaiyas statement while attempting to assert Samburu cultural identity ends up conrming Kipurys assertion that all Maa speaking groups are under threat of assimilation by the Maasai. It is also worthy to note that though under the threat of linguistic assimilation by the Maasai, the Samburu have remained vibrant and are a threat to indigenous languages of the neighbouring minority communities in the region, especially, the Chamus (Njemps), Yaku of Mukogodo, the Rendille and the Ariaal, many of whom now speak Samburu (Nguru, interview, 11 June 2008). 3. Text collection

The oral narratives were collected between October 2004 and February 2007. This was a pilot study conducted in the Kisima and Kirisia Divisions of Samburu District. The study enlisted the support of two local eld assistants well versed in the Samburu language and oral literature of the community. They were natives of the area and high school teachers of English and literature. They also had a passion for research in folklore as a way of preserving the oral heritage of their community while at the same time developing their professional careers. Sampling was purposive. The criteria included gender, age and geographical representation. To corroborate the quality of artists selected by local contacts, a snowballing method was used to locate other respected artists not included in the original sample so as to ensure that there was a pool of reserve artists, in case any of those identied were unavailable. All research assistants were oral literature students from the University of Nairobi. Each research assistant was assigned an artist, but because recording a performance is a multi-task activity, research assistants operated in groups of threes. This enabled groups to benet from team synergy in recording,

148 Peter Wasamba interviewing and noting observations simultaneously. The tools used to record the performances were tape recorders, notebooks, and on few occasions, video recorders. A total of sixty-ve ngatini were recorded. The term ngatini refers to the Samburu oral narratives in general. The community values the performance of narratives because it provides education, socialization, recreation and entertainment. Telling stories, as Lathem observes, has always been a way to join people together and of bearing witness and keeping history alive (Lathem 2005, 83). Story telling is viewed further as a source of regenerating vitality in the traditional family setup. An assessment of the texts revealed that forty-three narratives touched on the moran ethos among the Samburu. This discovery inspired the second phase of the study which entailed an in-depth analysis of the concept of heroism in Samburu moran narratives. Twenty four oral narratives, balanced in terms of those in which the morans played a central role and those in which they played peripheral roles, were identied for analysis. Three follow-up visits were conducted to the eld after collecting the narratives to get additional information about some of the texts. Further information on moranism was also gained through in-depth interviews with elders, women and morans. The results are not representative of the changing roles of morans in the entire Samburu society because the sample taken was small and not representative in terms of geographical coverage and population. Nevertheless, the ndings offer strong indicators about the dynamics of the moran institution as reected in oral performances, interviews and the narratives. The texts were transcribed word-for-word by local assistants competent in the Samburu language and translated from Samburu/Kiswahili to English by the transcribers in consultation with research assistants. As opposed to the literal transcription, translation of the texts was purely functional with the primary focus on content and style, in order to convey meaning rather than structure. It should be noted that the recorded performances in their translation have left out important aspects of the performances: The various body movements, tonal variations, facial expressions and dances which energized the performances as well as the interjections by inspired members of the audience can only be viewed in the video recordings. 4. Heroism in the Samburu moran ethos

The Samburu community denes a moran based on age group and rite of passage. The morans are the young unmarried men who would at one time have been the warriors of the tribe (Spencer 1965, ixx). Young men graduate into morans after being circumcised. The hallmark of moranism is solidarity. The institution instils in young men a bond of comradeship. They are supposed to stay together, eat in a group, raid in a group and also suffer together. It ensures unquestionable loyalty to the group. Newly circumcised Samburu morans, like their Maasai counterparts, must stick together. Through close association with, and imitation of the elders, the warriors learn and acquire additional skills such as the use of proverbs and the art of oratory. They also learn the meaning of cooperation, unity and sharing from their peers (Kipury 1983, 8). Morans are not allowed to eat food cooked by women for eleven years, they must be good in humming and dancing and must spend most of their time in the forest together braiding and painting their hair with red ochre. After serving ve years as junior morans, the group goes through a naming ceremony and graduates into senior morans in which they stay for six years. After eleven years of seclusion, the senior morans are free to marry and join the class of married men known as junior elders. The Samburu morans are often tall, athletic and are amboyantly dressed. The most captivating sight in Samburu is the red ochre-plaited hairstyle of the morans, bravado, springysteps and heroic dance style of jumping high up amid intense heroic humming, known as Ngukori. Based on their appearance and behaviour, morans are often seen as symbols of

Journal of African Cultural Studies 149 valour and elegance, valued by women, community members and visitors. This is vividly described by Spencer:
Moranhood is understood by everyone to be period of health, vitality, close fellowship, freedom and fearlessness, and the elders admire the moran as much as anyone else. It is the prime of life before the cares of building up a family and a herd takes their toll of a mans health. With elderhood, men lose their ne looks, their close fellowship and their freedom. They regard their physical decline with sorrow (Spencer 1965, 143).

