Samburu
/səmˈbʊə.ruː/noun
A member of an Indigenous Maa-speaking people of northern Kenya, or their language.
Did you know?The Samburu are closely related linguistically to the Maasai, but “Samburu” is an external name whose precise original meaning remains debated by scholars.
Etymological Timeline
Precolonial period
Maa
Samburu / Samburr
“An ethnonym used for the Samburu people; the original sense is disputed, with proposed links to a traditional bag or container.”
19th Century
Maa
Samburu
“A name used among neighboring Maa-speaking communities for the northern pastoralist group.”
Late 19th Century
Swahili
Samburu
“A regional ethnonym adopted in wider East African usage.”
Early 20th Century
English
Samburu
“A name recorded by colonial administrators and ethnographers for the people, language, and region.”
Modern English
English
Samburu
“The Samburu people, their Maa variety, or places and institutions associated with them in Kenya.”