The Pokot are semi-nomadic, semi-pastoralists who live near Lake Baringo in Kenya. It is an area of bush savanna with scarce rain. They belong to the Nilotic language group and speak Pokot. At present, there are around 826,000 Pokot living in Kenya. There are two main groups depending on their location and way of life: The Hill Pokot and the Plain Pokot.
According to the Pokot culture, wealth is measured by the number of cows, which are used for barter, exchange, and mostly as payment for bride dowries. Cows are rarely slaughtered, because they provide milk, butter and cheese.
Men are allowed to have more than one wife, while women's position is weak: they have no voice, no authority within her own homestead. Pokot society is governed through a series of age-grades. Group membership is determined by the age at which one undergoes initiation. After initiation, young people are allowed to marry and they are permitted to begin participating in local economic activities.
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The decorative arts, and especially body decoration, are highly prized among the Pokot. They often adorn their bodies with beads and hairstyling. They also practice scarification and extraction of lower central incisor teeth. Pokot women wear enormous disc-shaped beaded necklaces. They also wear big metal earrings.
Most of the Pokot still follow their traditional religion. Tororot is considered the supreme deity, and they communicate with him through prayer and sacrifices.
Ceremonies mark transitions in the social life of the Pokot. The most important is the rite of passage of circumcision for boys and clitoridectomy for girls.
© Photos by Eva Colomer. You can see her work through her Instagram account @eva.colomer
You can learn more about Pokot at www.101lasttribes.com
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