Twice ToldI. Q. Orchardson, The Chemosit, Journal of the East Africa and Uganda Natural History Society, January 1927
- Language
- English
- Read from
- no. 28, p. 23
- Reading
- transcribed from the page image
- Retrieved
- 10 October 2026
The closing section of a letter on the Kipsigis, whom Orchardson calls “the Kipsigis-Nandi”, which answers an essay on the origin of the Maasai by C. Cardale Luck (Journal, August 1926). Orchardson writes from among the Kipsigis, a people related to the Nandi, and reports what they told him; he does not say how many people he asked. The Journal’s contents page gives April 1927 as the date of publication of this number.
III. The Chemosit.
Amongst the Kipsigis one finds no belief that the Chemosit is a devil or spirit or god or man. The only reference to its being like a man is that some say that at a distance it looks like a huge man because it stands up on its hind legs. Even those who say it has only one leg say that it has no arms and that its footprint is something between that of an elephant and a rhino and insist very strongly that it is only an animal. A few old men even say they have seen it at night and give descriptions—very wild ones but all quite unlike man or spirit, for they include fur, whiskers (“wawechik” = whiskers or antenae of animals and insects only). The crutch of Hollis’ book is quite unknown here for they say how could an animal use a crutch. A curious detail is that the urine of the Chemosit is said to be so evil smelling that no man can stay near it. All the young men deny having seen it or knowing what it is like, but love to tell children and unsuspecting Europeans fancy tales of it.
The name Chemosit however might not be said at night just as in the case of the Chief Witch Doctor. At night it was given another name, viz., “Gononet,” of which I do not know the derivation. Chemosit is a fairly common man’s name and it is also used by mothers to make their children obey, e.g., “If you don’t eat your food the Chemosit will come and eat you.”
Iletnemie and Iletneya are quite unknown to the Kipsigis. Ilet, the lightning, however, is universally and firmly believed to be a huge birdlike animal.
Yours, etc., I. Q. Orchardson.
Notes
- Transcription conventions: spelling as printed (“antenae”); the print’s closing “Yours, etc..” is given with one full stop.
- “Iletnemie and Iletneya” are Hollis’s Ilet ne-mie and Ilet ne-ya, the two thunder-gods (The Nandi, p. 41).
- Orchardson speaks for the Kipsigis he consulted and corrects Hollis, who wrote about the Nandi; both are Orchardson’s own statements about what his informants say.