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Cutural Anthropology

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The Nandi People

Cultural Anthropology

Joseph D. Middleton

July 22, 2011

The culture of the Nandi people

Gender

In the Nandi community, girls help in taking care of the children, doing domestic work, weeding in the fields, fetching firewood and water. Boys herd the cattle, help with plowing the fields. They also help in sorting out other miscellaneous tasks and errands. Boys may care for children and girls may also herd the cattle. This always happens if there is no child of the ideal sex in the family. All family members play a part when it comes to the process of production. During planting, the clear the land and do the initial breaking. A woman can help a man who is plowing land especially when she would like to use for growing vegetables. Everyone does the planting. Agricultural activities are common with women compared to men. Herding of the cattle is normally done by children. Women also herd cattle but men rarely do it. The milking of the cattle is a role left to women and children. When it comes to employment, it is normally the men who try seek either full-time or part-time employment. Unemployed men normally engage in entrepreneurial activities such as; charcoal burning, working in lands of large farmers, cattle trading and even collecting sand from river banks for sale to the people who make concrete. A few Nandi’s have artisan skills such as tailoring and bicycle repairers. These men are in the shopping centre. Very few Nandi women are either employed or seeking employment. (Oboler)

Marriage and family

The Nandi community performs initiations for both boys and girls. This happens at the age of between twelve and eighteen. The process is normally circumcision for boys and clitoridectomy for girls. The initiates should be brave, quiet and not to show any emotions. This test of courage is

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