They claim descent from cattle-owning Samburu who captured significant herds of camels and learned how to manage them from their eastern neighbours, the Rendille.
The latter include the Rendille and Somali, all of whom the Gabra describe as warra dassee ("people of the mat"), in reference to the mat-covered, portable tents, which accompany their nomadic lifestyle.
Rendille |
She conducted pioneering research in Southern Africa (among the Venda, Tsonga, Shona, Lozi, Bushmen), Central (among the Gbaya) and Kenya (among the Maasai, Samburu, El Molo, Rendille and unidentified hominids), which led her to develop the project "Totemic Geography of Africa "(TGA).
The area is increasingly visited by tourists and is situated at the southern end of a region of Kenya inhabited largely by pastoralist ethnic groups including Il Chamus, Rendille, Turkana and Kalenjin.