Marginalisation of the Waata Oromo Hunter-Gatherers of Kenya

Insider and Outsider Perspectives

Bibliographic Data

ID2590469
AuthorsAneesa Kassam (corresponding author), Ali Balla Bashuna
Year2004
Volume74
Issue2
Pages194-216
Publication date2004-05-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueAfrica (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0001-9720 • E-ISSN: 1750-0184
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.3366/afr.2004.74.2.194
OpenAlexW2137652764
LanguageEN
Citations received13
References cited54

This paper examines how the way of life of a little known group of hunter–gatherers, the Waata Oromo, was brought to an end through British colonial wildlife conservation laws and the creation of national parks in Kenya. Through this policy and that of the containment of ethnic groups to 'tribal reserves', the Waata lost their place in the regional economic system and suffered loss of cultural identity. It also meant that when Kenya gained independence, the Waata were not recognised as a distinct entity with rights to their own political representation. Instead, they became appendages of the dominant pastoral groups with which they had been associated. They were thus doubly marginalised, in both economic and political terms. The paper describes how this situation has led some Waata in northern Kenya to claim separate ethnic status. It discusses the problem from the point of view of a Waata social activist and of an anthropologist. These two perspectives raise further issues for the etic/emic debate in anthropology

Colonialism · Emic and etic · Ethnic group · Ethnology · Geography · Independence (probability theory · Insider · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Representation (politics · Sociology · African history and culture analysis · Anthropological Studies and Insights · Anthropology · Gender Studies · Law · Rangeland Management and Livestock Ecology

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