Kipsigis (African people)

The Kipsigis (Kipsigiis or Kipsikiis) are the largest tribe of the Kalenjin ethnic group and speak Kipsigis, a dialect of the Kalenjin language which is classified as a Southern Nilotic. Their dialect is identified by their community eponym Kipsigis. While often cited as representing nearly half of all Kalenjin people, official 2019 data placed their share at approximately (30.1%) with a population at 1,916,317. Joshua Project provides modern population estimates reaching 2.6 million in 2025–2026 and explores the "Pharaoh's army" oral tradition alongside standard Nilotic migration theories. As Highland Nilotes geographically, their ancestral heartland spans the highlands of Kericho and Bomet counties, stretching from Timboroa in the north to the Mara River in the south, and from the Mau Escarpment in the east to Kebeneti in the west; additionally, significant populations reside in Nakuru, Narok, Uasin Gishu, and Trans Nzoia. The Kipsigis maintain a closely intertwined identity with the Ogiek, another indigenous sub-tribe considered one of the earliest inhabitants of Kenya, sharing many linguistic and cultural traits through centuries of inter-assimilation and common social structures. This Kipsigis closest relatives are the Datooga (or Tatonga) of north-central Tanzania. During their historic southward expansion, ancestral groups of both the Kipsigis and the Datooga are believed to have reached the Shinyanga region of Western Tanzania. While the Datooga remained in Tanzania, evolving into a distinct Southern Nilotic group, the Kipsigis eventually returned northward to the Kericho highlands. Later, a smaller contingent of Kipsigis migrated south again to settle in Angata Barikoi within the Trans Mara region, near the Tanzanian border, where they remain as a significant frontier community.The IBEAC company and the British colonial government referred to the Kipsigis people as Lumbwa and Kwavi. The pre-colonial traditional occupations of the Kipsigis included semi-pastoral herding, military expeditions, and farming sorghum and millet. Post-colonial Kipsigis today still live predominantly in their historical national territory on the Western Highlands of Kenya at an altitude of 1500m to 2000m; they mainly grow tea, undertake dairy farming and farm maize. They also grow wheat, pyrethrum and coffee.