Back in the 16th century, three Cushitic communities had settled in a place called Liban, in Southern Ethiopia. They were the Burji, the Borana and the Konso. All had good relations and were so closely affiliated that they were referred to as “Companions in Fate”. To ensure their continued friendliness, prosperity, and the fertility of their land, all three communities performed an annual sacrifice to the gods. Each community took a turn providing a sheep to be slaughtered. If the first year’s sheep was provided by the Burji, then the following year’s would be provided by the Borana, and thereafter the Konso on the third year. This process went smoothly for several years.
Then came another year when it was the Borana’s turn to provide the sacrificial sheep. In preparation for the annual ceremony, they fattened a sheep and kept it in a special pen away from the others. Everything was ready for the ceremony, until the day they woke up to find the sheep gone! A search party was sent out and they found its bones outside the Burji compound. Chaos ensued. The Konso and the Burji pointed fingers at each other, but neither of them was prepared to take the blame. A meeting was called to discuss the matter, but the Burji refused to show up. They knew they were innocent, despite what the evidence suggested.
What had really happened was the Konso had crept into the Borana compound and stolen the sheep, but as they were unwilling to admit to their crime, the conflict was never resolved and the bond between the three cousins was broken.
After this debacle, the three communities decided to go their separate ways. The Burji trekked south into Kenya and settled in the northern region of the country. Other communities in the area were pastoralists, so the agricultural Burji were the first to permanently settle in the towns we know today as Moyale and Marsabit. They soon realised that food was scarce in these areas due to the arid climate. The pastoralist communities had been relying only on their livestock as livelihood, but it wasn’t enough to sustain them throughout the year. Luckily, the Burji were highly skilled farmers. Even in a dry area such as Northern Kenya, they were able to start and sustain lucrative farms. By 1926, they were the sole suppliers of labour in farms, as well as major food suppliers in the area.
In honour of the Burji’s agricultural prowess, Marsabit was named after a prolific Burji farmer called Marsa. The name Marsa-bet translates to Marsa’s home. Bet means home in Amharic, the language which the Burji spoke while in Ethiopia. To this day, the Burji still pronounce their county’s name as Marsa-bet.
We salute these skilled agriculturalists for their contribution to Kenya’s prosperity.
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