ABSTRACT
The Ariaal's diversity in livestock enables them to survive climatic stress and social upheavals to a greater degree than either Samburu or Rendille. Whereas Samburu families lost up to 75% of their cattle during the 1982/ 84 drought, Ariaal were able to subsist on the milk of their drought-adapted camels and build up their flocks of small stock to trade for cattle during the post-drought recovery. Ariaal are a social formation created by immigrants from Rendille and Samburu who came together in western Marsabit District during the period of drought, warfare, and disease of the later 19th century. The history of East African pastoralists is only recently coming to light as scholars piece together evidence from oral traditions, archaeology, and linguistic reconstructions. Kenyan pastoralists faced hardship not only from the warfare of the latter 19th century but also from the steady series of diseases, including bovine pleuro-pneumonia in 1882 and rinderpest in 1891 followed by smallpox.
