Hey guys! It's Marj here, and today I'm going to be talking about Kenyans. I know that African characters have already been covered, but this piece might help if you want to be more specific when it comes to your African character.

For all those not aware, Kenya is a country located on the Eastern side of Africa, next to Indian Ocean. Now, I'll try my best not to make this into one long Social Studies lecture, so here goes . . .

First things first, let's do away with the stereotypes.

1. STEREOTYPES

We do not have lions for pets. We do not carry spears when we walk outside. We do not wear animal skins for clothes. We do not live in mud houses (there's an exception though . . . I'll get to that shortly).

Please please please don't label Kenya as a "hotbed of terror". Terrorism is still an issue, yes, but it really offends the majority of us, especially Muslims, as the government is trying its best to curb terrorism. Not all areas are affected by it but when it happens, it is a national tragedy.

Not all of us are Maasais who wear read lesos and jump ten feet high as a way of dancing and herd numerous cattle and go hunting and gathering. Please!

And, for heaven's sake, we don't have the same accent! Most movies that I've watched which cast Kenyans have the actors talk in this same accent all the freaking time! I'll have you know that Kenya is pretty diverse when it comes to accents and cultures, which brings me to my next topic.

2. LANGUAGES AND ETHNICITY

The official languages spoken in Kenya are English and Swahili. But mostly Swahili because a percentage of people struggle with English. Swahili is mostly used when it comes to communicating with people of all kinds of caliber (non educated, old and young etc)

So, in short, if you want to include a Kenyan character in your story, make them know Swahili, even if it's just a bit. If you need to use words, don't go overboard with it when you use Google Translate. Simple terms such as Sema/Jambo/Habari (hey, hello, hi), Hapana (no), Ndio (yes), Asante (thank you), Tafadhali (please) will just do.

You don't have to stress yourself googling a whole sentence in Swahili (but if you want to, you can. I ain't stopping you) because like I've already said, Kenyans speak English. About 75-80% of us.

There's also a kind of slang language used in Kenya and it's called Sheng. It's mostly used by the youth and it began as a way of youngsters communicating so that the elder people around wouldn't understand what they were saying. I'd say the language is a kind of pidgin because it isn't official and the vocabulary is fast changing since it uses words from not just two but almost all the tribe languages in Kenya (which are 40 plus). I can't keep up with Sheng myself so I won't dwell on it. It's pretty risky to write about it if you aren't Kenyan in the first place and don't understand how it works because the language changes super fast (I don't think there's a reliable source on the net about Sheng). If your character's a youth, you can mention that he/she "said/cussed out something in Sheng."

I already said that the languages in Kenya are 40 plus. It may come as a shocker to some of you but it's true. I won't mention all of them or we'll be here all day. All the language tribes are categorized into four major groups; Bantus, Nilotes, Cushites and Semites.

Each major group has subgroups that consist of different languages. The language tribes are categorized as so if they have similarities in the form of speaking or some vocab or the origin.

Personally, I'm a Nilote and my tribe is Luo. So if you want to do a bit of profiling of your Kenyan character, give them a tribe. I'll give a few examples: when you Google Bantu, the Kenyan tribes that come up can be Kikuyu, Kamba, Meru, Kisii etc. Nilotes can be River Lake Nilotes (Luo only), Plain Nilotes (Maasai, Samburu, Turkana, Teso, Njemps etc) and Highland Nilotes (Nandi, Sabaot, Bok, Tugen, Keiyo, Bongomek etc). Cushites can be Southern Cushites (Sanya and Dahalo only) and Eastern Cushites (Oromo, Borana, Burji, Somali, Bilin, Rendile etc). For the Semites (they're quite few) they are Arabs, Tigreans, Amharas, Falasha, Bagarra and Nubians.

Please note that when you're doing your research on the tribes, remember to focus on Kenyan Bantus, Kenyan Nilotes and Kenyan Cushites because these groups are also found in other countries but with different tribes. I'm also stressing on this because it is vital when it comes to naming people.

Naming your character depends on what tribe they come from. Don't give them exaggerated compound names. For example, I'm a Luo. I have a first English name (Marjorie), middle tribe or maiden name (Achieng, which means 'born in the afternoon') and a surname (Kadel). Surnames can be tribe names too. I hope you can now see why giving your character a tribe is important. It affects the name. For easier research, just look out for the tribe you're interested in then see what names they've got e.g. Luo names, Kikuyu names, Mijikenda names etc.

And because of this, tribe also affects our accents. We don't all have the same accent. In our country, you can identify someone by what accent they speak, and you cab also do this for your character. For example, "She introduced herself, and judging from her heavy tongue, I could tell it was a Kalenjin accent." Or, "He comes from Kenya and though we find his accent quite foreign, he informed us it was because of his Luo roots."

I hope you get the drift. Tribe. Is. Important.

3. RELIGION

The two major religions are Christianity and Islam. Kenya also has Hinduism but it's a small percentage. And, recently, atheists made themselves known to the public through the media. That was back in 2016 and they were like only 70 of them who wanted to be registered under the Religion's Act. I'm sure atheists are plenty in the country and they've even increased, but at that time, the only 70 people who'd publicized themselves had done so since it was a bit controversial.

So, you can make your character either of those four religions (wow, this four is popping up quite a lot now XD). Your choice.

Since I'm a Christian, I'll just say what I know. We've got Catholics, Protestants and Anglicans and Adventists. I'm not one who's fully immersed into religion, but I go to Church occasionally, know a few verses. Very basic Christian

We've got churches, mosques and temples. And shrines too. Don't get me wrong, but there are some people who stick to tradition. This mostly happens in rural areas where education hasn't really been incorporated.

This does not mean that you make your Kenyan character(s) go to a shrine and do some voodoo black magic. You can, if you want to, but don't stereotype it please and pin it on all Kenyans. It's weird for most us ever since we got our independence but it still happens in a few areas where witchcraft is rampant and a way of life. I wouldn't encourage anyone to make their character a witch or a wizard because it would somehow suggest a stereotype. But, hey, if you can pull it off without being offensive, then go ahead. I just wouldn't encourage it.

It's a matter of personal view anyway =)

So, of course, religions have their holidays!

4. HOLIDAYS

I'll start off with what everyone celebrates. Our independence, self internal rule, heroes day and new years.

We also celebrate Easter and Christmas (Muslims don't, but everyone goes for holiday).

Ramadhan is also acknowledged by everyone and Eid Ul Fitr is usually a holiday for the whole nation to let Muslims celebrate. So we join them by not going to work on that day ha lol.

I'm not really sure about the Hindus, or maybe it's because i don't pay much attention to them, but they also have their religious holidays. Though it doesn't create room for extra holidays, the media usually acknowledges the Hindus with messages like "We wish our Hindu brothers and sisters a happy Diwali."

For the sub religions like Catholics, if they've got to celebrate the way of the cross or Palm Sunday something like that, they just do it and parade the streets. No holiday needed (sadly) and the media covers it obviously.

But when it comes to nationwide celebrations, families go for outings to parks, some like me stay indoors and surf the net all day, most eat or cook food. Lots of it.

I just thought of food.

5. FOOD

The staple food for Kenyans is 'ugali', a type of food made from maize flour. I don't think it has an English term but in my primary school we once had a British transfer student and he called it 'African Cake'. It's not cake because ugali isn't baked but made from boiling water and maize flour. When the water's hot enough, maize flour is added and stirred until it becomes hard enough to pinch it through but soft enough to eat. Gods, it feels weird explaining this but thank gods for Google and 'How To' videos. You can look it up.

My main point is, your Kenyan character has to know what ugali is, even though he or she doesn't necessarily eat it or know how to cook it well. Ugali is basically what identifies us Kenyans when it comes to food. All communities eat it, rich or poor, Christian or Muslim. It sort of brings people together when it comes to events of feasting. And also, ugali's like rice. You can't eat it plainly without a side dish of stew (unless you want to but it would taste really bland and won't go smoothly down your throat) and the stews vary.

Another thing, we eat ugali with our hands. Most of us anyway because some eat with spoons but hey, it's their preference. When it comes to side dishes, it varies from tribe to tribe (see that? Tribe popped up again XD). Almost everyone eats the same kind of food but sometimes we tend to stick to our roots. For example, as I'm a Luo, I really like fish and my community is known for that since we're River Lake Nilotes who mostly dwell around Lake Victoria. So when I go back home to my rural area, Ugali and fish stew is quite common (other communities eat fish as well, it isn't restricted to specific tribes). We also eat vegetables for a balanced diet.

So a typical Kenyan meal would be Ugali, any protein as stew (beans, beef, sardines, green grams) and vegetables (cabbage, kales, spinach etc). For your Kenyan character, you can make them cook a delicacy of ugali. But it's not only restricted to that because we also eat rice, spaghetti, chapati.

And we also eat pizza, burgers, sandwiches (we have Subway, KFC, Nandos, Burger King. I'm still waiting for McDonald's and Starbucks) but this mostly happens in the cities. So don't think our taste in food is only limited to traditional food eaten by tribes. Most of us are open to international food. Like recently, I ate sushi from a from a Japanese joint called Teriyaki and it was heavenly. When it comes to food, Kenyans have their preferences but if its good food, we don't discriminate. So yeah, feel free to make your character eat food from other countries.

But don't make them eat weird things that maybe controversial in most places like pets or even humans (this human eating rumor needs to stop like seriously).

