PROLOGUE: THE ARAB TRADER WARS
Isolated from the outside world, one
might only speculate at the wonder of the first Nandi warriors who discovered
the Arab caravan in the 1850's. Those warriors might not have known of earlier
Arab caravans, because this was the first notable one in Nandi oral tradition.
It was the time when the Sawe sub-sets were warriors and by 1854, the name
Marmar ("to ornament a dress") had been conveyed upon a sub-set. The
significance of this title might be derived from the major Arab defeat at
Kipsoboi, but may have been attributed to the very successful raiding of Arab
caravans by the Nandi. These were good years for the Nandi.
Part of the reason for the Nandi success was the limited access. The easiest
approach was from the north-east, but a caravan had to travel two or three days
before reaching principal Nandi settlements. This evidently was not preferable
as the Arab caravans diverted east to Kavirondo and Mumias where food and
protection was located. Since direct trade contact was not possible, the
caravans after the 1850's rarely entered or camped in Nandi, a strange "middle
man" system evolved.
Due to the casualties to the caravans, trusted Sotik and Dorobo agents were
employed to act as "middle men". These agents would trade ivory and other
coastal goods for cattle to the Nandi for a large commission. Enterprising Arab
traders hoping to circumvent this arrangement often fell victims to a Nandi
ploy. A few old Nandi warriors would meet the armed caravan and tell them that a
large supply of ivory was only two or three days journey from the caravan.
However, the Nandi were only willing to entertain a small Arab party to
negotiate a trade. Dutifully, a party of twenty men would be dispatched with
cloth, wire, and other trade goods only to be ambushed by the Nandi and
massacred. Another ruse used by the Nandi was to send a small party of warriors
to lead the prospective caravan into the depths of Nandi by the wrong road and
then conduct a night attack. The Arab traders even attempted a tactic that had
worked with other tribes, blood brotherhood. This consisted of sitting opposite
one another, cutting the back of each other's hand and sucking the blood from
one another's hand. The Nandi held no credence to such a foreign ceremony, and
it only became another ploy to easily acquire coastal goods.
Kaap Matelong, I have recently been building a home library to try and enrich my scope of
the world. One such is a book that goes by the name