{"id":259,"date":"2020-01-26T16:43:20","date_gmt":"2020-01-26T16:43:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kalenjin.co.ke\/?p=259"},"modified":"2020-11-21T14:50:33","modified_gmt":"2020-11-21T14:50:33","slug":"mogori-massacre-greatest-failed-raid-in-kipsigis-history","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kalenjinmedia.co.ke\/?p=259","title":{"rendered":"Mogori Massacre, Greatest Failed Raid in Kipsigis History"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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A century and a half ago, Kipsigis warriors were massacred at a place called Mogori Valley in Nyamira County. The fallen warriors are estimated to have been about a hundred and ten clearly an entire generation since the total population of the Kipsigis then was barely ten thousand. This was circa 1886.\u00a0 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a\nclassical case of pride comes before a\nfall<\/em>, the Kipsigis warriors were cornered, waylaid and descended upon. The\nimplication was so huge that young boys had to step in to help in procreation.   To date, a mention of Borietab Mogori<\/em> (Mogori Massacre) sends chills down the spines of\nthe Kipsigis people. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Kalenjin\nDigital carried out an exclusive interview with Kiprono arap Kosgey, a\n95-year-old Mzee<\/em> from Cheptalal in\nBomet County. His father, Kipyep Choget arap Bargetuny, was among the few survivors of the massacre. He\ntold Kalenjin Digital that the extermination was a punishment by Chepongolo<\/em> (god) to the community for\nthe wrong deeds that the warriors did a few years earlier during a raid against\nthe Purko; an iloshon<\/em> (sub-division) of\nMaasai community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFrom time\nimmemorial, the Kipsigis community was known for its firm foundation on theism.\nThey were stickler of rules and community\u2019s moral codes. They also shunned every\nevil they knew would vex and disfavor them from their gods,\u201d said arap Kosgey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He added, \u201cEven\nduring raids and wars, which its warriors would engage in from time to time,\nthere were certain norms enacted that had to be strictly adhered to.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to\nhim, (and as confirmed by Kipsigis Council of elders) some of such decree associated\nwith wars and raids included not killing the children, the women, the old, the\nphysically disabled and the sick. It was also a taboo to take the life of an\nenemy who has knelt down and called truce.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHowever, during the raid against the Purko, the Kipsigis warriors went against all these norms; a transgression that galled chepomircho<\/em> (god of war) and invited its wrath on the community\u2019s warriors during the next raid at Mogori. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe\nwarriors were, after the Purko raid, supposed to undergo some rituals meant to\ncleanse them. However, that did not happen as the warriors, in their arrogance,\nrefused to own up to the offences they had committed and even refused to take\npart in the debriefing process,\u201d said Arap Kosgey. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Purko raid <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Kipsigis\nwarriors of Kipkoimet <\/em>and Kaplelach <\/em>age-group had embarked on a raid\nacross River Siyabei, in the current Narok North Constituency, Narok County.\nThis was where Purko; a cattle-keeping community, was living in. The Kipsigis\nwarriors, known for their bravery and element of surprises, had subjugated all\nits neighboring communities. \u201cThe raid, against the Purko community, at that\nwee hour of the morning was successful. The Purko warriors could not put up\nmuch of a resistance to the chagrin of the courageous Kipsigis warriors. They\nfled away,\u201d arap Kosgey narrated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Therefore having\nnot expended much of their energy and arrows, the disappointed Kipsigis warriors\nstarted killing the sick men, the old and those who were physically too\ndisabled to flee. They also set houses on fire; a blatant disregard to the Kipsigis\nmoral codes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After\ncommitting the misdemeanors, the warriors then set off for a journey back home\nand with them, cattle and Purko women whom they had taken captives. They arrived\nat River Siyabei towards noon. Pangs of hunger and exhaustion overwhelmed them.\nThey resolved to slaughter animals, eat and take rest before crossing over to\nthe other side of the river.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Purko rescue and recovery team trailed\nthe Kipsgis warriors <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As feasting\nwas going on, they cast their eyes behind them. From afar, they saw, what they\nsuspected was, a rescue party (owendo<\/em>)\nfrom Purko. Spears would be seen glistering against the afternoon sunlight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Apparently,\nthe Purko men had mobilized their neighboring communities for rescue and\nrecovery mission against the Kipsigis warriors. With less time remaining for\nthe arrival of the rescue and recovery team, the Kipsigis warriors, hastily,\nsmeared the remaining meat with cow dungs and faeces. