Samburu - A Study of Gerontocracy in a Nomadic Tribe (Spencer Paul)(Paperback / softback)

The Samburu: A Study of Gerontocracy in a Nomadic Tribe by Paul Spencer offers a rich ethnographic account of a pastoral society in northern Kenya whose political and social life is organized around the authority of elders. Closely related linguistically and culturally to the Masai, the Samburu nonetheless developed their own distinctive institutions, shaped by the arid ecology of their homeland and by crises such as the devastating rinderpest and smallpox epidemics of the late nineteenth century. Colonial intervention brought new layers of administration and, after World War II, experimental grazing schemes, yet Spencer demonstrates that Samburu society remained remarkably resilient. Elders continued to dominate decision-making, adjudicate disputes, and control marriage, while the age-set system maintained a strict separation between the power of the old and the obligations of the young. At the core of Samburu social values lies *nkanyit*—a nuanced concept of respect, shame, and duty—that governs relationships within the tribe and distinguishes the Samburu from their neighbors. Drawing on twenty-seven months of fieldwork from 1957 to 1960, Spencer provides a vivid portrait of Samburu gerontocracy in practice. He examines the tension between elder authority and the moran, the young unmarried men who, though stripped of their historic warrior role by colonial pacification, retained their distinctive dress, camps, and rituals, remaining integral to the society?
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