The Yaaku "Yaakunte" Language in Kenya

The Republic of Kenya has been long considered as one of the most diverse and fascinating countries in Africa with its 49 distinct tribes using 69 languages according to the most recent analyses. The Yaaku people are one of these 49 tribes, but the 1 situation of these indigenous hunter-gatherers and traditionally beekeepers seem to be unique and fascinating mainly due to their efforts to preserve their traditional language against all the odds. The Yaaku people are inhabitants of central Kenya, more specifically total number around 5000 Yaaku lives in the district called Laikipia. During the first half 20the century, the large number Yaaku people assimilated to the Maasai people because of the higher social prestige of pastoralist culture of the Maasai compared to the hunter-gatherer lifestyle practised by the Yaaku. For that reason, during the second half of the 20the century, the Yaaku cultural heritage suffered immensely, and a significant number of the Yaaku speakers gave up their language in favour of the Maa, which is the language of Maasai people. This unfortunate shift occurred after the British colonial forces left Kenya and because of Kenyan independence, the Yaaku suddenly lost their ancestral rights to the ownership of Mukogodo forest and its surroundings. The Yaaku elder Nkonge Saikong, fluent in the Yaaky and the English language, explains that the English language and national Swahili were no threats to the Yaaku in the 1960s, but it was the languages of Maasai and Samburu that eventually forced people to abandon the Yaaku due to the socioeconomic prestige of both tribes. In other words, during the British rule all tribes were equal in socioeconomic conditions, but under the sovereign Kenyan government, the Maasai usurped the privileged position due to their wealth-cattle.