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey nyar <\/em>(make unpalatable for the Purko\nrescue and recovery team) the meat and left it heavily infested with flies,\u201d\nnarrated arap Kosgey and also documented by Kipchamba arap Topotuk in his song Borietab Mogori.<\/em> According to the\nKipsigis, this is one of the greatest taboos.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Upon\nlearning that their men were hot in pursuit, the Purko women grew stubborn and\nrefused to cross over to the other side of the river with the Kipsigis\nwarriors. \u201cWe will wait here for our men; the men with sharpened spears (murenik che chorchoren ng\u2019otwek<\/em>). They will\nhave to bid us bye as we cross to the other side of Kipsigis community,\u201d voiced\nthe Purko Women in unison.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf you want to take us (to become\nyour women) then be men enough. Wait and fight our Purko men. You fell them all\nand we will have no further qualms but to go with you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bloated egos <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Kipsigis warriors accepted the\nchallenge and agreed to wait for the advancing Purko rescue and recovery team.\nThey placed themselves strategically, bracing for the imminent fight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After some few minutes, one of them\ndeveloped cold feet and asked, \u201cYou mean to tell me we have been fooled by\nthese Korusyek<\/em> (a Kipsigis term used\nto demean women) to wait for their men?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe are exhausted and outnumbered. Why\ndon\u2019t we rob these women of their wristlets (raranaik<\/em>) and anklets (tapaagonik<\/em>)\nand let them wait for their men?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The agreement was unanimous; they were\nnot ready for a face-up with the advancing Purko team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They tried getting the ornaments off\nthe hands and legs of the women but to no avail. The now very tenacious women\nwere giving them hard time. They did not want to be robbed. At the same time they\nwere buying time for their men to arrive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Frantically, the Kipsigis warriors decided\nto cut off the legs and arms of the women by their wrists and ankles joints (rotyonishek<\/em>). This was meant to lessen\nthe women\u2019s resistance and also to ease the removal of the bracelets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They then stacked the ornaments, dripping\nwith blood, on their spears and then set off to the other side of River Siyabei\nwith the cattle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gruesome sight at\nthe bank of River Siyabei<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

No sooner had the Kipsigis warriors\ncrossed the river than Purko men arrived to the gory scene of their women writhing\nin great pain as hyenas and vultures (motong\u2019ik<\/em>)\nmauled and devoured them alive. They had been rendered physically disabled (kian koek rarameek<\/em>) and had no means of\ndefending themselves nor fleeing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Having recovered from the momentary\nshock, the Purko team looked across the river and saw their Kipsigis\ncounterparts washing their bloody machetes and the ornaments they had\ngruesomely robbed from the women.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In fury, they howled (ki worirso<\/em>) and sought green light from\ntheir leader to cross over to fight the Kipsigis warriors; a fight of life and\ndeath. The cruelty meted on their women was overwhelming. Their leader,\nhowever, beseeched them earnestly not to cross over, \u201cOmuiten innei olmurang\u2019. Mokisyome lug ne kaakoyai chalwok neteno inoni\nnebo meet <\/em>(I feel the same as you my brothers; I feel what you are going\nthrough. However, our own traditions bar us from engaging with an army that has\ncommitted felony of such magnitude).\u201d<\/em>\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Purko leader then added, \u201cObagach kobarat gee ak kachililutikwak (<\/em>let\nthem carry the blood of these women and the disabled they killed back home, in\ntheir own hands)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With a lot of self-restrain, the Purko\nworriors heeded the plea from their leader.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHey young men, whose raid-party are\nyou from?\u201d the Purko leader asked the Kipsigis warriors who responded that they\nwere from arap Kisiara\u2019s. Arap Kisiara was the community\u2019s leader. The Purko\nleader voiced his shock, \u201cKnowing arap Kisiara, it is unbelievable that such an\nanarchic raid-party could belong to him.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In bitterness, he asked them, \u201cWhat\nmade you kill the disable, the sick and the old? You set our houses on fire,\nyou held our women captives\u2026 why did you have to mutilate them this way?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTindoo yoityo\nnee kwonyik che ilolchin maa uitugul; che momiten ole kikirotyi? Gertook ano\ningolo? Kalyan asi obar iyo? <\/em>(What crime did they commit to deserve\nthis brutality? Women kindle the kinship fire for any community. There is no\ncommunity that they belong, why did you have to kill them? How will God\nperceive you? You should have taken them to be yours),\u201d rhetorically questioned\nthe Purko leader, emotions running high.