The Samburu community, as Spencer observes, holds morans in high esteem and accords them several privileges to make them as comfortable as possible. They are regarded as free to carry out their wishes without any objection from elders. For example, morans travel extensively outside the community and are free to plan and conduct raids for animals or just to demonstrate their prowess. They are also seen as being at liberty to have permissive sex with young girls, although they are not allowed to marry these girls, because it is assumed that in many cases, the girlfriends are cousins. Consequently, the girls are also not expected to conceive from such relationships since it is said to be a curse to do so. This practice is gradually becoming obsolete because of the increasing awareness of childrens rights, promotion of education of girl children in pastoralist communities and the legislation that protects the girl child from sexual abuse or exploitation. Nevertheless, I observed during eldwork that due to ignorance, poverty, marginalization and social exclusion, girls are still submissive to morans because the institution gives them recognition in an environment that accords them no opportunity for advancement. It is important to point out that moran narratives cannot be understood properly outside the context of the performances that generated them, and also that a description of the moran ethos cannot be based on artistic performances alone. The analysis presented in this paper recognizes that the theme of heroism in Samburu moran narratives, actual performances of the texts and lived experiences of moranism are inseparable. Though the moran narratives themselves certainly illuminate the theme of heroism in the community, it is the individual performer who has experienced moranism, who exploits all the elements available to her/him to create a clear meaning of what it means to be a moran in a changing society. The dialectical relationship between theme, performance and society is discussed in more detail in Westley (1986, 181). It is equally difcult to discuss moranism among the Samburu without examining the concepts of gender and heroism. The Samburu moran ethos celebrates exceptional degrees of courage, strength, perseverance, self sacrice and agility exhibited by warriors. These heroic qualities exalt moranism above any other institution in the society. They also make moranism relevant to the tasks assigned to morans by the society such as herding cattle, protecting the society from enemies, raiding other communities for wealth and training as cultural ambassadors and future elders of the community. This explains why moran characters in Samburu oral narratives are, in many cases, depicted as heroes. 4.1 Morans as symbols of heroism A summary of selected narratives reveal the centrality of moranism in Samburu ethos. Morans afrm their heroic status by protecting members of society together with their livestock from external aggression. The narrative Daughter of Nayangu (N001, see References section b), for instance, celebrates the role of Samburu morans as protectors and rescuers of members of society. A beautiful Samburu girl, Nayangu falls prey to an ogre who presents itself as a handsome moran ready to marry her. Nayangu abandons her moran lover who has gone for a raid and elopes with the handsome moran only to discover that her husband is an ogre. Faced with death in the forest, she desperately cries for help. The morans kill the ogre and rescue the girl. In An Eight-Headed Ogre (N008), morans once again rescue the villagers by killing an eight-headed

