Modern ethnicities
81-732: Turkana may refer to: Turkana people of Kenya and Ethiopia Turkana language of Kenya and Ethiopia Lake Turkana in Kenya Lake Turkana National Parks Turkana County in Kenya Turkana IV, fictional planet in a Star Trek Next Generation episode Turkana, fictional planet in the Star Wars expanded universe The Turkana Basin geological feature. See also [ edit ] Turkana Boy Topics referred to by
162-423: A dulla in his throat, a large, inflatable sac that he extrudes from his mouth when in rut to assert dominance and attract females. It resembles a long, swollen, pink tongue hanging out of the side of the camel's mouth. Camels mate by having both male and female sitting on the ground, with the male mounting from behind. The male usually ejaculates three or four times within a single mating session. Camelids are
243-412: A barrier against sand. If sand gets lodged in their eyes, they can dislodge it using their translucent third eyelid (also known as the nictitating membrane). The camels' gait and widened feet help them move without sinking into the sand. The kidneys and intestines of a camel are very efficient at reabsorbing water. Camels' kidneys have a 1:4 cortex to medulla ratio . Thus, the medullary part of
324-517: A brushwood pen. Due to changes in the climatic conditions, most Turkana has started changing from the traditional method of herding cattle to agro-pastoralism. No clear boundary is drawn between the sacred and the profane in Turkana society. In this regard, Turkana traditional religion is not differentiated from Turkana social structure or epistemological reality—the religion and the culture are one. The Turkana are pastoralists, whose lives are shaped by
405-502: A camel's kidney occupies twice as much area as a cow's kidney. Secondly, renal corpuscles have a smaller diameter, which reduces surface area for filtration. These two major anatomical characteristics enable camels to conserve water and limit the volume of urine in extreme desert conditions. Camel urine comes out as a thick syrup, and camel faeces are so dry that they do not require drying when used to fuel fires. The camel immune system differs from those of other mammals. Normally,
486-657: A dedicated champion of change, not only in Turkana County but also beyond its borders, and key Kenyan government officials, including Josphat Koli Nanok (the current Deputy Head of Public Service in the Office of the President, First Governor of Turkana County and former Member of Parliament for Turkana South), Former Kenyan Ambassador to Thailand, H.E. Dr. Richard Titus Ekai; Former Minister of Labour, Hon. John Kiyonga Munyes - MP; and Hon. Ekwee Ethuro , Former Speaker of
567-403: A foot taller. Camels can run at up to 65 km/h (40 mph) in short bursts and sustain speeds of up to 40 km/h (25 mph). Bactrian camels weigh 300 to 1,000 kg (660 to 2,200 lb) and dromedaries 300 to 600 kg (660 to 1,320 lb). The widening toes on a camel's hoof provide supplemental grip for varying soil sediments. The male dromedary camel has an organ called
648-408: A longtime ally of the Turkana, have sometimes been known to gift sorghum to the Turkana. Houses are constructed over a wooden framework of domed saplings on which fronds of the doum palm ( Hyphaene thebaica ), hides or skins, are thatched and lashed on. The house is large enough to house a family of six. Usually, during the wet season, they are elongated and covered with cow dung. Animals are kept in
729-467: A mixture of wool and camel hair was used. By at least 1200 BC the first camel saddles had appeared, and Bactrian camels could be ridden. The first saddle was positioned to the back of the camel, and control of the Bactrian camel was exercised by means of a stick. However, between 500 and 100 BC, Bactrian camels came into military use. New saddles, which were inflexible and bent, were put over
810-580: A number of Turkana people were forcibly relocated to the Turkana District by the colonial administration. Traditionally, both men and women wear wraps made of rectangular woven materials and animal skins. Today, these clothes are normally purchased, having been manufactured in Nairobi or elsewhere in Kenya. Often, men wear their wraps similar to tunics, with one end connected with the other end over
891-446: A pan- Trypanozoon test, which would also be useful for T. b. brucei , T. b. gambiense , T. b. rhodesiense , and T. equiperdum . The karyotypes of different camelid species have been studied earlier by many groups, but no agreement on chromosome nomenclature of camelids has been reached. A 2007 study flow sorted camel chromosomes, building on the fact that camels have 37 pairs of chromosomes (2n=74), and found that