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He then looked\ndown, fought tears back and cast a glance on their dying women. He clicked and\nthen unstrung an \u201colive branch\u201d (ingeunetab\nkalyet<\/em>) attached to a short spear called teto. <\/em>Then pointed the sharp end (meleito<\/em>) of spear at the Kipsigis warriors and told them, \u201cLugoni lugoni, lugoni, Lugoni bo Kipsigis\nogas ak ogas kochut itikwok. Kokoek chekwok, mego chechok, kwonyichu ka ogoten\nkou ni. Ogot kateeiyet ko nengwong. Ogot motong\u2019wek ak kimagetok ko chekwok. <\/em>(Kipsigis\nwarriors, listen and listen good. May the felony you have committed today rest\non your heads. May the blood you have shed from these women, in your hands\nfollow you. May their cries gnaw at your conscience forever. Even the hyenas\nand vultures devouring them alive, may they do so to you some day)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAk ko matuun\nkota olitu moltet ana togoch kogeny Purko<\/em> (Never again shall you raid Purko and\ntriumph. This is the last),\u201d the leader cast the curse after which he led his\narmy back home with mourning howls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not even once did the Kipsigis\nwarriors fret over the curse by Purko leader. Not even once did they agonize.\nThey laughed it off and dismissed with waves of hands. They too proceeded with\ntheir journey home singing jubilantly the triumphant songs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The warriors, even after being\nsummoned by a counsel of wazees for debriefing, blatantly refused. Word started\ndoing rounds about their never-heard before atrocities that they committed at River\nSiyabei. One day, as the men were grazing at Bureti Hills (between Roret and\nNgoina Road), snakes would crawl from nowhere and start biting the cattle. It\nwent on for some days; something out of ordinary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe young men reported the incidents\nto their elders. A decision was made to withdraw cattle from the hill and then\nset it on fire. Setting the hill on fire was for the purpose of killing the\nsnakes and also to let new pastures regrow,\u201d narrated arap Kosgey<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Several months later, the cattle were\nallowed back to the hill. The pastures were now greener and snakes were no\nmore. Not so long later, having grazed on the new pastures, bull grew healthier\nand strong. They started goring each other; some to death. The young men\ngrazing them would cheer. \u201cThis was out of ordinary too. Never before had bulls\nfought that way to death and in successive days,\u201d said arap Koskey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The young men grazing the animals\nwould slaughter the bulls killed and feast. To them, the more the bulls fought\nand killed each other, the happier they were. The young men too grew strong and\nsince they had nowhere to expend their energy, they started organizing fighting\ncompetition amongst themselves. Injuries were reported and it raised concerns\namong the old men. A conference was called and the decision was reached that\nthey be sent to raid. The young men had become too idle and they needed where\ntheir energy would be very useful. Mogori was unanimously voted for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a requirement before any\nraid, Maina arap Chemwa from\nKipindoek clan who lived at the present day Kamirai village was send to seek\nblessings and consent of arap Koilegen. \u201cArap Koilegen however advised them\nagainst going for the raid as the young men had not been cleansed of the\nprevious transgressions against the Purko,\u201d explained arap Kosgey. The brave\nwarriors disobeyed the directive and proceeded with the raid. They were led by\nMalabun arap Makiche from Sotik and Chesengeny arap Koborok from Bureti. There\nwere also warriors from Belgut<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As they progressed towards Gusii, vultures\nflew ahead of them towards Gusii land. According to arap Kosgey, this was a\nsign of bad omen and the warriors were supposed to retreat. \u201cIn every raid\nmission, the Kipsigis had specialists who would advise accordingly. On this\nparticular raid, the specialist from Kapcheboin clan who was mandated to curse\nthe birds too had a second opinion on the raid. He suggested a retreat but to\nno avail,\u201d narrated arap Kosgey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The warriors dismissively waved off the\nsuggestions. According to their own interpretations, the sign of vultures flying\nabove their heads and ahead of them, was not meant for them but for the Gusiis\nwhom they were going to kill. Some few warriors from the raid broke out and\nwent back amidst jeers of being cowards. These were mostly the saweiyek<\/em> (from Sawe age-group). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The younger warriors led by arap\nMakiche (from Kipkoimet age-set of Kaplelach age-group) proceeded with the\njourney. They reached Gusii land at dusk. The first phase of the raid (in\nMugirango and Kitutu) was successful. They destroyed many Gusii villages. The\nGusii fled their homes. It was time to collect the spoils and head back home.