Native to Kenya/Uganda Native speakers 240,000 (2009 census) | Region Mount Elgon | |
Ethnicity Sabaot people/Sebei people Language family Nilo-Saharan?
Eastern Sudanic
Nilotic
Southern Nilotic
Kalenjin
Elgon
Sabaot Dialects Bong’omeek (Bong’om)
Koony (Kony)
Book (Pok) | ||
Sabaot The Sabaot tribe is one of the nine sub-tribes of the Kalenjin tribe. The other eight tribes are: Sengwer, Tugen, Terik, Keiyo, Kipsigis, Pokot, Marakwet and Nandi who live in the Rift Valley Province of Kenya. According to Sabaots website [1], the Sabaots are the authentic Kalenjin tribe commonly referred as "Kapkugo" by the other Kalenjin sub-tribes.The Sabaots live around Mt. Elgon in both Kenya and Uganda. The hills of their homeland gradually rise from an elevation of 5,000 to 14,000 feet. The area is criss-crossed by mountain streams and spectacular waterfalls. Mount Elgon is an extinct volcano about 50 miles in diameter. The Kenya-Uganda border goes straight through the mountain-top, cutting the Sabaot homeland into two halves.The dialects of sabaot are The Pok, Somek, Mosop, Kony, Bong'omek and Sabiny(Sebei)
Grammar
Typical of Nilotic languages, Sabaot uses ATR to express some morphological operations: