Rock Painters

The four morans coming to this cave in April 1948 first brought one bull to slaughter and eat at the cave, and after a week another bull, one bull from each family. Lamnyiyan Lenkurukuri made several paintings in the cave, using fat from the bulls.

He drew the first bull they feasted on, also the lungs and intestines. Below the bull he drew the meat taking out from it: the stomach, liver and kidney. To the right of the bull, Lenkurukuri painted two morans, himself and his cousin.

The first painting Lenkurukuri made in the cave was of the bees in a tree close to the cave. He painted a bee, the beehive and the leaves to hold the honey.

One of the morans, Lenkakofeng Lengewa, painted a spear, which was used to kill the wild animals in the surroundings.

Just before leaving the cave, Lamankiyan Lenkurukuri made a final painting. He drew clouds with rain, that they had experienced in the cave, and their approaching walk, a long, winding trail in the mountains, ending at a boma for the goats.

Lamnyiyan Lenkurukuri arrived at Takoko cave with three other morans in late 1948. Lomelo Lenaropi was the leader, being the oldest. Takoko means a cooked meal of bones from meat. The Lmurran stayed in the cave for four weeks, eating one bull each week, the bulls brought to the cave from each one of the Lmurran families.

Both Lenkiyan Lenkurukuri and Lomelo Lenaropi painted in the cave at the same time. They each had their beds under the rock, and painted on the rock above them, while lying down. Lenkurukuri painted, from right to left, the path for the cows coming from a manyata or their grazing land to the place of slaughter and the cave. He added a little bit to the painting for each bull they ate.

Lenkurukuri and Lomelo painted completely independent of each other, and they never talked about it.

Lmeiboki Lesas arrived at Mpirrich cave after his initiation in 1961. At first, they were eight morans, slaughtering and eating a bull. After the meal, Lmeiboki Lesas decided to paint six of the Lmurran present, including himself.

When they brought another bull to the cave two more Lmurran joined them, along with five Lmurran guests. After eating that bull, Lmeiboki Lesas decided to paint all the 15 Lmurran in the cave. In 2023 he was able to identify all these 15 painted Lmurran by name, from right to left: Lekorleite, Levrari, Lekutukori… He painted himself in the middle. Between the two sets of paintings, he painted a fairly large Lmurran with a high feather. That was the leader of the group: Lodotu Lolngojine.

In this cave, there are also paintings from Lkichami ageset, 2005, made by Lparaa Leamalio and Ltudungwa Lempei.

Lmeiboki Lesas came to Mpurungus cave two years after initiation, in 1963, together with six Lmurran in total. They stayed there for more than a month, eating bulls, and also one camel. When relaxing after a meal, Lmeiboki Lesas painted the six Lmurran.

In 2023 he had no difficulty identifying all the six Lmurran on the rock wall: Lewano, Lokireri, Lepatoye, Leparnat, Lemoroti and himself.

There are many more paintings of Lmurran in Mpurungus cave. 16 of them were made by Letiyan Labarakwe, when staying in the cave after initiation in the Lkuroro ageset in early 1978. Another 12 Lmurran were painted by Loboru Lekaana about two months later, in the same year, when he stayed there with his Lmurran group.

Lmeiboki Lesas arrived at this cave around 1964. They were three Lmurran staying there for two months, eating several bulls. After one of the meals, Lmeiboki Lesas painted himself on the right and the other two Lmurran, Lokoli and Lemadala, to the left of him.

There are many more paintings of Lmurran in Naidele cave from other painters and agesets.

Lchorro means spring of water. Lmeiboki Lesas came to this cave in the mid-1960s. They were altogether six warriors, staying in the cave for two months, eating both goats and bulls. After a meal, both Lmeiboki Lesas and his close friend Leimele painted. They started painting on the right and continued gradually toward the left. All of the Lmurran were painted, some of them twice, as well as a few guests. Some of the paintings have since washed away or are barely visible today.

Ltingilan Labarakwe also painted in this cave, the three Lmurran who stayed there in 2006, about one year after initiation in the Lkichami ageset.

Noongosowani Cave (the buffalo place), named by his grandfather, served as a family base. Shortly after his initiation in 1976, Loingeru stayed there for about a year together with other morans. They hunted buffalo, dangerous work that once left him badly injured in the hip. They brought the meat to the shelter and processed it by roasting, boiling, and drying, while guarding it from predators.

In this shelter, Loingeru made his first paintings. He used red ochre from a small bag he carried, even wrote small letters he had learned at school, just for fun, to show that he could write. Higher up in the shelter, he painted himself hunting a buffalo and several geometric shapes. These shapes represent the meat cut into portions. He also painted sticks for roasting, and racks for drying the food. He made a platform to be able to paint high up on the wall.

"This was my home, and I wanted to decorate my home."

At Soitnauno Rock Shelter (standing rock), near the Gille River, Loingeru lived for six to seven months in the early-mid-1980s, together with other warriors. They hunted buffalo, slaughtered bulls and goats, watered livestock and coped with insecurity from poachers.

Loingeru painted the animals he saw: bulls, lions, and elephants. He turned ordinary experiences into visual memory. He also painted his fellow warriors, and himself two times, once as a well-fed and strong warrior. Loingeru said that the paintings signalled courage and bravery to Samburu women passing by.

