What You Didn’t Know About the Kalenjin Gourd

The Kalenjin community is among the 44 tribes of Kenya.

According to the 2019 census, the Kalenjins are estimated to be 6 million people.

They are highland nilotes and the majority are found in the Rift Valley.

The Kalenjin community is among the few tribes that have held on to their rich culture and traditions.

The Kalenjin community is famed for its prowess locally and internationally in the world of athletics.
” I am the happiest man to run under two hours to inspire the people of the world that no man is limited,” said Eliud Kipchoge.

Heros and heroines among the Kalenjin community are served with fermented milk popularly known as mursik.

“Mursik is traditional fermented milk that is severed to visitors and for welcoming athletes from abroad after their success, “Caro 254 said.

The revered Kalenjin mursik is prepared in a special way using a special gourd known as sotet.
“The sote[gourd] is lined with a Kalenjin magical tree known as senetwet to produce black soot added to milk and left for up to four days to ferment,” Caroline 254 added.

The sotet is part of the rich culture of the Kalenjin community that has been handed over through the decades . The kalenjin gourds come in different shapes and sizes and are decorated differently for various uses.
The Kipsegerit and gomda are unique types of gourd used by elders for blessing and cleansing ceremonies.
Married men in the society had their special gourd known as Kipseger and that was often decorated with beads and cowry shells. While the initiates had their own gourd kipsomwet that had no form of decoration. The herdsmen among the Kalenjin community had a special gourd referred to Abaing’ang.

In this community, women used another special gourd to milk their cows, the mososiot ,abanget and soliat. These women also used the saiget gourd for fetching and storing water.

Expectant mothers used tamokiet a special gourd for storing and drinking milk.
A weaning baby among the Kalenjins had a special gourd preserved for feeding, this gourd was referred to as Kimusarit.

Married women were served milk through Kipropchet , this was a broken gourd that had been mended.
In this hospitable community, the general family, friends, and visitors would eat from a special gourd referred to as tabet a form of a cup, and septet a form of the traditional plate as well as set that was often used in sieving drinks.
The Kalenjin community who are highland nilotes , revered animal rearing .An orphaned calf had its own special gourd kebuchet that was used to feed it with milk.
The sotet[gourd] is an important cultural heritage of the Kalenjin community, today other than the nineteen uses of the various sotet, the gourd has found its way into modern art.

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