KENYA: LINGUISTIC DIVERSITY
Kenya is a country that is blessed with many linguistic communities. The colonialist referred to them derogatorily as tribes. And we have more than forty of them.
There are four main linguistic groups in the country. These depend largely on the origin of the communities before migrating into Kenya. These are the Bantu speakers from Central Africa, the Nilotes whose migration path followed River Nile, the Cushites from Somalia and Ethiopia, and the Europeans and Asians who came into the country from late 19th century. The communities are further divided based on the migration path followed and the area of settlement thus we have western Bantu, eastern Bantu, Highland, Plain and River-lake Nilotes.
Each group had unique characteristics in terms of economic and socio-political practices. There were those who were farmers cultivating food while others reared cattle. Some practiced long-distance trade and others, hunting and gathering. The list is endless.
These differences never went down well with the neighbours. Because of this, inter-community warfare was common. It is important to realize though that the communities focused on what brought them together. That is why trade and intermarriages were a common affair.
The tribal concept was introduced by the colonialists to divide and ultimately rule this nation. The politicians we have have taken advantage of the seeds of discord planted by the colonialists to gain political mileage and thus cement their hold on the reins of power. This has made each group hold the others in contempt.
In spite of the negative connotations that the linguistic groups are known for, the diversity we have is one of the many features that make this nation beautiful. It is such a joy to learn a new language, the fun being in learning obscenities in the guise of good stuff!
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