6. EDUCATION

As of now, we have a system called the 8.4.4 system. 8 years in Primary school (elementary), 4 years in secondary school (high school) and 4 years in college or university (this is on average. Careers like medicine and engineering take longer). Before primary we have 3 years in kindergarten.

But the education sector in the government is still constituting for a change in the system and change it to 2.6.6.3 so it may or may not change soon. And if does, this means 2 years Kindergarten, 6 years primary, 6 years high school and 3 years university (on average).

In Kindergarten, we're taught the alphabet, numbers and the English language. No Swahili is encouraged in kindergarten since they know most kids come from their homes speaking Swahili. But on reaching primary, Swahili is taught after the kids have a decent amount of knowledge of English. Subjects taught are English, Swahili, Math, Science, Social Studies and Religious Education (religious ed. depends on what school you've gone to. There are Islam and Hindu schools but most schools teach christianity). High school also varies in the kind of subjects they teach depending on which school it is. For example, in most girls schools they teach Home Science but when it comes to boys' schools you'll find them teaching Woodwork or Metalwork. Basically, all high schools have Math, English and Swahili as compulsory subjects but when it comes to technical sciences and foreign languages it varies e.g. I did French and my cousin in a different school did German. Then we have national exams in our senior year which determines what college or university you'll get into. Of course we have top universities in the country and people strive to get into them (I'm lucky to be in one) so yeah our grade results matter.

There are international schools too with the British System for those parents who don't want to take their kids to the 8.4.4 system.

So, if your Kenyan character is an exchange or transfer student in your story, you can include some of this information.

7. MODERNIZATION VS TRADITIONALISM

A) Urbanization

There are three major cities, and from these, there's a lot of urbanization. Roads and highways, most universities, the houses are mansionettes or apartments made of stone, almost everyone speaks English and Swahili.

When it comes to the rural areas, there are towns in most but only few are yet to be fully modernized. You can find that some people in rural areas tend to stick to their traditions e.g. mud housing, polygamy, witchcraft etc, but they're yet to be educated. Others are simply stubborn and don't want change, thinking that being westernized is evil.

So, there's a huge difference between the city people, town people and rural people. I live in the capital and social media is definitely a hobby for almost everyone. Town people balance between being a city person and rural person. For your character, you can Google towns and cities and determine which one they come from.

B) Sexuality

LGBTQ+ concept is still foreign to some town and rural people (especially rural), but people are slowly accepting it. It started with transgenders mostly as they received a lot of attention from the media (because of the long process of changes of documentation and being shunned by rural relatives), but its still being worked on. When I entered university, I found that some people were weirded out by the LGBT community, some were not.

Its still a controversial issue in Kenya, but that doesn't mean the community doesn't exist. I'm positive that most are still hidden in the closet, especially if they come from towns and rural areas. Cities (mostly universities) are more accepting.

So feel free to make your character LGBTQA+, and you can bring in the topic of hiding in the closet if the family still stick to traditions.

C) Marriage

Gay marriage hasn't been legalized yet. Everyone expects people of the opposite sex to get married and have kids (this is like an African pride thing, where kids should be born so as to continue the bloodline of some ancestor blah blah.) And if the woman doesn't get kids, they're usually looked down upon in most tribes. They were also looked down upon if they don't get at least one son to continue the surname of the family. But then again, this is rural and in towns. Polygamy is still a thing in some tribes (one man, many wives).

These traditions are dying out though. Not completely eradicated, because some people in cities still struggle with the "you must have kids and most importantly a son" beliefs. Adoption happens. Some don't want kids at all. Men are contented with one wife. Divorces too (but divorces are a no-no for traditional families).

D) Clothing and music

Like I already mentioned, we don't wear animal skins. Even rural people. The only time you'll find people wearing leaves and skins and whatnot is during cultural festivals that celebrate different tribes and aim to preserve or teach customs of said tribes.

And each Kenyan tribe has their own special kind of music. You know, just like there are different genres of music internationally (pop, rock, RnB, jazz etc), the tribes have that too. For example, Luos listen to Ohangla, Kikuyus listen to Mugithi, Arabs listen to Taarab.

But, heck, most teenagers and youths don't do that. Personally, I'm a sucker for pop and house. Most of my friends listen to Kenyan pop and Jamaican Riddims, and international hit songs occasionally.

Oh well. When it comes to tastes and preferences, we're all diverse, and we should accept each other that way. It makes the world a much better place.

EXTRAS

I don't know if you get what I'm trying to say. In Kenya, there's still a little bit of struggle between being traditional and being modernized.

If you want to make your Kenyan character deeply rooted with his/her role, TRIBE IS IMPORTANT! You can skip all the other things but do good research on tribe. It makes a good grounded, complex and believable Kenyan Character.

That's it for now. Hope this helped.