The Pokot are a sub-community of the Kalenjin, who speak Pokoot language and live in Western Kenya’s West Pokot County. They are a deeply spiritual people, so religion is an integral part of life among them. For the Pokot, every step of life from birth to death, and even the afterlife has a religious practice or ritual associated with it.
Spirituality among the Pokot
Spirituality and religion among the Pokot are understood in two ways. This is because Pokot cosmology outlines that the world exists in two realms: one above and another below. The realm above is a reserve of deities, while the one below is home for people, vegetation, animals, and other creatures.
Tororot is the supreme deity among the Pokot who is worshipped through prayer and offerings. Besides Tororot, the Pokot revere Asis (sun), Ilat (rain), and moon deities. Tororot listens to creatures below, Asis witnesses their activities, while Ilat acts as a messenger between the deities above and the spiritual realm below. These deities have a mutual spiritual relationship with human beings, so they communicate with the people as well, warning and rebuking them in case of any conduct that displeases Tororot.
Sacred Worship of Tororot
Mt Mtelo located in the Northwest highlands of West Pokot County is the central place of worship among the Pokot. It is considered the dwelling place of the gods, and traditional ceremonies like initiation are conducted at the foot of the mountain. Other than the mountain, the Pokot people also worship and offer their sacrifices to the deities in caves, riverbanks, rocks, shrines, and even homesteads.
Human beings have a role to play in the Pokot religion as well. They are tasked with the responsibility of maintaining peace and prosperity in the realm below. However, this doesn’t mean that they have supreme authority over these. They still need to seek divine help to achieve their desired harmonious coexistence. They seek divine intervention through prayers and sacrifices. Additionally, feasts and dances are organised to give thanks to Tororot. These ceremonies are presided over by community elders.
Spiritual Leaders among the Pokot
The Pokot believe that every challenge the community faces has a spiritual reason behind it. So, besides community elders, diviners (Kaworokion), prophets and prophetesses (Werkoyon), medicine men and women (Chepsogeyon), and sorcerers are instrumental in the spiritual matters of the community. They are believed to be Ilat’s human counterparts in the realm below. They are gifted divinely, and are required to use their gifts and powers on behalf of the entire Pokot community to foresee impending disasters, advise the community on how to mitigate the disasters, and help them ward off ill spirits.
Clearly, the Pokot traditional religion is founded on the belief that there are several spiritual beings in existence, and the environment within which human beings and other creatures inhabit is under spiritual influence. As a result, the Pokot strive daily to coexist in perfect peace with spiritual beings so as to be favoured by Tororot and receive his bestowment of abounding blessings.
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