5 Tribes That Share Roots in Uganda and Kenya

Uganda and Kenya are East African countries that share a border and historical connections. Beyond this, the two countries also share a heritage and a people with common cultural, historical, and traditional elements.

Uganda alone is home to over 56 different ethnic groups, each with its own language, culture, and traditions. Kenya, just like Uganda, is also characterized by ethnic and cultural diversity with more than 40 tribes present.

Among these vibrant communities, five tribes stand out for their remarkable presence in both countries: the Luo, Iteso, Kalenjin, Karimojong and Luhya people.

Luo

The Luo people are part of the Nilotic ethnic group indigenous to the Nile valley and trace their origins to South Sudan. During the 15th century, they were faced with many calamities which forced them to move away in search of new areas for settlement.

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As such, in the first wave of migration between the 15th and 16th centuries, they moved southward into present-day Uganda. The Luo’s here inhabit the Northern part of Uganda in districts of Lira, Gulu, Apac among others.

Also, the tribe’s resident includes the Acholi, Alur and Langi.

The second wave of migration occurred in the 17th and 18th centuries and saw the Luo people continue their southward migration into present-day Kenya settling in the western part of Kenya, where they established a number of chiefdoms.

Luos in Kenya inhabited the Nyanza region in counties of Siaya, Kisumu and Homa bay among others and the tribe resident include the Dholuo or Joluo people.

The main similarities between the two Luo groups are culture, language and food. For instance, Dholuo say water as ‘Pi’ just as the Acholi and Langi do although the language differs in some instances according to the various dialects.

Furthermore, the social organization and cultural practices of the Luo people in both Uganda and Kenya revolves around a similar traditional framework that stresses the importance of family and extended family structures.

Both have similar staple foods that form the basis of their diets such as fish from Lake Victoria.

Iteso of Uganda and Kenya

The exact origins of the Iteso remain unclear. Iteso oral tradition holds that they had migrated south from Sudan over centuries at some time in the past.

They are a Nilotic ethnic group based in Eastern Uganda and Western Kenya. Teso refers to the traditional homeland of the Iteso, and Ateso is their language.

In Uganda, the Iteso live mainly in Teso sub-region in the districts of Amuria, Bukedea, Kumi, Soroti, Pallisa, as well as in the districts of Tororo and Busia.

Further, the Iteso in Kenya, numbering about 578,000, live mainly in Busia County inhabiting two sub counties currently, Teso North and Teso South Sub counties.

Although a large number of them also live in parts of Bungoma and even Trans Nzoia Counties.

The Kenyan Teso people are an extension of their Ugandan counterparts in that, they were merely separated by the partition of East Africa during the scramble and partition of Africa in 1902.

Some of the main similarities between the two Iteso groups are that they speak the same Eastern Nilotic language called Ateso.

Their main staple food is finger millet, and their cultural drink is ‘ajon’, a fermented brew made from dried finger millet that is commonly consumed in local ceremonies, social gatherings and important events.

Kalenjin

The Kalenjin are a group of tribes indigenous to East Africa, residing mainly in what was formerly the Rift Valley Province in Kenya and the Eastern slopes of Mount Elgon in Uganda.

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They are over 6 million individuals according to a 2019 Kenyan census and an estimated 270,000 in Uganda according to the 2014 census.

Additionally, the Kalenjin are divided into 11 tribes which are the Kipsigis, Nandi, Pokots, Sebei and Marakwet among others.

Sebei are a Southern Nilotic ethnic group inhabiting eastern Uganda. They speak Kupsabiny, a Kalenjin language. They occupy three districts, namely Bukwo, Kween and Kapchorwa in eastern region of Uganda.

The main similarity between the two groups is the language they speak. The Kipsigis say hello as Chamgei and the Sebei in Uganda say hello as chamge. Both groups love their cows and grow millet, maize and sorghum.

Karimojong / Turkana

The Karimojong are a Nilotic ethnic group living mainly in the southern part of the north-east part of Uganda.

Moreover, the Karamojong are descendants of Nyangatom of Ethiopia, they migrated around 1600 A.D. and split into two branches, with one branch moving to South Sudan and continuing further into Uganda present day Karamoja sub region.

The districts here include Kaabong, Kotido, Amudat, Moroto, Abim and Nakapiripirit.

Also, the speak the ngaKarimojong language which is part of the Nilotic language family.

Nonetheless, the second group migrated to Kenya along the shores of Lake Turkana and settled in Turkana region.

Further the Turkana are a Nilotic people native to Turkana and Marsabit counties.

They refer to themselves as ŋiTurkana (i.e. ngiTurkana, meaning the Turkana, or people of Turkan.

The main similarities for this group of people is that they are both semi-nomadic pastoralists, they speak the same language though its subject to dialectical differences and they both rely on their animals for food such as milk, meat, and blood.

Luhya in Uganda and Kenya

The Luhya are a Bantu people located in western Kenya and eastern Uganda. The Luhya consists of 20 clans, each having their own distinct dialect.

In Kenya they reside in counties of Bungoma, Busia and Kakamega among others although a number of them settled in the Kitale and Kapsabet areas of the former Rift Valley province.

Moreover, in Uganda, they are known as the Gisu people or Bagisu. They are a Bantu tribe of the Masaba people and closely related to the Bukusu people of Kenya. Today they mainly live in the districts of Mbale and Bududa.

Nonetheless, the main similarities are their shared history such as their belief that their ancestors were Kundu and Sela. They both have interest in industrial arts of blacksmithing, pottery, woodworking and share a similar political structure based on clans with clan leaders referred to as Umwami we sikoka.