Dorobo (or Ndorobo, Wadorobo, Wandorobo, Torobo) is a derogatory umbrella term for several unrelated hunter-gatherer groups of Kenya and Tanzania that are subservient to the Maasai and have no cattle.
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Etymology
The term 'Dorobo' derives from the Maa expression il-tóróbò (singular ol-torróbònì) 'hunters; the ones without cattle'. Living from hunting wild animals implies being primitive, and being without cattle implies being very poor in the pastoralist Maa culture.
Classifications
In the past it has been assumed that all Dorobo were of Southern Nilotic origin; accordingly, the term Dorobo was thought to denote several closely related ethnic groups.
Although many of them happen to be Nilotic, Dorobo as used by the Maa simply refers to neighbouring hunter-gatherers regardless of their origin — the Yaaku for example (present-day Mukogodo-Maasai) are an Eastern Cushitic people, the Aasax are of Southern Cushitic origin, while the Akie (Mosiro) are Eastern Nilotes.
Groups that have been referred to as Dorobo include:
Relations with neighbours
A historical survey of 17 Dorobo groups in northern Kenya found that they each maintained a close rapport with their surrounding territory through their foraging. Speaking the same language as their nomadic pastoralist neighbours, they would maintain peaceful relations with them and accepted a lower status. Occasional intermigration and intermarriage between the two groups was even possible. If the political landscape shifted and new pastoralists entered the area, then the local Dorobo would switch to the new language and build up new relations, while clinging to their territorial niche.