El Molo

The El Molo are a numerically small ethnic group living in the eastern region of Kenya on the southeastern shore of Lake Turkana.

The original language of the El Molo, which belongs to the Omo - Tana languages ​​within the Cushitic language group, is almost gone, so it was in 1994 still spoken by eight people, while the number of ethnic El Molo was estimated for 2007 to 700. Most of El Molo speak today Maa - the language of the allied Samburu - or Turkana.

The traditional self- designation of the El Molo is Gurapau, by gura ( " people " ) and pau ( "sea" ). El Molo is also from their language and means " this person" or "he". The Samburu call LDES or ILDES ( " people of the lake " ), and the Rendille Dehes, the Turkana Ngimoile or Ngimooloi that Dassanetch Heren.

Your own traditions, according to the El Molo from the area north of Lake Turkana. They point to a mountain Gulet, they are said to have settled and which should be uninhabited today. These traditions are consistent with the linguistic knowledge, according to which the users of the Omo - Tana languages ​​spread from the southern Ethiopian highlands from.

Traditionally, the El Molo lived on fishing in Lake Turkana and from hunting, while most neighboring ethnic groups of livestock live. At the end of the 19th century, the pastoralists lost by rinderpest and other diseases and their herds were suffering hunger, investigated numerous impoverished Samburu and Rendille some refuge with the El Molo, whose livelihoods were not affected. They settled in the El Molo and also operated fishing and hunting until they could return to the livestock again by itself stole cattle from the Turkana, the Rendille Dassanetch and of the allied. Since the Samburu immigrants were far more numerous than the El Molo itself, the El Molo began the language of the Samburu to change and to take cultural elements of the Samburu. These included jewelry, hairstyles, and even circumcision of boys that they had not previously practiced ( during clitoral circumcision of girls was common for each). There were mixed marriages that would not previously have been possible because the Samburu cattle demanded as bride price and the El Molo kept no cattle.

In historical sources are also other fishing groups at Lake Turkana - about one further north on the eastern shore living Dassanetch - speaking group - referred to as " El Molo ". The first Europeans who met the El Molo itself was, if possible AH Neumann 1898.

The El Molo maintain peaceful relations with neighboring peoples, especially since they are dependent as a small and militarily weak group on it. The first known attack on them occurred in 1921 when a group of Samburu warriors raided a fishing camp, which they had held for a camp of the Borana or group from Ethiopia. Eight El Molo were killed. The colonial administration saw to it that the El Molo received by the relevant sub-group of Samburu thousands of sheep and goats as compensation. So they began to keep cattle while they only had a few small cattle to supplement their economy before to a greater extent. The livestock strengthened its relations with the Samburu. Later, they also acquired the cattle.

Europeans regarded the El Molo due to their small number and the cultural influence of the Samburu often called " dying out people." Thus, in 1934 only 84 were counted. The colonial administration, from 1911 to 1915 had a post in Loiyangalani and then maintained contact with the El Molo patrols, expressed sympathies for them, because they were considered threatened people. But while the original language gets out of use and the mixing continues with the Samburu, the population of the El Molo has grown from 143 in 1958 to over 235 in 1976 to 700 in 2007.