I received this note last week from a man who is evidently of the Illchamus People Group – a comment he added that day to a prayer item posted on the Omba4Kenya (see 1 at end) blog on June 8, 2008. YES, I typed the right year and NO, this did not surprise me!
Last month, the African Union Commission ordered the Kenyan government to return land taken years ago for a game reserve to the Endorois community, a sub-tribe of the Kalenjin People in the Rift Valley. (2) This decision has led to many discussions about Kenya’s smaller and often unrecognized People Groups. The government lists 40 plus people groups, but many are a grouping of many smaller clans or tribes, often speaking a separate language.
The information found in a series in last week’s SATURDAY NATION should have startled anyone who believes in the Great Commission
and proclaiming the eternal gospel to all “who live on the earth – to every nation, tribe, language and people” (Revelations 14:6) Entitled, “Kenya’s Tribes on the Brink”, the report talked of tribes becoming extinct as languages and tribes die out. “Only seven can speak dying language” (3) told of the death of an old woman who had fought to keep the identity of the Yakuu tribe/clan known by teaching their culture and language. As life changed in Kenya in recent years, these hunters and gatherers of honey and plants in the forest have been “assimilated by their populous Maasai neighbours” - pastoralists neighbours (those whose lives revolve around keeping livestock and finding pasture and water for them) who call them the “Ndorobo … poor people who do not own livestock.” My reaction: Will there be any Yakuu People standing by the heavenly throne praising God and saying, “Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.”
“Little known tribe that census forgot” tells of the “500 Sanyes on the coast of Kenya. (4) Many disturbing facts were found in this article, such as the writer finding among the Sanye People Group “100 children, none of who seemed to attend school” where “hospitals are foreign.” These people, who make up seven clans, have also been given “a derogatory name” by their neighbours – “Dahalo or the Dako” referring to people who are suspicious and live isolated. The writer says that “The Sanye are very … sensitive. Unannounced visitors are likely to find the village deserted.” My questions when I read this: Will the Sanye People, believers in witchcraft, allow a visitor to proclaim the eternal gospel before they become extinct? Will there be Sanye People in heaven?
Another dimension to this discussion on smaller people groups was shared in “The dying of tribes is the only way to end tribalism.” (5)
There were many valid points in this article, yet, as it talked of “Politicians, anthropologists, historians, archeologists, linguists, sociologists, and even journalists” being a part of the discussion, I wondered if Believers are also concerned about the “likelihood of the extinction of some ethnic group”?
I don’t claim to be a theologian, but I am a PRAY-ER and these articles have definitely led to my praying with more strength for the unreached People Groups of our world. I am also a creator of prayer slide-shows – so you can find a new album of pictures, “Proclaiming the Eternal Gospel to Every Language and People” (6), which I pray will strengthen your prayers as join with the Baptists of Kenya in praying for the lost of our world. Bert Yates
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1) Omba4Kenya/Pray for Kenya – June 8, 2008 - http://omba4kenya.blogspot.com/2008/06/sunday-june-8-2008.html
2) Endorois to get back their land, thanks to AU court (Daily Nation, February 9 2010) -
http://www.nation.co.ke/News/regional/-/1070/858948/-/8pjsq2/-/index.html
3) “Only seven can speak dying language” (Saturday Nation, March 6, 2010, p.10) – http://www.nation.co.ke/News/Only%20seven%20can%20speak%20dying%20language/-/1056/873770/-/mjies0z/-/index.html
4) “Little known tribe that census forgot” (Saturday Nation, March 6, 2010, p.16) – http://www.nation.co.ke/News/Little%20known%20tribe%20%20that%20census%20forgot%20/-/1056/873782/-/4n1xxuz/-/index.html
5) “The dying of tribes is the only way to end tribalism” (Saturday Nation, March 6, 2010, p.16) – http://www.nation.co.ke/News/The%20dying%20of%20tribes%20is%20the%20only%20way%20to%20%20end%20tribalism%20/-/1056/873788/-/n8t751/-/index.html
6) Proclaiming the Eternal Gospel to Every Language and People – http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=205477&id=685050129&l=7f2bfa4db5 - Non-FACEBOOK members can view these pictures
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