Dorobo (or Ndorobo , Wadorobo , dorobo , Torobo ) is a derogatory umbrella term for several unrelated hunter-gatherer groups of Kenya and Tanzania . They comprised client groups to the Maasai and did not practice cattle pastoralism .
5-639: The term 'Dorobo' derives from the Maa expression il-tóróbò (singular ol-torróbònì ) 'hunters; the ones without cattle'. Living from hunting wild animals implies being primitive, and being without cattle implies being very poor in the pastoralist Maa culture. In the past it has been assumed that all Dorobo were of Southern Nilotic origin; accordingly, the term Dorobo was thought to denote several closely related ethnic groups. Groups that have been referred to as Dorobo include: A historical survey of 17 Dorobo groups in northern Kenya found that they each maintained
10-806: A Southern Nilotic Kalenjin tongue, are under heavy influence from Maasai. A Maa dialect is also spoken by the Baraguyu people of Central Tanzania, in an area known as the Makata Swamp near Morogoro, TZ. Another Kenyan Maa variety once existed, Kore . After being defeated by the Purko Maasai in the 1870s, the Kore fled to north-eastern Kenya where they were taken captive by Somali people . After functioning for years as clients or slaves in Somali households, they were set free by British imperial forces around
15-416: A close rapport with their surrounding territory through their foraging. Speaking the same language as their nomadic pastoralist neighbours, they would maintain peaceful relations with them and accepted a lower status. Occasional intermigration and intermarriage between the two groups was even possible. If the political landscape shifted and new pastoralists entered the area, then the local Dorobo would switch to
20-787: The Lotuko languages spoken in South Sudan . In the past, several groups of people have abandoned their languages in favor of a Maa language, usually following a period of intensive cultural and economic contact. Among groups that have assimilated to Maa peoples are the Aasáx (Asa) and the El Molo , former hunter-gatherers who spoke Cushitic languages , and the Mukogodo-Maasai (Yaaku), former bee-keepers and hunter-gatherers ( Eastern Cushitic ). The Okiek of northern Tanzania, speakers of
25-435: The new language and build up new relations, while clinging to their territorial niche. Maa languages The Maa languages are a group of closely related Eastern Nilotic languages (or from a linguistic perspective, dialects, as they appear to be mutually intelligible) spoken in parts of Kenya and Tanzania by more than a million speakers. They are subdivided into North and South Maa. The Maa languages are related to
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