Ogiek

The Okiek are an autochthonous Southern Nilotic tribe of the Kalenjin speaking peoples and are among the oldest aboriginal inhabitants of East Africa. Primarily characterized as hunter-gatherers, they represent a distinct historical and cultural classification within the Kalenjin ethnic group.Inhabiting the highland forests of Kenya, primarily the Mau Forest and Mount Elgon, as well as parts of northern Tanzania, the Okiek are regarded as the foundational inhabitants of the region, predating most modern ethnolinguistic groups. Their presence in these highlands is described as being from time immemorial, with archaeological & historical estimates suggesting a lineage in the area dating as far back as 4000 BCE.