Blood and land story in Turkana
In 2002, life was still very precarious. Esther had now established
herself as a maize farmer -the crucial decision which allowed Erodo to
continue his schooling - but Christopher was determined to keep on
herding. “Pastoralism will survive,” he said. “We’ve followed this way
of life for centuries. The problems we are facing are not new. Our
forefathers had them, and they managed alright.
Erodo was born into the Turkana tribe, cattle rearing nomads who have roamed the range lands of Northern Kenya, for at least four centuries. It’s a way of life that has little connection with settled society and its social values.
Erodo was born into the Turkana tribe, cattle rearing nomads who have roamed the range lands of Northern Kenya,
for at least four centuries. It’s a way of life that has little
connection with settled society and its social
values.
Instead of having more children, Esther wanted to focus on the wellbeing
of the ones she already had, but this had brought her into
confrontation with her husband, Christopher.
Erodo's life has been one of serious hardship, lived in the shadow of
violence. When he was still a baby, the community came under attack by
armed cattle raiders – or shiftas. It was not the first and certainly
not the last of many times they would be in mortal danger.
By the time Erodo was three, Esther had given birth to 11 babies. Among
the Turkana, the role expected of a wife is to do as she is told by her
husband and to produce as many babies as possible.
Esther decided to leave Christopher to build a hut within an hour’s walk
of a school. The child born into nomadic tribal society was now a
schoolboy.
