Pastoral Visions

1. Pastoral Visions Pastoralists document their lives through words and pictures CAPE Unit, AU/IBAR

2. Pastoral Visions In April 2002, the CAPE Unit distributed disposable cameras to pastoralists throughout the Karamojong Cluster – an area which includes NW Kenya, NE Uganda, SE Sudan, and SW Ethiopia – asking the photographers to ‘capture what you see around you.’ In February 2003, CAPE revisited the photographers to find out more about their lives and the meanings behind their photographs. Each photographer was asked to describe what is important to them, what each photograph shows, why this is important, and what they would want someone to learn from looking at that photo. The result is a selection of photographs and personal histories from pastoralists throughout the Karamojong Cluster. It is our hope that these images and stories will provide a more accurate picture of the issues facing pastoralists today.

3. Akony Lorukea Nanam, Kenya Turkana “I am about 30 years old. I married recently, and I have four children. I met my wife at the watering point and began to court her. She is very beautiful. It took me five days to convince her to marry me. Then I paid the ekimar (bridewealth) and married her officially. I am a good herdsman. The most exciting thing in my life is my livestock. However, life is difficult because the droughts cause suffering. We are surrounded by insecurity because of cattle raiding by the Toposa. They attack us, but we don’t retaliate. My animals have been raided several times, but I have never retaliated because I am afraid of being killed in the raids.”

5. Milking “This is a woman from one of the ngadakarin (cattle camps) in our migration group, not from my adakar though. She is milking her cows in the evening, but she also milks in the mornings. Women and girls do the milking, not men. It is an important job to them. They have always done it. The cows are milked in the morning before they go out to graze, and in the evening when they return home. It can take a woman three hours to milk the whole herd, depending on the number of animals. When I take animals to graze, I include the milking herd. This is the most important herd because the family depends on its milk. We depend on livestock and their products. Milk does not contribute much to our diet because our cattle produce little milk. We give most of the milk to the children.” -Akony Lorukea

7. Migration Preparations “This photo was taken when people from my adakar (cattle camp) were migrating. We were moving eastward from a place called Loburin, at Mt. Zolia, to Natwel, west of Mt. Songot. The donkeys are about to be loaded with our belongings. When we move, we take such things as containers for storing milk and fat, sleeping mats, skins and hides. The donkeys also carry small children and very old people. The move from one location to the other takes about ten days on foot, depending on the pasture and water available. Migration weakens both animals and humans and security is unpredictable. I move where the cattle camp leaders—Lotoom, Apangisepion, and Lokwarasmoe—decide to go. We move in a large group comprising several ngadakarin. The group includes all the people I am close to. Some are members of my age set and some are relatives. Before you join a migration group, you need to have known its members for a long time and be able to trust them” -Akony Lorukea

8. Ekiru Loito Nanam, Kenya Turkana “I am married with one wife. During the wet season, I spend three to four months in the ngadakarin, our cattle camps. However, in the dry season, I can come to town when I have an animal to sell, to buy food for my family, veterinary drugs, or anything I need. I am in town today because I have to purchase some items for the family. It takes three days to walk from the cattle camps to Lokichoggio. I do not like staying in town because I will miss my livestock. Livestock is everything I need in life. I have been raided twice. Thirty cows were taken in the first raid and twenty in the second one. I am only left with goats. I will replace the lost cows by trading the goats I have. The bridewealth from my sisters will increase my cattle, little by little. I don’t consider the option of stealing back my cows from the Toposa because I fear dying in a raid. It is better to be contented with goats alone, but if I get more cows, I will marry another wife.”

10. Healthy Animals Grazing “I did not know the camera could make things look so nice. The animals look so healthy. The Toposa raid when the animals are in the pasture like this. The Turkana also do the same, but they haven’t done so since the peace meeting CAPE held at Nanam. We were having many peace meetings between the Toposa and us. CAPE and the government were helping us to have them. Right now, there is no peace. We are having problems in maintaining peace and the seers are to blame. They dream and read the intestines of dead animals to predict that the Toposa will raid, or to tell us to go for raids. But our cattle camp leader, Ekipor, likes peace. He can dissuade the youth from going for a raid or even disagree with seers when they support raids. He advises the youth not to raid and only to fight back if they are attacked within their homesteads.” -Ekiru Loito