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#1732765405298972-423: A remedy for a child's illness, or who can properly bless the families at a wedding. The ngimurok in each area receives direct revelations from Akuj, who is still directly active and concerned with the creation. These ngimurok do not speak or receive messages through an intermediary god or spirit through possession. While ancestor possessions are common in Turkana, they normally occur among younger people at
1053-866: A thousand more camels), the outbreak of the American Civil War in 1861 saw the end of the Camel Corps: Texas became part of the Confederacy, and most of the camels were left to wander away into the desert. France created a méhariste camel corps in 1912 as part of the Armée d'Afrique in the Sahara in order to exercise greater control over the camel-riding Tuareg and Arab insurgents, as previous efforts to defeat them on foot had failed. The Free French Camel Corps fought during World War II , and camel-mounted units remained in service until
1134-411: A vital means of transport for passengers and cargo. There are three surviving species of camel. The one-humped dromedary makes up 94% of the world's camel population, and the two-humped Bactrian camel makes up 6%. The wild Bactrian camel is a distinct species that is not ancestral to the domestic Bactrian camel, and is now critically endangered , with fewer than 1,000 individuals. The word camel
1215-399: Is a camel-llama hybrid bred by scientists to see how closely related the parent species are. Scientists collected semen from a camel via an artificial vagina and inseminated a llama after stimulating ovulation with gonadotrophin injections. The cama is halfway in size between a camel and a llama and lacks a hump. It has ears intermediate between those of camels and llamas, longer legs than
1296-430: Is a net decrease in water. Camels have a series of physiological adaptations that allow them to withstand long periods of time without any external source of water. The dromedary camel can drink as seldom as once every 10 days even under very hot conditions, and can lose up to 30% of its body mass due to dehydration. Unlike other mammals, camels' red blood cells are oval rather than circular in shape. This facilitates
1377-719: Is also called Turkana; their own name for it is ŋaTurkana or aŋajep a ŋiTurkana . The ethnic group as a whole is composed of two major divisions, each of which is composed of further territorial sections. The major divisions are the Ngimonia, divided into Ngisir and non-Ngisir sections; and the Ngichuuro, divided into the Ngilukumong, Ngiwoyakwara, Ngikamatak, Ngibilai, and Ngikebotok. They are mainly semi-nomadic pastoralists, and are noted for raising camels and weaving baskets. In their oral traditions, they designate themselves
1458-568: Is also used informally in a wider sense, where the more correct term is "camelid", to include all seven species of the family Camelidae : the true camels (the above three species), along with the "New World" camelids: the llama , the alpaca , the guanaco , and the vicuña , which belong to the separate tribe Lamini . Camelids originated in North America during the Eocene , with the ancestor of modern camels, Paracamelus , migrating across
1539-522: Is an important aspect of Turkana culture. Goats , camels , donkeys and zebu are the primary herd stock utilized by the Turkana people. In this society, livestock functions not only as a milk and meat producer but as a form of currency used for bride-price negotiations and dowries. Often, a young man will be given a single goat with which to start a herd, and he will accumulate more via animal husbandry. In turn, once he has accumulated sufficient livestock, these animals will be used to negotiate for wives. It
1620-486: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Turkana people Diaspora Performing arts Government agencies Television Radio Newspapers The Turkana are a Nilotic people native to the Turkana County in northwest Kenya , a semi-arid climate region bordering Lake Turkana in the east, Pokot , Rendille and Samburu people to
1701-504: Is estimated to have stood around nine feet (2.7 metres) tall. The Bactrian camel diverged from the dromedary about 1 million years ago, according to the fossil record. The last camel native to North America was Camelops hesternus , which vanished along with horses , short-faced bears , mammoths and mastodons , ground sloths , sabertooth cats , and many other megafauna as part of the Quaternary extinction event , coinciding with
