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kenyaView
Kenyan Peoples and Languages
This map shows the distribution of langages and dialects in Kenya. The green areas show Cushitic languages (formerly often described as Hamitic languages; these are languages spoken by large numbers of people in Somalia and Ethiopia also, and the people are usually called Somalis). The red, purple and pink areas show Nilotic languages, which are the Maa languages of the Maasai and their relatives. The blue areas show Bantu languages. The representatives of these three language groups are as different from each other 'racially' as Chinese and Britons; that is to say, they had been isolated for a very long time before history brought them back into contact. Although westerners often think of Africa as a place with no history of its own, the Maasai peoples moved into this area from the north in the last few hundred years, as did the Bantu-speaking peoples from the west. Both of these groups variously interacted with, absorbed or exterminated groups previously inhabiting the lands they hold now. Although complicated by the entry of white people, the struggles between these people are real, and some idea that this area would be a paradise if Europeans had not come is not viable.
(This map is copyright-free and available on Wikipedia.)