Atebet - A Kipsigis Language & Culture Preservation App. Teaching language through the lens of Pitet (law, custom, and nature as one). Built with React Native.
# Atebet — The Behaviour of the People of the Mouth
*Atebetab Piikab Kutit*
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## What is Atebet?
**Atebet** is not a language app. It is a digital *kokwet* — a Kipsigis homestead where language, culture, law, and spirit are one unbroken fabric.
The Kipsigis word *pitet* means law, custom, and nature simultaneously. The sun rising is *pitet*. A flower blossoming is *pitet*. Following the ways of the ancestors is *pitet*. There is no separation between natural law and human law. To break custom is *sogorge* — to act unnaturally — and it brings its own consequence.
This app does not teach Kipsigis as a code to be cracked. It cultivates *pitet* through the daily practice of speech.
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## The Five Tabs (Navigation as Cosmology)
| Tab | Name | Meaning | Function |
|:---|:---|:---|:---|
| 1 | **Mabwaita** | The Altar (East-facing) | Daily proverb, blessing, streak fire, stillness before learning |
| 2 | **Kot** | The House | Core lesson tree — grammar, vocabulary, the Initiation narrative gate |
| 3 | **Tuga** | The Cattle | Interactive dictionary, personal flashcard herds, illustrated vocabulary |
| 4 | **Chepalungu** | The Music | Kipsigis music jukebox, synced lyrics, "Chemirocha" documentary |
| 5 | **Kokwet** | The Community | Profiles with clan system, Age-Set leaderboard, Elder contributions |
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## The Learning Path as Life Cycle
1. **Onboarding — Spirit Identification:** The user receives a Kipsigis birth name through the sneeze ritual (*Kurenet* and *Kainetap Musarek*)
2. **Novice — Pre-Initiate:** Grammar and core vocabulary. The user is a child of the language
3. **Intermediate — Ketienchin (Instruction):** The *Tumdo* initiation story track. Learning proper behaviour, proverbs, the warrior code, sacred directions
4. **Advanced — Kayaet (River Immersion):** Capstone — recording the full self-introduction, participating in the *Kaberuret* blessing
5. **Adult — Piikab Kutit:** Fully initiated. A *Salanyat* praise name is earned. Contribution to co …