It is largely believed that the land must have been inhabited by people for the first time around two million years ago. Today, more than forty ethnic groups live in Kenya, each having migrated into the region at their own time and bringing with them their own traditions; some of which merged to form a single culture. These tribes are broadly divided into three ethno- linguistic groups: The Bantus, Cushites and Nilotes.
Bantu People
The Bantu people form a majority of the tribes in Kenya and constitute around two thirds of the total population, supporting mainly an agricultural existence. They are believed to have migrated from the Central African region of the Shaba province area in Zaire and Cameroon, in around 2000 B.C. This was due to a variety of reasons, chief among them being population pressure and the need for well watered areas as well as more land for cultivation. There are three main clusters of the Bantu speaking people: those inhabiting the coast- Pokomo, Taita, Taveta and the Mijikenda, the central highland Bantus who are mainly the Kikuyu speaking people, the Aberdare Range inhabitants- the Chuka, Mbeere, Embu, Meru, Kamba and Kikuyu- as well as those inhabiting the Lake Victoria Basin; the Gusii, Luhya and Kuria.
Nilotes
The Nilotic speaking people are said to have migrated from their home of origin, which was somewhere to the West of Lake Turkana between the 10th and 14th centuries AD. They followed different directions depending on their constituent ethnic groups namely the Kalenjin, the Maasai, the Iteso and the Luo. The initial group, which was the Kalenjin, moved southwards into Kenya occupying the Uasin Gishu Plateau while the Luos occupied the area around Lake Victoria Basin. They are referred to as the River Lake Nilotes. However, the expansion of the Maasai towards the south along the Rift Valley around 1600 AD caused the Kalenjin to move from their grazing lands in the East to occupy their present homelands of Elgeyo, Elgon, Nandi and Kipsigis. The Maasai, who are referred to as the Plain Nilotes, then moved into the highlands and by the 18th century, had settled in the Rift Valley Area.
Northern Africa
The Cushitic speaking people also moved into Kenya from their homeland in Northern Africa around 2000 B.C. They are largely Afro Asiatic and occupy mainly the desert areas of Northern Kenya. Al though the arrival of Arab traders on the Kenyan coast opened the country to trade with Arabic communities, it is also said to have invited colonization. The Arabs heavily influence the culture of the Kenyan people. In fact, Swahili, which is the lingua Franca of the Kenyan people has loaned heavily from the Arabic words. The arrival of the Portuguese in the 16th century somewhat dampened the presence of the Arabs. However, in 1698, this domination was taken over by the Omani Arabs. Around the 19th century, the United Kingdom established its influence, setting the stage for the dismantling of the pre-colonial organization of the different tribes and setting the stage for colonialism.
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