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#17327654052981782-592: Is much concern over protecting one's family and oneself from the evil of the Ekipe. Turkana Christians and missionaries equate ekipe with the biblical character of the Devil or Satan and this has shifted more traditional understandings of ekipe away from “an evil spirit” to “The Evil one”. Turkana religious specialists, ngimurok , continue to act as intermediaries between living people and ancestors and also help in problem-solving in communities. The Arabs also brought Islam to
1863-401: Is not uncommon for Turkana men to lead polygynous lifestyles since livestock wealth will determine the number of wives each can negotiate for and support. Livestock also plays an important part in interactions between the Turkana and other neighboring groups and is an important aspect of warfare in the region. Raids are not unusual in Turkana society and most of the time raids are conducted it
1944-410: Is only through proper relationships with God (Akuj) and the ancestors, proper protection from evil, and participation in the moral economy of the community that one can be blessed. Essentially, Turkana believes in the reality of a Supreme Being named Akuj. Not much is known about Akuj other than the fact that he alone created the world and is in control of the blessings of life. There is also a belief in
2025-680: Is overseen by the elders of the clan, both men and women. The elders also oversee the community-wide wedding rituals, but an emuron normally plays a role in blessing the marriage. Camel A camel (from Latin : camelus and ‹See Tfd› Greek : κάμηλος ( kamēlos ) from Ancient Semitic : gāmāl ) is an even-toed ungulate in the genus Camelus that bears distinctive fatty deposits known as "humps" on its back. Camels have long been domesticated and, as livestock , they provide food ( camel milk and meat) and textiles (fiber and felt from camel hair ). Camels are working animals especially suited to their desert habitat and are
2106-520: Is reabsorbed into the body as a means to conserve water. Camels eating green herbage can ingest sufficient moisture in milder conditions to maintain their bodies' hydrated state without the need for drinking. The camel's thick coat insulates it from the intense heat radiated from desert sand; a shorn camel must sweat 50% more to avoid overheating. During the summer the coat becomes lighter in color, reflecting light as well as helping avoid sunburn. The camel's long legs help by keeping its body farther from
2187-531: Is the only natural sweetener available in traditional diets. While the Turkana mainly rely on pastoralism they also cultivate some of their food. Multiple studies have made note of sorghum cultivation in Turkana society. One such study, Sorghum Gardens in South Turkana: Cultivation among a Nomadic Pastoral People, notes that, while sorghum cultivation is quite productive, it is more limited by environmental factors than pastoralism. The Jie,
2268-548: Is to steal cattle from neighboring groups such as the Taposa and the Pokot. In some cases, such raids have led to intense conflict in which dozens or even hundreds of people are injured or killed. In his book, Cattle bring us to our enemies: Turkana ecology, politics, and raiding in a disequilibrium system, J. Terrence McCabe cites several incidents in which raiding caused several deaths. McCabe notes that such raids often occur between
2349-469: Is used for walking and balance when carrying loads; the other, usually slimmer and longer, is used to prod livestock during herding activities. Women will customarily wear necklaces and will shave their hair completely which often has beads attached to the loose ends of hair. Men wear their hair shaved. Women wear two pieces of cloth, one wrapped around the waist while the other covers the top. Traditionally leather wraps covered with ostrich eggshell beads were
2430-879: The Achaemenid Persians when fighting Lydia in the Battle of Thymbra (547 BC). The United States Army established the U.S. Camel Corps , stationed in California , in the 19th century. One may still see stables at the Benicia Arsenal in Benicia, California , where they nowadays serve as the Benicia Historical Museum. Though the experimental use of camels was seen as a success ( John B. Floyd , Secretary of War in 1858, recommended that funds be allocated towards obtaining
2511-532: The Arabian Peninsula , dating to around 930 BC. This garnered considerable media coverage, as it is strong evidence that the stories of Abraham , Jacob , Esau , and Joseph were written after this time . The existence of camels in Mesopotamia—but not in the eastern Mediterranean lands—is not a new idea. The historian Richard Bulliet did not think that the occasional mention of camels in