150 Peter Wasamba ogre that has been causing terror. The society is able to live happily and herd their animals in lush pastures formerly occupied by the ogre. Similar exploits are captured in Morans go for Raids (N021) where morans eliminate an ogre that is enticing and killing morans whenever they are out on raiding expeditions. To highlight the heroic exploits of morans, the narratives reveal that the society is faced with mysterious challenges posed by monsters that only morans with their discipline, energy, solidarity and military skills can handle. Morans constantly live in the shadow of death due to their aggressive raids, which often cause retaliatory expeditions by the aggrieved communities. Moran ethos encourages sacrice as a heroic undertaking. This is driven by the belief that heroism arises not from the process of death but from the way in which one meets his death. Those who die in cattle raids or defending society are remembered as heroes as opposed to those who succumb to natural causes. Shaadum (N016), one of the epic heroes in Samburu folklore, foresees his death at the hands of a stubborn ogre and faces it with rare courage. Though a moran is expected to ght and win against an enemy, Shaadum becomes an epic hero by foreseeing his death and facing it with fortitude. Heroism, in this instance, is achieved by courageously facing death to appease the stubborn ogre. To come to terms with the certainty of death, morans participate in mock moaning before embarking on cattle raids. The other concept of heroism evident in moran narratives of the Samburu is movement. Among the Samburu, women and elders are limited by cultural inhibitions and age from travelling outside the community. Due to their youth, courage and quasi-military duties, morans remain the highly mobile members of the society, hence the journeying motif that runs across the moran narratives. A respected moran is one that has travelled widely, especially in the enemy territory, raided many settlements and brought back several heads of animals. This explains why a number of the moran narratives have a journeying motif. In the narratives Coward Warrior (N002), Loibor Osiekulai (N006), An Eight-headed Ogre (N008) and A Warrior and his Sister (N013), the journeys are undertaken by morans in search of good pastures for their animals. At times, the morans are accompanied by their sisters in these dangerous expeditions. In A Warrior who Beaded a Girl (N007), Man-eating Lion (N009), Father take Heed (N015) and Morans go for Raids (N021), each of the journeys is an expedition to raid other communities for cattle. For instance, Sendeiyo (N009), the dreaded moran, goes on a solitary journey to hunt for and kill the man-eating lion that has denied the community access to pasture and water in the forest: At this time, Sendeiyo prepared himself thoroughly for the journey ahead of him, he carried a spear, some arrows and his rungu [a short heavy stick with a round stiff head used as a traditional weapon by Samburu men, PW]. He also carried his food which was milk and meat. Sendeiyo succeeds in annihilating the rogue lion and villagers get fresh pastures and water. 4.2. Moranism as style and theme

The predominance of morans as rescuers in Samburu ngatini points to the symbolic signicance of warrior-hood in this pastoralist society. Moranism symbolizes all that is admirable about Samburu youth. Morans are warriors detailed to defend the society, but they also represent other attributes beyond the physical defence of the community. They symbolize the archetype of a Samburu man, glory of youth, cultural emblem and style both in ordinary life and in the narrative. Even in the narratives in which morans appear briey like Daughter of Nayangu (N001), it is the same moran that is central to the actions of the other characters. The centrality of moranism in Samburu culture is also reected in the plot and characterization of the narratives. Moran characters drive the plot even when they are not physically present in the narrative. In A Warrior who Beaded a Girl (N007), even though the protagonist is depicted as a beautiful girl, a moran is behind the girls actions. It is the action of the moran of beading her (a symbol of

Journal of African Cultural Studies 151 love) that directs the action of the girl. The central position of moran in the plot of the oral narratives is symbolic of the central position of the moran in Samburu cultural identity. Morans act as a centripetal force that pulls characters, activities and ideas in the society to the centre. It can also be argued that although gerontocracy endows elders with immense power in society, nothing moves without the involvement of morans. To that extent, moranism goes beyond content to act as a powerful cohesive device in the narratives. All important actions or characters in the narratives are directly or indirectly linked to actions of morans. Nevertheless, not all Samburu morans are heroes. Just as we have respected morans, we also have cases of disgraced morans: a number of the Samburu moran narratives sampled have ogres as major characters, and they happen to be disgraced morans. 4.3. Morans as cowards

The narratives cited above, at face value, celebrate morans courage and strength. Nevertheless, a closer analysis of some of these narratives reveals a subtext that contests the prescribed interpretation of moran narratives. The subtext suggests that beneath the veneer of heroism, there is a suppressed image of Samburu morans as cowards. Some of the narratives and interviews sampled reveal cases of cowardice, greed, jealousy, and theft. In Coward Warrior (N002), the narrator ridicules a moran who encounters a lion while grazing cattle in the eld but instead of engaging the beast in a ght, as expected of a moran, he retreats into the safety of the manyatta with the lion in hot pursuit. A manyatta is a term used widely among the pastoralist communities in Kenya to refer to a settlement made up of several traditional makeshift structures. Maasai and Samburu have some of the largest manyattas in Kenya.
` g, neiribokino lngatuny, neitu apake edol lngatuny peeji etieKore eiyeita ale lmurani guret nkite n wuaki. Neipur lngatuny, nengasu aikirikira nebuaya ajo:

Aaku lngatuny dei ale? Kaayieita shaake, Wou naaduo matarata!

