Kagiptai 20th Aug 2005

Notes for radio discussion by Dr. KA Sambu

Ibinweek

Calendar

Egyptian and Roman

The interval of time separating two heliacal risings of Sothis (Septit/sabait) of 1461 years
had been discovered by Egyptians by the year 4241 BC and they thus maintained a calendar of
such long periodicity (Cf. Cheikh Anta Diop, 1978:58).
The star, Sirius (Sothis, Septit) appears seasonably and is only 12 minutes shorter
than the solar year. The Egyptians divided the year into 3 seasons of 4 months , each 30
days. A week was a Dekan, for it had 10 days. So the year had 36 Dekans. The 5
intercalary days that neither belonged to the ending nor to the incoming year were spent
celebrating birthdays of the “gods”.
The day was counted from sunrise till the ne xt sunrise. New month began after
the early morning disappearance of the old moon.

Julius Ceaser invited Sosigenes from Alexandria to design a calendar for him.
Sosigenes suggested the Egyptian tropical calendar, the solar year, which was tropical. Its
length is 365¼ days. So the universal calendar that we follow today is essentially of
ancient Egyptian origin.

But the old Roman names for months were largely retained. Ceasa r, however, had the
senate re-baptise the Roman month of Quintilis Julius after himself. His successor,
Augustus , had the month of Sextilis named after himself.

Constantine I of 4 th Cent AD introduced the 7-day week, 4-week month . Prior

to this the Roman month had no weeks, the days being marked by the nature of business,
court days or consul days etc. (Britt. Julian Calendar). The Egyptian system of 3-week
month each containing 10 days was not adopted. As we have pointed out, t he ancient
Egyptians counted 36 dekans (10 -day weeks) in a year, each month containing 30 days .
These totaled 360 and the five days left were celebrated as holidays that neither belonged
to the preceding year nor to the succeeding year. The first of those holidays coincides
with modern Christmas and was celebrated as the birthday of Osiris, Osir-mas, “Osiris
the Child.”
 This is only one of the many pieces of evidence that prove that Jesus Christ
actually replaced Osiris: the clever work of Egyptian Gnostics who wanted to continue
their old Serapis, or Osirian, faith disguised as new and foreign. Having been colon ized
for so long, they had now began despising ideas of local origin and foreign ideologies had
begun being fashionable. The African has yet to recover from that mental mode.

Gregorian Refinement

The change was effected by advancing the calendar 10 days after Oct. 4, 1582, the day
following being reckoned as October 15.

The Gregorian calendar differs from the Julian only in that no century year is a
leap year unless it is exactly divisible by 400 (e.g., 1600, 2000). A further refinement, the
designation of years evenly divisible by 4,000 as common (not leap) years, will keep the
Gregorian calendar accurate to within one day in 20,000 years.

Kalenjiin Calendar
(Belgut, cf. Peristiany, 1939:132, Nandi cf. Hollis 1909:94-95 )
Belguut/Bureeti Nandi
Old Month name Western Month name Old
sequence equivalent sequence
11 Mulgul January Ng’otyooto 12
12 Ng'otyooto February Kiptaamo 1
1 Kiptaamo March Iwootkuut 2
2 Iwoot-kuut April Wake 3
3 Maamut May Ng’ei 4
4 Paage June Rooptui 5
5 Ng'eiyeet July Puureet 6
6 Rooptui August Epeso 7
7 Puureet September Kipsuunde 8
8 Epeso October Kipsuunde aeng’ 9
9 Kipsuunde netai November Mulgul 10
10 Kipsuunde nepo aeng' December 1 Mulgulik aeng’ 11

These are two calendars as reckoned respectively in Belg ut and Bureti of old Kipsigiis
Emeets on the one hand and the Nandi as recorded by Hollis on the other. The months’
sequence, headed “Old sequence” here, may not follow the western system. Kiptaamo
was the first month, marking planting onset and this was t oday’s February in Nandi but
today’s March in Belguut/Bureeti. If we will construct a unified all-Kalenjiin calendar, as
it is desirable, then we will have to collect calendars from all sections of the community
then pick on the one that will prove to be m ost prevalent across.

Ibinweek

Note: the southern Tugen no longer have Maiina in their listing. Similarly the
Kipsigiis have since banished Kipkooimet and the Nandi have equally banned
Koroongoro. Each of the discarded age -sets encountered a catastrophic misfortune during
their days in military service and since the Kalenjiin think cyclically, such age-sets, if
brought back, will bring back with them similar catastrophe. So they are better not
repeated. The other sections still recon with the 8 intact. They are divided into two houses
of four age-sets each: Kaapkoroongoro (shaded gray here) and Kaapkipkooimet (un -
shaded). Between a son and father there has to be an ibinda b etween. They ideally should
not follow each other. So the son of a Kipkooimet has to be a Kimnyiigee and the son of
a Kimnyiigee has to be a Maiina, the son of a Maiina becomes a Saawe, the son of a
Saawe man becomes Kipkooimet and the process renews. In t he other house, the son of a
Koroongoro man is initiated into Kaapleelach and the son of Kaapleelach is initiated into
Nyoongi, the son of Nyoongi is initiated into Chuumo and the Chuumo will initiate their
sons into Koroongoro. Ideally a family remains fo r ever in one of the houses. But the
ideal is not always possible as a man who marries in old age will most likely initiate
some of his boys into an age-set twice removed from him and outside his “traditional”
House. But these ought to be exceptional cases only.
Age-sets were initiated over an average —in reality virtually exact—fifteen year period.
So the ideal cycle of 8 took 120 years. This was a long periodicity indeed and a lot of
organization and genius was required: and it was not in short supply.