12. Dismantling the House “This was in 2001, during the wet season. This person is dismantling her house because she’s about to migrate. It is in my adakar, my cattle camp. There were no building materials where we were migrating. We were moving from Nanam to Nakalale to use the dry season grazing areas at Mt. Mogila. When we migrate, we move as a whole cattle camp. Decisions about where to move are made by Ekipor, our cattle camp leader. In our community, constructing and dismantling the shelter is the woman’s responsibility. When we migrate, she’s the one to pack and lead the donkeys. A good woman is judged by her shelter, and she also makes herself a nice skin cloth, wears a well-mixed beads strap around the neck, and makes household utensils such as wooden containers for storing fat and milk. When someone looks at this picture, he will wonder, “Was she constructing a shelter or was she dismantling it?” But she was dismantling it.” -Ekiru Loito

13. Lobei Ekidor Posta, Kenya Turkana “I am planning a wedding. I am preparing to wed my second wife and pay the bridewealth. My first wife will move to town to take care of the school-going children. The second one will remain with me at the cattle camps. The first wife is happy about the arrangement. Her role in the wedding of the second wife is to escort the ram that marks the engagement to the parents of the second wife. She initiates and welcomes the second wife. I am excited to take another wife. I already have five children, so now I will have more. My cattle were raided, but I was left with goats. Those are the ones I will offer for bridewealth. It is better using them to pay for bridewealth than to let them die during drought. If I get back some of the raided cattle, I will probably use them to marry another wife. Plans to marry a third wife are in store once I get more livestock. To us, it is worth using the animals to marry another wife rather than leaving them for raiders. Then I can have more children to send to school, and they will take care of me.”

15. Nayalel “This photo shows people who are migrating. The lady, called Nayalel, is leading a donkey while carrying a metal box on her head. The box contains her belongings. She belongs to the migration group of our cattle camp. This migration was during the beginning of the wet season. The migration takes about four days. It is not easy to migrate because we cross bushy areas, always on the lookout for the enemies, the Toposa. The movement is organized such that women, children and livestock move in the middle while men are on the sides keeping guard. During this migration, the Toposa raided us. It was not while we were moving, but just a day after we settled at the destination. Even this cow in the picture was driven away by the Toposa. One-hundred cows and 28 donkeys, some of which were mine, were taken away.” -Lobei Ekidor

17. Relief Food Distribution “This woman was picking up maize from the ground during the relief food distribution after the 1999-2001 drought. She had to pick it from the ground because she was not registered for the relief food distribution because there was some corruption in the registration process. People were giving out money to be registered. I am also not registered, even though we thought that the food was meant to help those of us in the cattle camps. The food distribution clerks and committees were seen selling the relief food in Loki. We suffer when there is drought like those years. Those who have enough animals can sell them at the market and buy food for the family. We have fertile soil where we can grow maize, but there is not enough water. The crop that is commonly grown here is sorghum, which can mature within the three months of the wet season. “ -Lobei Ekidor

19. Ngilenga “This is the same migration as in the photo described above. The lady in the photo is my niece. She is loading luggage onto a donkey. These are containers for keeping milk and fat, hides and skins, calabashes, spoons, and other household things. She comes from our cattle camp. The whole of my family is in that same cattle camp and we migrate together. Our cattle camp is called Ngilenga, meaning knives, signifying that we are like sharp knives courageously crossing insecure places to abundant pasture without fear. Livestock keepers are identified by the cattle camps or grazing groups they belong to.” -Lobei Ekidor

20. Lokange Ekamais Nanam, KenyaTurkana “I stay at Nanam. Many people stay in this place. It has about ten cattle camps with very many animals. It is almost the dry season and we might soon migrate to the foot of Mt. Songot in search of pasture and water. It is not very far from here. Today, I have been watering cattle and digging water wells. What I am doing now is different from what I do during the wet season because at that time, water pools are found all over and livestock take water on their own. During the dry season, I need to dig a well in the riverbed to water my animals. I am married, with two wives. I have married them officially and paid bridewealth. Bridewealth here is 40 cows, 300 goats, 20 camels and 10 donkeys. It was difficult to pay the bridewealth. I enjoy herding my livestock and acquiring enough of them to be able to marry and pay bridewealth.”