Kore ebuakita ale lmurani, negasu aisiodsiod, alo te siedi o metabaki ang, nejo purnas, nejig ang nengua lngatuny te aulo. As he was looking for the cow, he came across the lion for the rst time in his life. Seeing the lion, he started trembling because the lion was roaring at him. He started making noise by saying,

Is this really a lion? I have been always looking for you, So come and ght.
As he was making the noise, he was just stepping backwards towards his home. He continued to do it until he came close to where they lived. He then dashed into the home leaving the lion outside. (Coward Warrior, N002)

On learning about the episode, other morans are outraged. They beat the coward moran up and expel him from the manyatta. In Eight-headed Ogre (N008) and Man-eating Lion (N009), morans refuse to ght a terrifying giant in the forest and a man-eating lion respectively and instead, abandon their leaders so that they face the enemy alone. The betrayal is vividly captured in the Man-eating Lion:
Kore peening ale lmurani nejoito lkulie, nelo aliki nteuwuo enyenaa, nejoki ketanya lkulie lmuran erurukurukore meteyiei ilo lngatuny onyesho. Nejoki kedol lkulie atuwuana keikar, naaku keroyie alo apeny abaki tenetaraki peetum ateretu lorere.

152 Peter Wasamba

This moran on hearing the sentiments from his fellow morans, went to his parents and told them that the other morans had refused to accompany him to the forest to search for the erce lion. He further told his parents that the other morans accused him of boasting to be brave, and so he had decided to go to the forest alone even if that meant that he would meet his death. He said that if he died then it would be while trying to save his community. (Man-eating Lion, N009)

As the narrator explains above, the coward morans even ridicule their leaders who decide to go and ght the enemies alone, which is a betrayal of their mandate as custodians of security. In other cases, morans suffer from indecision. They travel very far for a raid only to retreat fearing a ferocious counter-attack. In Grey Goat (N017), morans fear raiding a manyatta that is heavily fortied. They retreat leaving their leader and his friend to accomplish the task alone: It was then that the warriors realized that they were going to Lerambashis home and they changed their minds. The brave warrior asked his best friend Laroi to accompany him (N017). Other morans collude with the enemy out of greed and fear of death as in Morans go for a Raid (N021), but it is in Loibor Osiekulai (N006) that greed among morans is condemned strongly. Loibor Osiekulai is a narrative that condemns theft by morans. It is instructive to note that among the Samburu, and other pastoralist communities in Kenya, theft of animals belonging to other communities is not criminalized. It is a sport which has high income generating potential. Stock theft is only criminalized when it is done within the community. Loibor, who is a handsome and respected moran, colludes with moran friends to steal a prize bull from his girlfriends ock. The girls persistence compels the moran boyfriend to confess the theft of the girls favourite bull. The girl stubbornly demands to know the source of Osiekulais fatness through a song:
Loibor Osiekulai Loibor Osieku Lai, Panyo eshi inya yie? Panyo eshi inya yie? Piwuana surua, Lenkop naliyio? nejo lmurani: Metoki anya, Metoki anya, Nkare ake amat, Napukorie, Naronie esiet. Neitoki ntito arany nejo: Loibor Osiekulai Loibor Osieku Lai, o nimimiki, o nimimiki, lmurani supat ntoki nitama pitowuonyi, awuana surua lenkop naliyio neroyie lmurani aliki ntito ntoki natama nejoki: Lmongo linshi anya, Lmongo linshi anya, Neipar ntito: Ati nanu aji? Ati nanu aji? nejoki lmurani: Ishur te lshurai, Loibor Osiekulai Loibor Osieku Lai, What do you usually eat? What do you usually eat? To become huge like this Like a bushbuck of a lonely bush The moran repeated: I drink water only I drink water only Sleep without food Sleep thirsty for eight days After a while, the girl sung again: Loibor Osiekulai Loibor Osieku Lai, Do not hide, do not hide, Handsome Moran Something you ate So that you became huge Huge like the bushbuck of a lonely bush. The moran honestly told the girl what had made him huge saying: I ate your bull I ate your bull The girl asked: Where was I when you took it? Where was I when you took it? The moran answered: You had sheltered under the tree

Journal of African Cultural Studies 153

Peitipitip, peitipitip. (Loibor Osiekulai, N006) The day it rained, The day it rained.