\nHowever, Malabun arap Makiche disagreed with other commanders of the raiding\narmies; from Bureti and Belgut.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOther commanders led by Chesengeny Arap\nKoborok wanted the raid to head back home. However, Malabun arap Makiche was of\nthe idea they raid the next community; the Luos. Malabun was a man full of\nhimself,\u201d said arap Kosgey. He led a larger faction in raiding the Luo\ncommunity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile the Gusiis were blowing\ntheir horns and drumming to summon all their warriors. They knew the Kipsigis\nhad crossed to Luo-land. They were ready to waylay them. The\nengagement with the luo was a bit tough. Wails and screams from Gusii had been\nheard all the way to Luo-land and hence its warriors were alert. So when the\nKipsigis warriors got there, to their shock, they were being awaited.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Kipsigis warriors were\noverwhelmed and outnumbered and they had to retreat. They were hotly pursued by\nthe luos. Unbeknown to them, the Gusii, too, were regrouping at the eastern\nedge of Manga Escarpment to execute revenge. When the Kipsigis raiders started\nascending the escarpment, along the valley of the Charachani River it was\nnearing dawn. As they got to Getwanyi, Kitutu, there came a loud wail from a\nwoman who then threw downhill a gourd full of ashes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe gourd thrown by Chepkinet<\/em> (the woman had one breast)\nexploded throwing the valley into more darkness. The obviously fatigued\nKipsigis warriors were descended upon. The Luos arrived at the battleground\nwhen the fight had already started,\u201d narrated arap Kosgey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Kipsigis army suffered a huge\nnumber of casualties. Very few managed to escape. Some of the survivors hid\namong the corpses of their fellow tribesmen, while others, including father to arap\nKosgey, jumped into the river and hid in the swamps for 12 hours waiting until\nnightfall to escape to Kipsigis land.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSince some of them had smeared blood\nof their fellow dead warriors on themselves, the vultures mistook them for the\ndead and started devouring them while alive,\u201d said arap Kosgey. The victim had\nto contemplate between enduring the vultures or warding them and telling\nhimself off to the Gusii warriors who at the time were still around. This was\nlike the fulfillment of the curse the Purko leader had cast on the Kipsigis few\nyears earlier. The entire generation was wiped out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So great was the loss that the\nKipsigis elders ordered a ‘premature’ initiation of young boys into warriors,\nand encouraged young men to marry early so as to increase the population of the\ntribe. According Kipkirui arap Langat who got the\ninformation from his grandfather Kiplasoi Arap Rugut who witnessed the battle, young boys were\nmade drunk and made to sleep with women; a precedence that would slacken the\nmoral chords in the community. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although the massacre was devastating\nto the Kipsigis people, the remaining elders and young men soldiered on to lead\nthe community. Luckily, a few years after the massacre, the Kipsigis community\nwas blessed with bountiful harvest while the Gusii people endured dry spell and\nfamine. This led to a batter trade whereby Gusii young energetic men were exchanged\nwith foodstuff from the Kipsigis. This gave birth to some clans like Matabori\n(Botabari in Gusii) and many others.    <\/p>\n\n\n\n

After the bloody Borietab Mogori,<\/em> there was a friendly Borietab Chemoiben<\/em> still with the Gusii. The rest were just\ncattle-rustling raids between the two neighbouring communities. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A century and a half ago, Kipsigis warriors were massacred at a place called Mogori…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":260,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-259","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-history"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kalenjinmedia.co.ke\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/259"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kalenjinmedia.co.ke\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kalenjinmedia.co.ke\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kalenjinmedia.co.ke\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kalenjinmedia.co.ke\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=259"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.kalenjinmedia.co.ke\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/259\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kalenjinmedia.co.ke\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/260"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kalenjinmedia.co.ke\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=259"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kalenjinmedia.co.ke\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=259"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kalenjinmedia.co.ke\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=259"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}