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2592-465: The Aravah Valley enable us to pinpoint the introduction of domestic camels to the southern Levant more precisely based on stratigraphic contexts associated with an extensive suite of radiocarbon dates . The data indicate that this event occurred not earlier than the last third of the 10th century [BC] and most probably during this time. The coincidence of this event with a major reorganization of
2673-469: The Battle of Qarqar in 853 BC. Armies have also used camels as freight animals instead of horses and mules. The East Roman Empire used auxiliary forces known as dromedarii , whom the Romans recruited in desert provinces. The camels were used mostly in combat because of their ability to scare off horses at close range (horses are afraid of the camels' scent), a quality famously employed by
2754-465: The Bering land bridge into Asia during the late Miocene , around 6 million years ago. Three species are extant : [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] The average life expectancy of a camel is 40 to 50 years. A full-grown adult dromedary camel stands 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) at the shoulder and 2.15 m (7 ft 1 in) at the hump. Bactrian camels can be
2835-812: The British Indian Army in World Wars I and II. The Tropas Nómadas (Nomad Troops) were an auxiliary regiment of Sahrawi tribesmen serving in the colonial army in Spanish Sahara (today Western Sahara ). Operational from the 1930s until the end of the Spanish presence in the territory in 1975, the Tropas Nómadas were equipped with small arms and led by Spanish officers. The unit guarded outposts and sometimes conducted patrols on camelback. The annual King Abdulaziz Camel Festival
2916-669: The British colonial administration in Kenya "effectively gained control" over the Turkana people and forcibly confined them to the Turkana District. During the First and Second World Wars , Turkana recruits enlisted in the King's African Rifles (KAR), a British colonial regiment. In the KAR, Turkana soldiers served against Italian forces in the East African campaign . After World War II,
2997-655: The Gobi Desert . When humans first domesticated camels is disputed. Dromedaries may have first been domesticated by humans in Somalia or South Arabia sometime during the 3rd millennium BC , the Bactrian in central Asia around 2,500 BC, as at Shar-i Sokhta (also known as the Burnt City), Iran . A study from 2016, which genotyped and used world-wide sequencing of modern and ancient mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), suggested that they were initially domesticated in
3078-590: The Turkwel River and Kerio River . When these rivers flood, new sediment, and water extend onto the river plain that is cultivated after heavy rainstorms, which occur infrequently. When the rivers dry up, open-pit wells are dug in the riverbed; these are used for providing water to the livestock and also for human consumption. There are few, if any, developed wells for community and livestock drinking water, and often families must travel several hours searching for water for their livestock and themselves. Livestock
3159-689: The Bible meant that the domestic camels were common in the Holy Land at that time. The archaeologist William F. Albright , writing even earlier, saw camels in the Bible as an anachronism . The official report by Sapir-Hen and Ben-Joseph says: The introduction of the dromedary camel (Camelus dromedarius) as a pack animal to the southern Levant ... substantially facilitated trade across the vast deserts of Arabia, promoting both economic and social change (e.g., Kohler 1984; Borowski 1998: 112–116; Jasmin 2005). This ... has generated extensive discussion regarding
3240-479: The Marakwet for tobacco. The Turkana buy tea from the towns and make milk tea. In the morning, people eat maize porridge with milk, while for lunch and dinner, they eat plain maize porridge (nang'aria) with a stew. Zebu is only eaten during festivals, while goat is consumed more frequently. Fish is taboo for some of the Turkana clans (or brands, ngimacharin ). After the hunt, men go out again to gather honey, which
3321-545: The Senate and former MP for Turkana Central. The Turkana entered Turkana basin from the north as one unit of the Ateker confederation. This cluster split as a result of internal differences, leading to the emergence of distinct independent groups. The Turkana people emerged as a victorious group in the subsequent conflict, which led to enmity between the Turkana and other Ateker cluster groups, who formed military alliances against