Several paintings on the rock have disappeared, washed away by wind and rain.

Noolkineji Cave (he-goats place), high up in the hills, was used as a refuge. Loingeru and six other warriors hid here while hunting and raiding goats. They stayed there for about six months. The paintings tell very personal stories. They are Loingeru's memories painted on the rock.

One painting depicts himself and how they cared for an injured companion by giving him soft goat meat. Beside it on the wall are small squares showing the harder buffalo meat, shared over six days.

"A record of care and sharing among warriors."

Zaire renamed the cave, from Takoko to Lng'aboli. Lng'aboli is a tree that grows close to the cave. When relaxing, after eating the meat of the camel, Zaire got inspired by the earlier paintings in the cave and decided to paint the camel, as a reminder of the feast and the tasty meat. He used red ochra from his hair mixed with fat.

Later the Lmurran brought a big bull to slaughter and eat in the cave. Zaire used the fat from the bull to paint it on the rock. He also painted the way they organized, cut and roasted the meat of the bull.

When lying down to rest in the cave, he saw the older white paintings above him, although he did not understand them, and wanted to paint more. He drew his manyata at home with the huts inside, the water hole near the cave, herb trees, an owl, sticks for drying the meat and his left hand on the rock wall to show that he had been here.

The lion had killed several cows close to the village and the Lmurran warriors were called to kill it. They left the remains of one of the massacred cows under a tree, close to the cave. One of the Lmurrani, Samiya Lerumpen, climbed up into the tree with his spear and waited for the lion. Zaire and another Lmurrani chased the lion and then took cover behind some nearby trees.

When the lion began to eat from the dead cow, Samiya threw his spear from the tree top and killed the lion in one strike. The Lmurran cut the skin of the lion into long strips, and each Lmurran received a couple of strips. These lion strips are very valuable and used at weddings and other ceremonies.

Those who have killed a lion with a spear are considered "kings" among the Lmurran, Zaire says. Of course, he had to paint the dangerous lion on the rock, not the hunt itself but the lion and its various parts. Far down on the rock wall he painted the long spear they used. To the left of the lion he made a print of his hand. It is only through Zaire's story, we can understand the meaning of these images.

Zaire came to the cave with two other Lmurran after spending two weeks in the previous Lng'aboli cave. His warrior friend Lpatinkin, who had attended school, wrote the date of their arrival in the cave, 3 July 1990. Zaire painted Lpatinkin in black with red hair.

There are later paintings in Lng'aboli 2 cave made by Julius Lenaropi, after his circumcision in August 2005, in the Lkichami ageset. He painted himself, the cow and the camel they brought to the cave to consume. And he drew the Moti, the pot they used for cooking the tasty soup of the remaining meat.

After slaughtering and eating a camel over four days in the cave, first the roasted meat and then a tasty soup of the leftovers, he made a painting inside the cave. He used fat from the camel to paint in white.

He drew a ring divided into four sections, showing roasted meat on the fireplace, cut into portions for evening and morning meals (started from the right). Around the divided and roasted meat, he painted the six Lmurrani with himself kneeling to the left at the fireplace.

Roba came to this cave after the long rains in April 2021, together with his good friend Lpurrengei Lekalgitele. They wanted to decorate themselves and smear their heads with red ochre. After decorating themselves, they decided to paint. They bought the red ochre and oil in Ngurunit, brought them to the cave, and mixed them in a small tin. They painted together: a Lmurran and his girlfriend holding hands.

Roba first painted the Lmurran with long feathers, a spear, and a large upper body. Then Lpurrengei painted the girlfriend with many necklaces and beads on her lower legs. Above the couple, Roba wrote NAMELOOK, meaning sweetheart.

This cave is near Roba's home, just above their manyata. Roba went there many times as a child, and he still uses it quite a lot with his Lmurran friends. He named the cave Nkaji e Nkai, meaning House of God. The name expresses his appreciation of the cave as a good place, a hiding place, protection from the sun, and always cool. The Lmurran often come here to feast on meat, cook, eat, tell stories, have fun, and rest, but they never spend the night there because of the dangerous snakes.

In 2022, four morans came here to plait the hair of one of them, Lekesike, with the support of an elder. They also brought a goat to eat. While sitting and doing nothing, Roba saw the previous paintings in the cave and decided to make his own painting. He imagined his favourite bull from home, as well as the tallest camel, and decided to paint them in red on the rock wall. He found a good space on the rock and first painted the bull, which is named Nanapi. After finishing the bull, he painted the camel, which is named Mporog. When the other Lmurran saw his paintings, they said, "Wow, you did a good job." They were surprised that he was a painter.

Loingeru Leparsore spent time in this cave in the early to mid-1980s and made a painting (see Loingeru Leparsore). Roba Lesagaram came here with a total of ten morans in May 2023. They slaughtered two goats, and afterwards three of the Lmurran made paintings.

Roba painted a cow using fat from the meat—a cow taken by the recent drought—and also painted himself as a Lmurrani with feathers and a spear, using red ochre from the body and hair.

Anthony Lewano carved, with a sharp stone picked up from the ground, a tall moran with feathers, a bull, a camel, and the two "tables" that were used to roast the meat.

Ltoropan Labarakwe first painted a black cow with charcoal from the fire and then carved two more cows with a sharp stone. Cows are essential, he says, and these are cows taken by the drought.