I've been told by my grandfather (Jamin Mugun) that in the Pharaohs’ palaces, there were tall dark tough men who were in the army. By nature, Nandi people are very militant and it even penetrated into the family structure. Fathers tended to order the family members around.
This trait also contributed to the fact that no Nandi person was sold into slavery. The community had a strong sense of protection for each other, the Arabs were not able to kidnap any of them. Same to the Kikuyu tribe and Maasai tribe.
When the Kalenjin left Egypt, they went upstream of River Kiyiira(Nile) or the Hapi River and eventually, they ended up at Mt. Elgon. From Mt. Elgon, the Kalenjins decided to follow a belief they had carried from Egypt about always facing east and so they moved towards the east as they dispersed from Mt Elgon.
Kalenjins believe in turning east even in migration. So each of the Kalenjin tribes including the Nandi dispersed to different places but in the East.
From Riat (Motero) Nandis turned east and ended up in Nandi Rock, Tindiret and Kapsaos.
Kipsigis turned east from Uasin Gishu and ended up in Kericho.
Nandi Military organization
As taught to me by Agui Jamin Mugun.
The Nandi approach to war was very strategic and very meticulous. It relied on heavy intelligence to plan and to decide when to advance. This was how it looked.
Group 1. The Segeik.
This group was sent out first to gather intelligence about the people they were planning to attack. Like social scientists and anthropologists, they studied the people's routines and behaviours to find a place the Ng'anymetitet can start the attack from. They can be as few as 2 people or many as 20 depending on the size of the tribe to attack. These men were very intelligent and courageous as they could have to hide in forests for long periods. Some hard-core folks those ones.
Group 2. Ng'anymetitet.
This group consisted of about 50 men who went to start the war. They launched the first attack on the community based on the intelligence brought back by the Segeik.
Group 3. Samburto.
These were now the main warriors. They advanced the attack by the Ng'anymetitet. They were very important for the middle of the war and they were very many.
Group 4. Oldimdo.
They were a large force. They come in when the other three have been pushed back by the warriors from the community they are attacking. The Oldimdo took time to research and find out the weaknesses and strengths of their warriors and the warriors of the other tribe. After making consultations they go back to attack. This team also consisted of very experienced, and fierce men. Militant all the way. Their aim was always to finish the war.
The militant nature of the Nandi and the fact that they had won a war against the Maasai gave the Nandi the skills to put up the longest resistance against the British. 10 years of giving Britain hell. Eventually, Koitalel Arap Samoei, the leader of the Nandi at the time Britain went to their community to attack. was tricked into being killed by the British forces. The British had sent a delegation to meet with Koitalel, ostensibly to discuss peace terms. However, when he arrived, he was greeted by a squad of colonial troops who opened fire on him, killing him.
The British Colonel who was later convicted of Koitalel's murder was Richard Meinertzhagen. Koitalel's head was taken to the British Museum and his headless body was buried in the Koitalel Museum in Nandi County where aspects of the Nandi culture have been preserved.
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