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3402-469: The Turkana and the Pokot and that raiding seems to have increased in intensity over the last few years. Turkana relies on their animals for milk, meat, and blood. Wild fruits are gathered by women from the bushes and cooked for 12 hours. Slaughtered goats are roasted on a fire. Roasting is the favored method for preparing meat. The Turkana often trade with the Pokots for maize, beans, and vegetables, and with
3483-405: The Turkana people developed as a distinct group which expanded southwards conquering ethnic nations south of its borders. The Turkana people easily conquered groups it came in contact with by employing superior tactics, weapons, and military organization. By the 1600s, the Turkana basin had been fully occupied by the Turkana and their allies. Subsequently, there was a period of relative peace among
3564-482: The Turkana. The Turkana emerged victorious again by co-opting young people from conquered groups. The military power and wealth of the Turkana increased in what is now the northern plains of Turkana. Turkana tradition often states that the cultivation of Zebu cattle and the rise of the diviners ( ngimurok ) allowed the Turkana to accrue such wealth and power. Both Zebu and the ngimurok continue to play an important role in Turkana culture today. The establishment of
3645-599: The Y-shaped antibody molecules consist of two heavy (or long) chains along the length of the Y, and two light (or short) chains at each tip of the Y. Camels, in addition to these, also have antibodies made of only two heavy chains, a trait that makes them smaller and more durable. These "heavy-chain-only" antibodies, discovered in 1993, are thought to have developed 50 million years ago, after camelids split from ruminants and pigs. Camels suffer from surra caused by Trypanosoma evansi wherever camels are domesticated in
3726-476: The community, and ngikapilak , who specialize in pronouncing very strong curses employing the use of body parts from those recently deceased, but these are not included in the term emuron . Ngimurok are the people that Akuj and the Fathers speak to in dreams; they are also the ones who can communicate with the ancestors to discern what sort of animal sacrifice is needed to restore peace, bring rain, find
3807-413: The copper industry of the region—attributed to the results of the campaign of Pharaoh Shoshenq I —raises the possibility that the two were connected, and that camels were introduced as part of the efforts to improve efficiency by facilitating trade. Desert tribes and Mongolian nomads use camel hair for tents, yurts , clothing, bedding and accessories. Camels have outer guard hairs and soft inner down, and
3888-477: The date of the earliest domestic camel in the southern Levant (and beyond) (e.g., Albright 1949: 207; Epstein 1971: 558–584; Bulliet 1975; Zarins 1989; Köhler-Rollefson 1993; Uerpmann and Uerpmann 2002; Jasmin 2005; 2006; Heide 2010; Rosen and Saidel 2010; Grigson 2012). Most scholars today agree that the dromedary was exploited as a pack animal sometime in the early Iron Age (not before the 12th century [BC]) and concludes: Current data from copper smelting sites of
3969-807: The end of French rule over Algeria in 1962. In 1916, the British created the Imperial Camel Corps . It was originally used to fight the Senussi , but was later used in the Sinai and Palestine Campaign in World War I . The Imperial Camel Corps comprised infantrymen mounted on camels for movement across desert, though they dismounted at battle sites and fought on foot. After July 1918, the Corps began to become run down, receiving no new reinforcements, and
4050-431: The existence of ancestors, ngipean or ngikaram , yet these are seen to be malevolent, requiring animal sacrifices to be appeased when angry. When angered or troubled, the ancestors will possess people in the family in order to verbally communicate with their family. There is also the recognition of “The Ancestor”, Ekipe, who is seen as much more active in the everyday lives of people, yet only in negative ways. There
4131-429: The extreme climate in which they live. Each day, one must seek to find the blessings of life—water, food, livestock and children—in a manner that appeases the ancestral spirits and is in harmony with the peace within the community. Properly following the traditions ( ngitalio ) in daily life will certainly lead to blessings. Blessings are understood to be an increase in wealth, whether livestock, children or even food. It
