Cultural perceptions of elephants by the Samburu people

The Samburu people of northern Kenya have co-existed withelephants since time immemorial. The Samburu-elephant co-existence is facilitated by local knowledge gained through real experiences from directinteractions with, actual... [ view full abstract ]

The Samburu people of northern Kenya have co-existed withelephants since time immemorial. The Samburu-elephant co-existence is facilitated by local knowledge gained through real experiences from directinteractions with, actual observation of, and adaptation to the elephant’snatural behavior. The experiences are interpreted and coded through existingtraditional belief systems and permeated to the community and descendinggenerations through the vibrant oral system in the society. The knowledge is anintegral part of the co-existence.

The Samburu perceive elephants in terms of individual and‘individual groups rather than a population. Individual elephants havemeaningful and significant characters. The Samburu perception is different fromthat of other interested organizations and institutions, past and present,interested in the elephants inhabiting Samburu District. The activities ofthese organizations regard elephants in terms of population.

 Events such as poaching, law enforcement against poaching, andconservation have barely changed the cultural perception of elephants in theSamburu society. Through their programs of action, each and every one of theelephant interest groups claims an ownership of elephants in different ways.

 The people regard elephants as moral beings capable of hurting andbeing hurt. As a result, elephants attain a higher moral status in the Samburusociety than any other animal, including livestock. As moral beings, the studyshows that the Samburu perceive the concept of ownership as a form of ‘slaveryand exploitation’ of elephants. To Samburu, owning a moral being is immoral orconstitutes an immorality and therefore conscripts ‘the being’ to a lower moral order.

The Samburu perceptions on the elephant are challenging to environmental education. Nevertheless, adopting the local perception aboutelephants ensures the implementation of meaningful and respectable programs.This is important not only to the Samburu people but for elephants and elephantconservation in the district.