A pre-colonial history of Abatachoni, 1500-1900 A.D.: A study in socio-cultural change

Abstract

This thesis is a survey of the pre-colonial history of Abatachoni from A.D. 1500 to 1900. The thesis set out to trace the origin, migration and settlement of Abatachoni from the Uasin Gishu plateau of Rift Valley Province to modern Western Kenya. The main theme of the thesis is that Abatachoni were originally Kalenjin speakes who have been Bantuized through a broad process of cultural interactions with Bantu speaking peoples. The findings, from oral interviews plus archival material and othe~ published wo~ks, show that Abatachoni were of Kalenjin origin but have, through a long period of cultu~al interaction, been assimilated by the Bantu. The study shows the vestiges of Kalenjin cultural traits, values and practices within the new Bantu hybrid community that is now known as Abatachoni