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#17327654052984212-513: The family and the community. There are various types of diviners differentiated by the emuron’s source of revelation. According to Barrett, the “true diviners,” also known as the “diviners of God”, are the most respected of the ngimurok because they receive revelations directly from Akuj, normally through dreams. These “true diviners” follow in the pattern of the most famous Turkana ngimurok , Lokerio and Lokorijem. The latter regularly received dreams from Akuj, supposedly informing him of
4293-399: The fibers may also be sorted by color and age of the animal. The guard hairs can be felted for use as waterproof coats for the herdsmen, while the softer hair is used for premium goods. The fiber can be spun for use in weaving or made into yarns for hand knitting or crochet. Pure camel hair is recorded as being used for western garments from the 17th century onwards, and from the 19th century
4374-491: The flow of red blood cells during dehydration and makes them better at withstanding high osmotic variation without rupturing when drinking large amounts of water. Camels are able to withstand changes in body temperature and water consumption that would kill most other mammals. Their temperature ranges from 34 °C (93 °F) at dawn and steadily increases to 40 °C (104 °F) by sunset, before they cool off at night again. In general, to compare between camels and
4455-463: The ground, which can heat up to 70 °C (158 °F). Dromedaries have a pad of thick tissue over the sternum called the pedestal . When the animal lies down in a sternal recumbent position, the pedestal raises the body from the hot surface and allows cooling air to pass under the body. Camels' mouths have a thick leathery lining, allowing them to chew thorny desert plants. Long eyelashes and ear hairs, together with nostrils that can close, form
4536-634: The home, so that the ancestor can communicate their message to those in the home. The emuron would then be consulted as to what should be done. Ngimurok are not known as people who are normally possessed. Apart from the ngimurok , there are also important clan rituals in Turkana that represent the acknowledgment and transitions of life force. The most important rituals are the birth rituals (aikido), male and female initiation rituals (aspen and akinyonyo; these do not include circumcision), marriage rituals (Akuuta), annual blessing sacrifices (Apiaret an awi), and death rituals (Akinuuk). Each of these rituals
4617-546: The humps and divided the rider's weight over the animal. In the seventh century BC the military Arabian saddle evolved, which again improved the saddle design slightly. Military forces have used camel cavalries in wars throughout Africa, the Middle East, and their use continues into the modern-day within the Border Security Force (BSF) of India . The first documented use of camel cavalries occurred in
4698-531: The indigenous ethnic communities of the region, which lasted until the onset of the European colonization of Africa. There were, however, sporadic skirmishes between the Turkana and Arab , Swahili , and Abyssinian slave raiders and ivory traders. During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the British Empire gradually expanded across East Africa , coming into conflict with the Turkana. In 1926,
4779-428: The karyotype consisted of one metacentric , three submetacentric, and 32 acrocentric autosomes. The Y is a small metacentric chromosome, while the X is a large metacentric chromosome. The hybrid camel , a hybrid between Bactrian and dromedary camels, has one hump, though it has an indentation 4–12 cm (1.6–4.7 in) deep that divides the front from the back. The hybrid is 2.15 m (7 ft 1 in) at
4860-793: The late Miocene, between 7.5 and 6.5 million years ago. During the Pleistocene, around 3 to 1 million years ago, the North American Camelidae spread to South America as part of the Great American Interchange via the newly formed Isthmus of Panama , where they gave rise to guanacos and related animals. Populations of Paracamelus continued to exist in the North American Arctic into the Early Pleistocene . This creature
4941-470: The llama, and partially cloven hooves . Like the mule , camas are sterile, despite both parents having the same number of chromosomes. The earliest known camel, called Protylopus , lived in North America 40 to 50 million years ago (during the Eocene ). It was about the size of a rabbit and lived in the open woodlands of what is now South Dakota . By 35 million years ago, the Poebrotherium