Loibor Osiekulai initially evades the question but is nally forced to confess that he ate the girlfriends favourite bull. It is ironical that the moran steals from a girlfriend that loves him so much. The use of irony makes the confession both painful and comical. Painful because a moran is supposed to bring home cattle and not steal from his own people and humorous because of the blind faith the girl had in the Loibor Osiekulais innocence. The irony, in this case, is sustained through the use of song, repetition and simile. The girls repetition of the question about Loibors source of fatness forces the moran to confess the theft of the bull. The use of the simile like a bushbuck of a lonely bush is hyperbolic. It vivies how huge the moran has become after feeding on the stolen bull. The narrative depicts the girl as courageous and persistent in pursuing the truth. She succeeds in unmasking the moran who is a thief. 4.4. Moran heroes

Our brief overview of the selected moran narratives reveals competing levels of heroism among morans: pretenders to heroism and genuine heroes. Pretenders are morans who proclaim their heroism in a group without showing much of it individually when faced with adversity. Genuine heroes, on the other hand, are the charismatic morans who espouse superior qualities of non-violence and respect for human life and property. Outwardly, the Samburu society grooms morans to be war-like while internally, they long for responsible morans who are enigmatic, visionary and humble. Heroes in Samburu narratives are found in The Moran Who Was Most Disciplined (N004), Clever Warrior (N022) and Shaadum (N016). The warrior who is most disciplined and Shaadum are the ideal images of a moran leader: strong, peaceful, humane, sacricing and visionary. This is brought out strongly in The Moran Who Was Most Disciplined. The narrator reports that:
Meirukrukore ninye lkulie, kake kengar kule o rutore. Molo abaki njore kake keyielo mbaa pooki naasai naa ninye oteeyo lkulikai te mbaa kumo abaki tenaa njore epuo lkulie, ninye eimaa. Kera larikoni eteoki ltungana nkishon. The other morans could go out, but they always came to see him. He shared milk and meals with them, but could not walk around with them. The moran leader was a kind-hearted person who hated to inict suffering on people by driving away their animals unlike the other morans. He stayed in his hut and the other morans brought him news on what was happening. Whenever a cattle raid was planned by the enemy, he got to know it in good time to warn the raiders to prepare to defend the community. This surprised everybody. His desire was to have people living at peace with one another. (The Moran Who Was Most Disciplined, N004)

The excerpt gives us the image of a moran leader who refuses to participate in raids, does not attend night dances and refuses to keep any animal that has been stolen since he hates to see other people suffer. 5. Gender and subversion of heroism in moran ethoss

Interviews analyzed in this paper suggest that the Samburu, like many African communities, are patriarchal and have low opinion of women. Lempoore (interview, 15 March 2005) contends that the society keeps women down to create space for morans and elders to shine: The morans are trained not to respect women including their mothers. Once a boy has been circumcised and

154 Peter Wasamba graduated into a moran, even his mother cannot send him or instruct him to do something. If he is annoyed, he can even beat up his mother This observation is corroborated by Kiros Leldebe (interview, 16 March 2005), a Samburu elder, who notes that Women do not have a say over what their male counterparts may decide to do concerning their lives, home and family.. . .The general welfare of women and children is the sole prerogative of men. It is therefore curious that the narratives collected reveal that Samburu women and girls challenge relegation and become poetic heroines. Through efforts of their own, women characters emerge from the shadows of social invisibility to reclaim their agency in moran narratives. In A Warrior who Beaded a Girl (N007), a moran killed in a cattle raid is traced by his girlfriend to the forest and brought back to life:
Nerany ake ana tito, nerany ake eiparu reyio lenye, neipar lmuran pooki otenangare nejokini ake mpara le siedi, nelo ake, nelo ake, neinauru, near nkure, neshalu, nelo ake aiyiaya reyie lenye le kule engutuk o motumo te angata eipiyiayie lmotony. She continued to enquire about the moran until the last group revealed to her that he was killed in one of the battles. She decided to follow her lover to the battleeld where he had fallen. She walked and walked and walked. She became thirsty, tired, lonely and weak. But still she was determined to reach the scene and see the remains of her dead moran. One day, when she was about to give up, she located his skeleton scattered in the bush. His body had long been eaten by the eagles. (A Warrior who Beaded a Girl, N007)

