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| Orma women were, from a Western point of view,
completely subservient, to the men. Men had up to three wives, who each lived in their own
house. (Houses were built by the other women in the community on the day of the wedding.
If you were not married, then you had no house.) Every woman married, and then had to ask
her husband if she could go out each day, even if she was going to collect water or visit
the shops. She showed her love for her husband by ensuring that his dinner was ready for
him when he came home (with or without warning), and by letting him beat her. |
| Women looked after the children, did all the household chores and
built the houses. When we asked, we were told that from the age of 20, the men did nothing
all day, but went to the market and talked. Up to the age of 20, many of the boys looked
after the herds of cows and goats. This was considered a special privilege and boys were
given a distinctive blue cloak to wear if they were herders. Unfortunately, school was not
possible for herders, so they were often strong, skilled and brave, but uneducated.
Families usually preferred their boys to look after the herds, rather than go to school. |
| The Orma people regarded
cows very highly, some even said they regarded them more highly than people. They were
generally Muslim, and poorly educated. Few knew much about what happened outside of the
Garsen area. |
| By contrast, the Pakomo people grew crops, and were generally
Christian. They seemed to value education more, but fought with the Orma. They lived
together relatively peacefully around Garsen, mainly keeping to their own villages, but
every so often trouble would rear its ugly head again. It was invariably over Orma cows
eating Pakomo crops, apparently. But with each side entrenched, and the Pakomo never quite
having forgiven the Orma for encroaching on their territory, it often lead to killings, as
well as an increase in tension. June 7 marked the latest uprising, when three Pakomo were
killed, trying to defend their crops. |
| According to the Pakomo, they had always lived peacefully, farming
the land. The Orma people had come south as a result of famine (or was it war?) in
Ethiopia, many years before, and had settled in the Tana River area. Some of the Orma
still live in Ethiopia. The Pakomo let them settle and, through time, the Orma grew. Being
herdsmen, they moved to one area, built a makeshift village and, when the cattle had eaten
most of the vegetation, they moved on, allowing the land to recover. There was plenty of
room, but as they grew, they needed more and more villages. Every so often, they
encroached on Pakomo territory, and fighting began. The Pakomo claim that they are a
peaceful people, but they have been pushed for too long. The younger Pakomo in particular
seem loath to remain peaceful when provoked. Tensions ran high while we were there,
although we were assured that, being white, we were safe. We were not part of the problem.
We were also assured that the Pakomo and Orma could be sitting happily talking with each
other one minute, and fighting the next. |
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