fierce Gambian patriot whose resistance to British colonialism is celebrated in legend and song first appears in the historical record in the 1830s when he was king of the precolonial Gambian kingdom of Niani Niani situated in the middle reaches of the River Gambia was where Kamara inflicted the first major defeat against the British colonial forces on Gambian soil at a battle near his capital at Dungaseen He then became the undisputed anticolonial ruler in Gambia The defeat angered and embarrassed the British so much that their governor in Bathurst George Rendall was recalled and later dismissed Kemintang went to war to protect his trade and political rights against British aspirations A minor dispute involving the seizure of river cutters small sailboats that carry groundnuts proved to be the spark that lit a powder keg of rivalries among local rulers like Kemintang and British merchants and their agents over ...
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Gabrielle Lynch
Kenyan spiritual and military leader (orkoiyot), was born around 1860 in Nandi. Koitalel was the youngest son of Kimnyole arap Turukat, an orkoiyot who could trace his lineage to the first unifying leader of the Nandi. Little is known of Koitalel’s maternal lineage or childhood, except that his father had over forty wives and that his family was relatively wealthy. As an adult, Koitalel also had around forty wives and lived at Kamng’etuny near Nandi Hills, where he led a prolonged resistance against British colonialism.
The position of orkoiik (pl.) refers to men with powers of divination, omen interpretation, prophecy, and medicine. These powers are inherited along clan lines, but are dependent on reputation. Prior to the mid-nineteenth century the orkoiik’s influence was limited to relatively small areas. However, in the mid-nineteenth century, a family of laibons (Maasai spiritual leaders) were welcomed and absorbed as orkoiik ...