The same level of courage is depicted in Muge and the Ogre (N014), where a mother succeeds in killing the ogre who has kidnapped her daughter and in Father take Heed (N015), where a girl acting as a scout passes secret information to morans about an impending raid which enables them to surprise the enemy and secure the manyatta. The same level of courage and intelligence is reected in The Moran who went to the Cave (N020) where a girl successfully confronts an ogre with astonishing pride and courage: Nejo nkampit, Kaji ingua? Nejoki ntito, Lmurani lai arukrukore Nepar nkampit, Nyo eji lmurani? Lmurani laarikito, nanu ntito e Naigusa Nyo lmurani Lmurani oisula lkulie te nkirisha, nanu ntito e naigusa Te nyo eirish? kear nguesi pookin, nanu ntito e Naigusa Kejuai ngutunyi nkarna? Meipoti nkarna e yieyio tena ne nkerai, nanu ntito e Naigusa . . .. . .. . .. The giant asked, Where are you coming from? I had accompanied the Moran to the cave, the girl mumbled. What do you mean, a Moran? the giant inquired. I am under the leadership of the Moran, I the proud girl of Nangusa. What is a Moran? He is the bravest among all, I the proud girl of Nangusa. What is he brave for? He kills wild animals, I the proud girl of Nangusa. What is your mothers name? My mothers name is never mentioned as if it is a childs. I the proud girl of Nangusa. . . .. . .. . .. (The Moran who went to the Cave, N020)

Journal of African Cultural Studies 155 The girl challenges the ogre until her warrior boyfriend appears and kills the beast. These narratives reveal the suppressed interpretation of the Samburu narratives the celebration of womanhood in Samburu. The reviewed narratives defy the male characterization of women as objects and instead illuminate womens resilience, intelligence, strength and courage. Through these actions, Samburu women defy social death and reclaim agency in society. I have used social death here to refer to the existence of women under the authority of the master gure who determines the social space of the dominated and uses this master servant relationship to condition the dominated to live at the courtesy of the master (Wasamba 2001, 17). In view of the fact that story telling among the Samburu is considered womens activity, it can be argued that Samburu women have cultivated an alternative subversive ethos through the narrative genre to celebrate their heroic deeds in a society that sees no value in the female gender. 6. Songs in moran narratives

Moranism is not only a theme of warrior-hood in Samburu ngatini, it is also associated with specic stylistic devices. The artists employ various narrative techniques such as songs, repetition, irony, symbolism, satire and personication to package the message in powerful and pleasant ways. This is in line with the lifestyle of Samburu warriors. Apart from grooming, morans enjoy singing, humming and dancing and at times engage in competition to get the best artist among them. Consequently, in moran narratives, song is a predominant narrative technique. Nearly all narratives have songs within them or narrations that are song-like. Where songs are not explicit, the rendition of narratives in quick speech imbues them with song-like rhythm. The use of songs with enchanting melody, punctuated with humming accompanied with ngukori (heroic dance), lends epic quality to a standard moran narrative performance. The songs are also used to involve audience in the performance, enhance popularity of the narratives, provide opportunity for heroic display of valour and add acoustic beauty to the narratives. Songs in moran narratives also accord artists, mainly women, poetic license to address men directly and even utter words which in normal conversations they would not be allowed to say. For example in Grey Goat (N017), the girls go to greater length to persuade warriors to reveal to them where they are going to conduct raids through a song:
Lshore lai, lanyor, Lanyor naleng, Laisho kule e ngutuk, Nangarie nkige. Laisho nkupesir metowueinie Tilikaki nerita reyio. (Grey Goat, N017) My best friend, my love Who I love so much, To whom I give milk from my beautiful gourd, With whom I share my toothbrush, To whom I give the centre of my slender legs to enjoy Tell me where you are taking your group.

The line Laisho nkupesir metowueinie (to whom I give the centre of my slender legs to enjoy), can only be sung because discussing issues to do with sex in public is taboo in the community. Songs are also used in other narratives to enhance audience participation, signify change or progression of action to the next level, and communicate secret messages about security. Songs in the moran narratives are enriched and sustained through repetition and variation. Repetition is used both for aesthetic and functional purposes. A number of songs in the narratives are sung repeatedly to ensure that the audience get the intended message. The functional value is realized in the way it helps the narrator to express time and extend the plot of the narrative. Repetition accounts for the variance between performances and the transcribed narratives. The moran narratives are generally short, especially when transcribed, however, in performance the texts

