Homeland
The Borana live in Marsabit County, including Moyale, and in Isiolo, where the "Waso Borana" settled in the 1930s. The 2019 census counted 276,236 people. They are the southernmost branch of the Oromo, most of whom live in Ethiopia.
Language
Afaan Borana, a Southern Oromo dialect from the eastern branch of the Cushitic languages, serves as the lingua franca of northern Kenya. Several neighboring peoples, among them the Gabra and Sakuye, speak it as their own language.
The gada system
Traditionally, men pass through a series of eight-year grades, and the grade in power governs for a single eight-year term before handing over, an arrangement often described as an indigenous democracy. Asmarom Legesse's Gada (1973) is the classic analysis, and UNESCO inscribed the gada system as intangible heritage in 2016.
Values and belief
The guiding ideal is nagaa Borana, the Peace of the Borana. The sky god is Waaqa. Many Borana are now Muslim, especially in Isiolo, and others are Christian.
Livelihood
Cattle are the prestige animal, though drought and insecurity have pushed many families toward camels.
Today
Like their neighbors across the north, Borana families live in towns as well as on the range, and many people speak Swahili and English alongside Afaan Borana.
Further reading
- Gada, Asmarom Legesse (1973)
Sources
- Arero, Journal of Eastern African Studies
- African Latitude: The Borana
- Talk Africa: census distribution of Kenya's ethnic communities
From The Peoples of Kenya: An Ethnographic Reference (Kenya Experience, November 2026), a synthesis of published sources. Practices described as traditional are historical baselines; today most Kenyans are Christian or Muslim, live in or near towns and speak Swahili and English. Spot something to correct? Write to kibetck@kenyaexperience.org.
