Enjoy a cultural encounter with the Pokot people who live in West Pokot County, Baringo County in Kenya, and the Pokot District of the eastern Karamoja region in Uganda. The Pokot are part of the Kalenjin community and are highland Nilotes originating from southern Ethiopia. They migrated southward into Kenya as early as 2,000 years ago. The Pokot are economically divided into two groups: pastoral Pokot and agricultural Pokot.
The Pokot speak the Pökoot language, which is. broadly similar to the related Marakwet, Nandi, and Tugen. and other members of the language group.
The Pokot community has one of the unique, richest cultures in Kenya if not the world; the most authentic and unexploited. Cultural activities include Sapana (men's rite of passage to adulthood), Kidong'a (a traditional dance by all ages set every evening), and circumcision ceremonies.
About one-quarter of Pokot peoples are cultivators ("corn people"), while the remaining are pastoralists ("cow people"). Among both groups, however, wealth is measured by the number of cows one owns. Cows are used for barter, exchange, and most significantly as a form of bride wealth. A man is permitted to marry more than one woman, as long as he has a sufficient number of cows to offer to her family in exchange. This is the primary way for wealth and resources to change hands in Pokot society. Cows are rarely slaughtered for meat because they are much more valuable alive. They provide milk, butter, and cheese, which provide an important component of Pokot dietary needs.
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