22. Animals at Rest “The donkeys in this photo are playing by biting one another’s ears. There are also cattle here with a herdsman. They are not grazing, but resting at the cattle camps after having grazed well. They have also drunk water. They are not my animals, but those of my neighbours with whom I stay and migrate. When this photo was taken, there was enough pasture and water and these animals were healthy. Recently, they have been weakened by drought. They are not as healthy as before. The place is no longer as green as it was in the photo. Around 200 people in my family depend on the livestock in my family. This includes cousins, wives, children, brothers, sisters, and others. I am proud to have such a big family. They provide enough labour for herding.” - Lokange Ekamais

24. Girls’ Responsibilities “I took this photo at the acacia trees just nearby. These girls have just completed watering their animals. Girls do not go herding but water animals instead. Men also assist in watering. Girls of this age have a lot of responsibilities at home. They water livestock, milk animals, churn milk, construct shelters, look after calves and kids and take care of small children. These girls do not go to school, but some do. The girls and the parents decide together whether one should go to school. Some girls may not want to go. The parents want them to stay at home and do the household chores. It’s mostly the parents’ decision. I took this photo to show what the children in our area who do not attend school do.” - Lokange Ekamais

26. Water Point “People are guiding their cattle to the water trough. To organize the watering of animals, they gather them at some point away from the water well. About four or five of us get in the well to draw water into the trough. A few animals are selected at a time to drink. This is repeated until all the animals have been given water. The goats are watered first, and then the calves, then adult cattle, and camels and donkeys last. The owner of the water well, the one who dug the water point, waters his animals first. It takes a whole day to dig a watering point. When the water table is low and wells get deeper, four or five people enter the well, forming a chain from the bottom of the well to the top and they pass the water from the bottom of the well to the trough where the animals drink. Unlike during the wet season, animals are watered at intervals to allow water to collect.” - Lokange Ekamais

28. Epua and Meriarengan “The boy in the photo is Epua from Natamakarwo. He is a good friend of mine. The reason he is raising his hands is to show how the horns of his bull are shaped. He is praising his bull. It is important because it signifies his position among his age mates, that he has a bull and loves it. It gives him status and recognition. The presence of that bull in the herd makes him want to take very good care of his animals. He is named after his bull. If that bull dies, he will mourn. The name of my friend’s bull is Meriarengan.” - Lokange Ekamais

29. Nachakur Kangamanat Lopiding, KenyaTurkana “I am married man with two wives and eight children. Two of my daughters are married. My sons are too young to look after the livestock, so I do it most of the time. I am from the adakar, or cattle camp, of Lotoom, who is a seer. We have a very big cattle camp with almost 5000 people, which is good for protection. I am an elder in my cattle camp. I attend peace meetings. We elders are the key negotiators during such meetings. I was a well-known raider and women sang my praises but now I fear to go for raids. Raiding is now very different from those of the past. It is very unregulated now.”

31. Migration “The gun in the picture is not mine. It belongs to the government but I had it for security reasons. It is an M-4 type. I borrowed it from a friend in my cattle camp for escorting my livestock during the migration. It is a long-range gun. My friend was selected by the Chief to be a Kenya Police Reservist (KPR), and so he was given the gun. There are three KPR in my cattle camp. There are also others with personal guns. Our cattle camp leader is called Lotoom and he is responsible for calling elders to meetings to discuss issues such as the next migration. Before the migration starts, the cattle camp leader summons all the elders and youth to discuss the possible secure routes to follow. A group of young men is then sent for surveillance along the routes. When they come back to the cattle camp, they give a report to the people and they discuss the threats. The migration then starts after consensus is reached on which route we should take. As people move, armed young men and the stronger elders escort the animals from the sides, front and back, as women, children and the old people walk in the middle.” - Nachakur Kangamanat

32. Gabriel Ochwe Kalapata, KenyaPokot “My name is Gabriel Ochwe. I have a family. I have little property, but I live well with my family because I have my cows. I got them recently, just this year. I have two cows only. I also married recently. Thirty cows and thirty goats are paid to the parents of the lady when you marry. That’s all that is required, so that you will be left with one or two cows for your survival. I married last year, but paid the bridewealth this year. That is why I am staying with my wife now. I have a lot of problems, like starvation, cultivation, and few livestock. The problems I have are common to the community. The Turkana and Karamojong often kill my people during the raids. Raids exacerbate the existing problems. We need peace with our neighbours. People are starving this year. We have not received any rain. Those who suffer most are the blind, the old and the children. Young men and women visit their neighbours to beg for food. We are really starving. When rains come, we cultivate sorghum. We can only be sure we will manage when most of the sorghum thrives in the gardens.”