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#17327654052985022-569: The location of British colonialists during early 20th century, and the former is said to have used the power and knowledge of God to divide Lake Turkana so that Turkana warriors could walk across the lake to raid camels. These ngimurok of God can still be found throughout Turkana, each in their own territory, alongside specialized ngimurok who have received specific abilities to read tea leaves, tobacco, intestines, shoes, stones, and string. There are also hidden evil specialists, ngikasubak , who use objects in secret to work against people in
5103-614: The migration of humans from Asia at the end of the Pleistocene, around 13–11,000 years ago. An extinct giant camel species, Camelus knoblochi roamed Asia during the Late Pleistocene, before becoming extinct around 20,000 years ago. Like horses , camels originated in North America and eventually spread across Beringia to Asia. They survived in the Old World, and eventually humans domesticated them and spread them globally. Along with many other megafauna in North America,
5184-500: The norm for women's undergarments, though these are now uncommon in many areas. The Turkana people have elaborate clothing and adornment styles. Clothing is used to distinguish between age groups, development stages, occasions, and the status of individuals or groups in the Turkana community. Today, many Turkana have adopted western-style clothing. This is especially prominent among both men and women who live in town centers throughout Turkana. The Turkana rely on several rivers, such as
5265-421: The only ungulates to mate in a sitting position. Camels do not directly store water in their humps; they are reservoirs of fatty tissue. When this tissue is metabolized, it yields a greater mass of water than that of the fat processed. This fat metabolization , while releasing energy, causes water to evaporate from the lungs during respiration (as oxygen is required for the metabolic process): overall, there
5346-547: The original wild camels were wiped out during the spread of the first indigenous peoples of the Americas from Asia into North America, 10 to 12,000 years ago; although fossils have never been associated with definitive evidence of hunting. Most camels surviving today are domesticated. Although feral populations exist in Australia , India and Kazakhstan, wild camels survive only in the wild Bactrian camel population of
5427-525: The other livestock, camels lose only 1.3 liters of fluid intake every day while the other livestock lose 20 to 40 liters per day. Maintaining the brain temperature within certain limits is critical for animals; to assist this, camels have a rete mirabile , a complex of arteries and veins lying very close to each other which utilizes countercurrent blood flow to cool blood flowing to the brain. Camels rarely sweat, even when ambient temperatures reach 49 °C (120 °F). Any sweat that does occur evaporates at
5508-542: The patriarchal narratives may refer, at least in some places, to the Bactrian camel", while noting that the camel is not mentioned in relationship to Canaan . Heide and Joris Peters reasserted that conclusion in their 2021 study on the subject. In 2009–2013, excavations in the Timna Valley by Lidar Sapir-Hen and Erez Ben-Yosef discovered what may be the earliest domestic camel bones yet found in Israel or even outside
5589-449: The people and hence the men wear the cap whether they are Muslims or not. As in most African traditional religions, traditional religious specialists in Turkana are present and play an active role in almost every community event. Ngimurok help to identify both the source of evil, sickness, or other problems that present themselves and the solution or specific cure or sacrifice that needs to take place in order to restore abundant life in
5670-604: The people of the grey bull , after the Zebu , the domestication of which played an important role in their history. In recent years, development aid programs have aimed at introducing fishing among the Turkana (a taboo in some sections of The Turkana society) with very limited success. Famous Turkana include Paul Ereng , the 1988 800m Olympic Champion and 800m former indoor world record holder, supermodel Ajuma Nasenyana , Ikal Angelei (winner of THE GOLDMAN ENVIRONMENTAL PRIZE) Ekaale Epakan an award-winning human rights defender and
5751-408: The right shoulder, and carry wrist knives made of steel and goat hide. Men also carry stools (known as ekicholong ) and will use these for simple chairs rather than sitting on the hot midday sand. These stools also double as headrests, keeping one's head elevated from the sand, and protecting any ceremonial head decorations from being damaged. It is also not uncommon for men to carry several staves; one