Sageet aap eito

After the expiry of the 15-year period of service, men were required to retire and
others ushered into military service during the bull sacrifice ceremony, sageet aap eito (or
sagoobei). Men came to Sageet aap eito unarmed. They only bore sti cks, empty sheaths
and shields, perhaps loosened bows, no arrows. They warm up running about, being
careful not to trip as this would be a sign of bad omen. An eldest son from the oldest still
intact family (lipwoop) leads the pack of retiring soldiers who then file and cross over the
trunk of the dying lipwoop (uniform light colour without blemish) ox whose legs would
have been tied together. It lay on its right . The retiring men lean with their knee against
the trunk, stepping in the space between the tie d legs and the stomach of the beast. They
then step over the trunk, one at a time. Once across, they turn right and join the clapping
older men and pick up the chanting as well.
The new soldiers being called to the colours then follow, but they walk over the
front legs and shoulders of the ox instead, move forward and join in the clapping and
chanting. That marks their first day as the nation’s defenders.
The donor of the sacrificed ox is compensated with 7 goats.
The occasion is controlled by the constell ation Aquilae. When the wife in the
constellation joins the husband in the east , the conditions are propitious.
The ox is strangled by suffocation in a round or square roofless enclosure, with
green leaves of the construction material intact. It is close t o the official temporary round
structure which is itself roofed and thatched.
James Massam with his wife were allowed to attend the sageet aap eito ceremony
in Keiyo, 1925. Maiina were taking over from Ny oongi. Massam describes the ceremony
in detail in his 1927 book, p 58-61.
Peristiany, 1939:32-37, says the Kipsigiis had 3 separate sageet aap eito, one each
for Sot and Waldai but a joint one for Belgut and Bureti, by a traditional Mossaiga at
Bureti. According to him, the ox lies on its left side and not right as Massam says. Before
the boys go over it it will have been slit for auspice reading. The pouring of milk on the
bull is not mentioned by Massam. But I agree with Massam that the ox lay on its right
side, head most likely oriented to the north so t hat the young men crossed its body as they
faced east. That is so strongly in the nature of the Kalenjiin that this can only be the true
situation.
 The sub age-sets:
These are the sub-divisions of an age set. There appears to have been originally 3
and fixed per community. Pokoot: Chongen -opero, Ngiru and Nimur. Nandi: Choongin,
Kiptaru and Kiptaitoiin/Kiptoiin, but later (?) four: Choongin, Kiptaru, Tetagaat and
Kiptaitoin/Kiptoiin. By the authority of Mr. Joseah araap Sang, the Kipsigiis also
followed the Choongin, Kiptaru, Tetagaat and Kiptooin (Kiptaitooin) order as in Nandi.
However, more famous were the lineal kachaaet names such as Maiina’s Mesyeewa (for
their Choongin), Shilling (for their Kiptaru), Chemoorta (probably for their Kiptaitooin ?
etc.). The linear kachaaet system is a late development superimposed on the ancient 4
subset system. We say linear because they were not repeated during the subsequent age -
set subset naming but new ones were introduced instead. The se kachaaet names recorded
the most important development of the time, e.g. the Maiina Shilling record the
introduction of that currency to Kenya in 1923 while Mesyeewa records the Spanish
influenza that killed millions all over the world during and soon after the first “World”
War.
 Women’s Agesets

Keiyo Merkweet1 South North North

Tugen Tugen2 Tugen3
Men Women Women Women Women
Kipkooimet/Kabe Kaptura4 Chelemei Jepsor Chesur
rur
Kapleelach Cheleme Chebargam Selengwe Kusanya
i ai ch Chelemei
Kimnyigei Charkin Silingwic Jeptenap Chelemei
a h Cheptinap
Nyoongi Tebesit Chesiran Jebarkam Chepargam
ai ai
Chepingwe
k
Maiina Chelyon Selengwec
g’ h
Chumo Chesyew Masinya Jepngwek Chepingwe
a5 k
Chesiran
Sawe Chemeri Chesur Jesiran
Koroongoro Sigingi Kosoncho Jemasony
n a

Recording for 27th Aug 05

Merkweet Age-sets
Men Women
Kipkooimet/Kaberur Kaptura
Kapleelach Chelemei
Kimnyigei Charkina
Nyoongi Tebesit
Maiina Chelyong’
Chumo Chesyewa
Sawe Chemeri
Koroongoro Sigingin
1
B.E. Kipkorir, JW Ssennyonga, Socio -cultural Profile of Elgeyo Marakwet District, 1985 (1985:100 -101).
2
According to District Socio -cultural Profiles, Baringo District, Aug 1984.
3
According to Behrand, 1983:1, by District Socio -cultural Profiles, Baringo District, Aug 1984.
4
Kakiptura/Jeptendur
5
Kipturbei/Chepturetu as alternative names.