Description
This novel is based on true events of the 19th century, a period of widespread warfare between pastoralist groups fighting for grazing lands and cattle. The fiercest of these groups were the Laikipiak Maasai who dominated Kenya’s Great Rift Valley until their defeat in the 1870s. The novel focuses on two lovers, Maron and Endelepin and their son Kitoip, as they endure the tribulations of warfare, smallpox, slave traders and the coming of European colonialism.
About the Author
Elliot Fratkin is Professor Emeritus of African Studies and Anthropology at Smith College in Northampton MA. He studied Samburu and Maa-speaking pastoralists of Kenya between 1974 and 2012. His publications include Laibon: An Anthropologist’s Journey with Samburu Diviners of Kenya. This is his first novel.