5832-410: The same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Turkana . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Turkana&oldid=694784390 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description
5913-556: The shoulder and 2.32 m (7 ft 7 in) tall at the hump. It weighs an average of 650 kg (1,430 lb) and can carry around 400 to 450 kg (880 to 990 lb), which is more than either the dromedary or Bactrian can. According to molecular data, the wild Bactrian camel ( C. ferus ) separated from the domestic Bactrian camel ( C. bactrianus ) about 1 million years ago. New World and Old World camelids diverged about 11 million years ago. In spite of this, these species can hybridize and produce viable offspring. The cama
5994-418: The skin level rather than at the surface of their coat; the heat of vaporization therefore comes from body heat rather than ambient heat. Camels can withstand losing 25% of their body weight in water, whereas most other mammals can withstand only about 12–14% dehydration before cardiac failure results from circulatory disturbance. When the camel exhales, water vapor becomes trapped in their nostrils and
6075-646: The south, Uganda to the west, South Sudan to the north-west ( Didinga and Toposa ) and Ethiopia to the north. According to the 2009 Kenyan census , Turkana number 1,016,174, or 2.14% of the Kenyan population, making the Turkana the third largest Nilotic ethnic group in Kenya, after the Kalenjin and the Luo , slightly more numerous than the Maasai , and the tenth largest ethnicity in all of Kenya. Although this figure
6156-532: The southeast Arabian Peninsula, with the Bactrian type later being domesticated around Central Asia. Martin Heide's 2010 work on the domestication of the camel tentatively concludes that humans had domesticated the Bactrian camel by at least the middle of the third millennium somewhere east of the Zagros Mountains , with the practice then moving into Mesopotamia. Heide suggests that mentions of camels "in
6237-664: The world, and resultantly camels have evolved trypanolytic antibodies as with many mammals. In the future, nanobody/ single-domain antibody therapy will surpass natural camel antibodies by reaching locations currently unreachable due to natural antibodies' larger size. Such therapies may also be suitable for other mammals. Tran et al. 2009 provides a new reference test for surra ( T. evansi ) of camel. They use recombinant Invariant Surface Glycoprotein 75 (rISG75, an Invariant Surface Glycoprotein ) and ELISA . The Tran test has high test specificity and appears likely to work just as well for T. evansi in other hosts, and for
6318-579: Was disbanded in 1944. Bactrian camels were used by Romanian forces during World War II in the Caucasian region. At the same period the Soviet units operating around Astrakhan in 1942 adopted local camels as draft animals due to shortage of trucks and horses, and kept them even after moving out of the area. Despite severe losses, some of these camels ended up as far west as to Berlin itself . The Bikaner Camel Corps of British India fought alongside
6399-624: Was formally disbanded in 1919. In World War I, the British Army also created the Egyptian Camel Transport Corps , which consisted of a group of Egyptian camel drivers and their camels. The Corps supported British war operations in Sinai , Palestine, and Syria by transporting supplies to the troops. The Somaliland Camel Corps was created by colonial authorities in British Somaliland in 1912; it
6480-441: Was initially controversial and rejected as too large by the then Planning Minister Wycliffe Oparanya , a court ruling (February 7, 2012) by Justice Mohammed Warsame stated that the Kenyan government accepts the 2009 census figures for Turkana. They refer to themselves as ŋiTurkana (i.e. ngiTurkana, meaning the Turkana, or people of Turkan) and to their land as "Turkan". The language of the Turkana , an Eastern Nilotic language,
6561-602: Was the size of a goat and had many more traits similar to camels and llamas. The hoofed Stenomylus , which walked on the tips of its toes, also existed around this time, and the long-necked Aepycamelus evolved in the Miocene . The split between the tribes Camelini , which contains modern camels and Lamini , modern llamas , alpacas , vicuñas , and guanacos , is estimated to have occurred over 16 million years ago. The ancestor of modern camels, Paracamelus , migrated into Eurasia from North America via Beringia during
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