Photos of the people of Kenya, Kenya

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The people of Kenya

Kenya has a very diverse African population, of which those speaking Bantu languages is the largest group. The Kikuyu, in the fertile Central Rift highlands, are the most numerous, comprising around 21% of Kenya’s total population.

Young boy, North Kinangop
 
Children, North Kinangop
 
Father and son, Rumuruti
 
Elderly Samburu woman and child
 
Samburu girls
 
Turkana women
 
Samburu children
 
Samburu women
 
In a Samburu “boma”
 
Samburu girl
 
Kikuyu woman
 
Milking a cow
 
Milk to a goat
 
Maasai initiate
 
Playing a game
 
Scratching a goat’s head
 
Shaking milk in calabash
 
Young boys
 
Fruit stall in Kilifi
 
Young boy, Malindi
 
Market in Malindi
 
Market in Malindi
 
Woodcarvings, Malindi
 
Giriyama women, Kikambala
 

The next largest group speaks Nilo-Saharian languages and includes Maasai, Samburu and Turkana, all pastoral nomads. The Maasai live in the south, along the border with Tanzania, while the Samburu and Turkana live in the arid northwest of the country. A small minority of Somali people live in the north and northeast between Isiolo and the border with Somalia.

Along the coast live the Swahili people, mostly descended from unions between Arabs and Africans. Islam is the main religion here, introduced by Arab traders as long ago as the 8th century CE. The Swahili language, a lingua franca, evolved from Bantu languages with Arabic, Persian, Portuguese, and later Hindi and English. It is now, next to English, an official language of the country.

During British colonial rule, people from India and Pakistan arrived, primarily as traders and artisans, and many remain after independence; they are mainly engaged in business. A small number of Europeans, mostly British in origin, also dwell in Nairobi and Mombasa.