156 Peter Wasamba are fairly elastic stretching for between ten to twenty-ve minutes. Oral artists extend the length of narratives through songs and repetition of episodes. The stretching or reducing the length of a narrative depends on the reason for the performance, type of audience, expectation of appreciation, mood of the artist and the social calendar at the time of the performance. 7. The metamorphosis of moranism It cannot be denied that the introduction of formal education, mobility and criminalization of cultural practices like cattle raids have affected traditional Samburu moranism. Many young men have abandoned some of the practices that were mandatory for them like staying in the forest together, taking raw blood, not eating any food cooked by women, having unrestricted access to girls they admire and raiding other communities for animals. To this extent, the oral narratives recorded reveal the resilience of traditional Samburu moranism in the era of modernization. The elders interviewed looked back to their moranic days with a deep sense of loss. They argued that in their days, morans were real morans. This nostalgia does not imply that moranism is on its deathbed. The interviews revealed that young Samburu men have devised ways of staying relevant in modern times without abandoning their prestigious role of defenders of society. The modern morans are still relied on to perform their duties as protectors of the community, but within the provisions of the laws of the land. They are absorbed in the security forces of the government as police or military personnel nationally and locally. This has made them achieve self-actualization as the protectors of the society in the new dispensation. The Samburu morans, like their Maasai brothers, are cultural ambassadors for their community and the country. Released from herding cattle due to dwindling stocks, morans travel far and wide, locally and internationally, exhibiting their colourful dresses, headgear, pride and selfcondence. Morans have also realized that education holds the key to survival, hence the increasing interest in formal education among pastoralists. A number of educated morans are professionals in various elds which accords them the prestigious status they miss in traditional moranism. A respected moran is one who is traditional and modern at the same time. He must be well educated but also conscious that moranism remains the acme of any respectable Samburu man. Community members are disturbed and excited at the same time, with the metamorphosis of moran ethos. Conservatives lament the death of moranism, while pragmatists celebrate the resilience of moranism in a changing society. 8. Findings and conclusion

This paper has interrogated the concept of heroism in Samburu moran ethos. Our analysis of the moran narratives and recorded interviews has established that, though threatened with modernity, moranism is still a coveted institution among the Samburu. The institution instils in young men a bond of comradeship that has no substitute in the modern set up. Moranhood still remains the prime of life of a young Samburu man. It is a period of good health, vitality, close fellowship, freedom and fearlessness. This explains why the Samburu moran ethos celebrates exceptional degrees of courage, strength, perseverance, self sacrice and adventurism exhibited by warriors. These heroic qualities exalt moranism above any other institution in Samburu society. They also make moranism relevant to the traditional tasks assigned to morans such as herding cattle, protecting the society from enemies, raiding other communities for wealth and training as cultural ambassadors and as future elders of the community. The study has established that even though all morans claim to be heroes, the very concept of heroism is contested with some morans not meeting their expectation. Our assessment of womens role in moran narratives has indicated that Samburu women have cultivated an alternative subversive

Journal of African Cultural Studies 157 ethos through the narrative genre to celebrate their heroic deeds in a society that sees no value in the female gender. The reviewed narratives defy the male characterization of women as objects and instead illuminate womens resilience, intelligence, strength and courage. The strategies employed by artists in the performance of moran narratives are numerous but the key one is symbolism. We have argued that the predominance of morans characters in Samburu ngatini points to the symbolic signicance of warrior-hood in this pastoralist society. The centrality of moranism in the life of Samburu is reected in the themes and style of the narratives. The role of morans in the plot of the oral narratives is symbolic of the pivotal role morans play in Samburu cultural identity. They act as a centripetal force that pulls characters, activities and ideas in the society to the centre. To that extent, moranism goes beyond content to act as a powerful cohesive device in the narratives. Other techniques used include song, repetition, irony, satire and characterization. These narrative techniques imbue the performances with aesthetic appeal and meaning. In conclusion, I argue that, in spite of the challenges it is facing, moranism is not dying; it is simply redening itself to t into a new environment. Moranism still remains the foundation on which the pride of the Samburu community is grounded. Young boys look forward to the day they will join the prestigious club of morans. Their dressing, courage and solidarity earn them respect in the eyes of the society and make them attractive to girls. The new moran is a delicate blend of the relevant aspects of traditional moranism with the demands of the cosmopolitan dispensation. This study is in no way conclusive. There is need to conduct a comprehensive multidisciplinary study of the social dynamics of the moran culture in the whole Samburu community. Such a study can, hopefully, give a clearer picture on the intricate nature of heroism among the Samburu. Acknowledgements I am very thankful to DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service) for supporting my research visit to the Asia-Africa Institute, Hamburg University, April July 2007, where data analysis resulting in this paper was done. This paper was rst presented at a seminar organized by the Asia-Africa Institute, Hamburg University, Germany on 28 June 2007. My profound gratitude goes to the University of Nairobi for supporting this study nancially and administratively. This study is part of a larger project in the Department of Literature at the University of Nairobi. In 2002, the Department of Literature embarked on a programme to strengthen research in African oral literature. This was in response to a number of factors, namely: the need to preserve indigenous knowledge forms and apply them to local development needs and train young scholars in modern ways of collecting, documenting, preserving, analyzing and disseminating oral art forms of Kenyan communities. I have been in charge of this project. For the last four years, I have managed to document oral narratives of the Digo and Duruma in Mombasa; the Luo and Luhyia in Western Kenya and Samburu of the North Rift region. I am grateful to Samburu elders Kiros Leldebe and Lurumpan Loolkokoyo, to retired chief and elder Simon Peter Lekarikei, and to Juliet Lempoore and John Nguru for granting me interviews to talk about Samburu moranism. References (a) Interviews
Lekarikai, Simon Peter, Samburu elder and retired Samburu chief, 7 June 2006 in Kisima, Maralal, Samburu. He explained to me that the Samburu are very sensitive to any attempt to treat them in a demeaning way. According to the retired chief, nkanyit does not allow them to condone any degrading treatment, especially from visitors to their community.

