Soote

Biography

Soote (also Sote) is the founding ancestor in Rendille oral tradition, the primordial father from whom all nine Rendille clans descend. The Rendille are a Cushitic-speaking pastoralist people who inhabit the Kaisut Desert and surrounding areas in Marsabit County, northern Kenya. According to Rendille tradition, Soote migrated from the north (traditions vary on whether from Somalia or Ethiopia) with his family and herds of camels, eventually settling in the arid lands south of Lake Turkana. Soote is credited with choosing the camel as the primary livestock of the Rendille, a decision that proved crucial for survival in the harsh desert environment. Camels, unlike cattle, can survive for extended periods without water and thrive on the sparse desert vegetation. Soote established the nine-clan system of the Rendille, each descended from one of his sons or grandsons, and created the governance structures, including the naabo assembly system, that regulate Rendille society. He also established the sorio age-set cycle, a complex calendrical system based on a 14-year cycle that is unique among East African pastoralists. The Rendille maintain a strong cultural identity distinct from their Samburu and Somali neighbors, and this distinctiveness is traced to the founding acts of Soote.