34. Ekitoingikiliok “These people are at their traditional meeting place, the Ekitoingikiliok, the tree of men. You can see that they are elders, 35 years and older. At the tree of men, elders play the stone-counting and scoring game, ngikiles. They also do wood carving and hold discussions. Any matter about the community is reported at the tree of men where discussions are held and decisions made. Very many issues are discussed, hunger or starvation, raids, lack of pasture and water for livestock, impending drought, and many others. They especially discuss issues related to food shortages during drought. There are many elders in our cattle camp who make decisions, but only 10 are the most important. They give direction and make sure everyone is in agreement. Here, the elders are making wooden sculptures for household use. They are carving calabashes, milking cups and watering troughs. One of them is carving a trough for watering cattle and other animals. Some are sharpening their wrist knives.” - Gabriel Ochwe

36. Returning from the Watering Point “You can see an old man. He has taken his livestock to the watering point. The journey back home is almost finished. You can see the cattle have taken enough water. At the moment there is not enough water in our area, so we have to travel a long way to reach the water points. For this reason, elders direct animals to the watering points because they are more experienced and know where to find water when it is dry.” - Gabriel Ochwe

38. Homestead “This is an awi, a home. There are about 20 houses in our homestead. One big family can have 20 houses or even more. You can see women, old people and children outside these houses. They live together. Women mostly stay around their homes. Old women do not go out, only the young ones. These women are talking about food shortage in their homes. They are discussing what action should be taken. You can see that these women are starving. They are seriously discussing where they can find food for their families. When there is starvation, we gather wild fruits, although there are no wild fruits around our homes. During starvation, women go to work for people in urban centres. They fetch water for them and get maize flour in return.” - Gabriel Ochwe

39. Elisha Plengun Chemolingot, KenyaPokot “I became an Assistant Chief in 1993 when the former Assistant Chief retired and the position fell vacant in my location. We were many during the interviews at the District Headquarters, chaired by the District Commissioner. To become a Chief or Assistant Chief, you must have been born in that location and you must be between 20 to 45 years old. If you are educated, that is an added advantage. That is how one qualifies. After working as an Assistant Chief, I became the Chief in 1995. It is difficult being a Chief because this is a large location and there are many problems. The main one is the raids. We have to hold many barazzas, and they are effective. We sometimes have our own barazzas in the area, and then when there is conflict, we have what we call peace committees and border peace committees formed by the community. Sometimes, NGOs such as World Vision and CAPE help out. CAPE will bring a lot of changes, which brings us a lot of hope. We talk together now, old men, young men, women, even chiefs. Raids are reducing because of CAPE. The thing about peace is that it’s hard to get the real thing.”

43. Asapan These photos show a ceremony known as Asapan, where older boys are initiated. For the Pokot, there is circumcision, and afterwards, Asapan, but it depends. You can have both, but it is up to the people to decide. A group of boys, aged 18 and above comes together and decides, “Now we are grown up boys, let’s go for Asapan.” It’s another stage that shows that they are men and can marry and eat with other men under the same tree. It takes place between the months of July and September. Many people come to Asapan. During this one, there were about 800 people. Boys and women came. They heard that there was a ceremony and they came. People are told about the ceremony a week earlier, because every community or family that comes brings milk. This is the forum where the chief announces future activities or meetings. It is also an occasion where people get information, so they travel from very far to attend. During Asapan, a cow is slaughtered, and then the blood is put in a calabash, known as obtuba, where they mix the blood with the milk. It is the tradition to drink this while kneeling. There is also edonga, dancing and singing. The edonga for Asapan is called ayopo, when the girls mix with the boys. It is like a disco. It is just fun.

44. John Kamana Chemolingot, KenyaPokot “I used to work as a photographer, but then I went back home to my cattle camp. Now I am just at home, looking after the animals. I am a pastoralist, but I stay in town also. My animals are at home and my brothers look after them when I am away. I am educated, so I like the life of town.”

46. Children’s Chores “In this photo, my child is coming back from fetching water at the river. The river is seven kilometres away. She is carrying the water for home on her back. The animals go to the same place for water, but they will have to cover an additional four kilometres further looking for pasture. This picture shows how we prepare a child for responsibility at home, so that she can help the younger ones to fetch water when the mother is away. It is good training, because she will be a mother one day.” - John Kamana

48. Children’s Chores “These two are looking after the animals. They have just come from the river with their goats and are almost reaching home. This picture shows how our children take care of the animals when they are still young. This is the responsibility of the boy as he is growing. The younger children look after the goats, but sometimes we give them the responsibility of looking after the cows. When they are about 14 years old, they are ready to herd the cows.” - John Kamana

50. Hunting “The boy is hunting in this photograph. He hunts for hare and dik dik. He hunts whenever he’s looking after the livestock. He brings home hare about once every week for us to eat. He’s ten years old. When he grows a bit older, he will stop hunting and just look after the animals. I took this picture because I wanted to show how our people depend on animals for food: both livestock and the wild animals that we hunt.” - John Kamana