158 Peter Wasamba

Leldebe, Kiros, Samburu elder, 16 March 2005 in his home. His contribution provided a comparative approach to moranism in the past and moranism in a modern society. Unfortunately when I visited him in February 2007, I learnt that he had died in December 2006. Lempoore, Juliet, the rst Samburu woman to obtain a university degree, 15 March 2005 in Maralal, Samburu. She gave a deeper insight on the impact of moranism on education and gender relations in the Samburu society. She also transcribed and translated most of the original texts. Loolkokoyo, Lurumpan, Samburu elder, 16 March 2005 in Maralal, Samburu. He provided additional information on Samburu morans ethos. Nguru, John, Linguistics doctoral researcher on Samburu language at the University of Nairobi, 11 June 2008 at the University of Nairobi. The interview shed more light on the difference between the Maasai and Samburu languages.

(b) Oral Narratives and the artists (with date and place of recording)
N001: N002: N004: N006: N007: N008: N009: N013: N014: N015: N017: N020: N021: N022: Daughter of Nayangu, Kaina Letiwa, 26 October 2004, Maralal. Coward Warrior, Kaina Letiwa, 26 October 2004, Maralal. The Moran Who Was Most Disciplined, Ms. Lelit, 26 October 2004, Kisima. Loibon Osiekulai, Lempoore Jane, 16 March 2005, Maralal. A Warrior who Beaded a Girl, Lempoore Jane, 16 March 2005, Maralal. An Eight-headed Ogre, Ledise Jacob, 17 March 2005, Maralal. Man-eating Lion, Ledise Jacob, 17 March 2005, Maralal. A Warriors and his Sister, Lenareu John Hunt, 16 March 2005, Maralal. Muge and the Ogre, Reina, 18 March 2005, Maral. Father take Heed, Mama Dafra, 18 March 2005. The Grey Goat, Mama Dafra, 18 March 2005. The Moran who went to the Cave, Naitoti Lelenguiya, 12 June 2006. Morans go to Raid, Samwela Lenarongoito, 14 June 2006. A Clever Warrior, Mama Zacharia, 17 June 2006.

(c) Works cited

Da Ros, A., Virgilio Pante, and Egidio Pedenzini. 2000. Proverbi Samburu :Samburu Sayings. Bologna: Editrice Missionaria Italiana (EMI). Herlocker, L. 2000. Rangeland ecology and resource development in East Africa. Nairobi: GTZ. Kipury, Naomi. 1983. Oral literature of the Maasai. Nairobi: Heinemann Educational Books. Mote, Mugo. 2004. Symbolism in Samburu oral narratives. M.A. dissertation. University of Nairobi. Spencer, Paul. 1965 [2004]. The Samburu: A study of gerontocracy in a nomadic tribe. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul. (Reprinted with a new preface. London and New York: Routledge, 2004.). . 1988 [2004]. The Maasai of Matapato. London-New York: Routledge, (Reprinted with a new preface. London and New York: Routledge, 2004.). . 2003. Time, space and the unknown. Maasai congurations of power and providence. LondonNew York: Routledge and Kegan Paul. Wasamba, Peter. 2001. Gender perspectives in the works of Marjorie Oludhe Macgoye. PhD dissertation. University of Nairobi. Westley, D. 1986. The oral tradition and the beginnings of Hausa ction. PhD dissertation, University of Wisconsin, Madison.