Pokomo
The Pokomo — People of the Tana River
About
The Pokomo are a coastal Bantu community, closely related to the Waswahili and Mijikenda of the coast. They migrated from Shungwaya in southern Somalia and settled along the Tana River valley, stretching from the Tana Delta to north-eastern Kenya — a community whose entire way of life is shaped by, and inseparable from, the river they call Chana Maro. Their population in Kenya was 112,075 in 2019, making them one of the country's smaller communities, concentrated along the river's length in Tana River County. The Pokomo carry a distinction that few Kenyans know: Kenya's national anthem was borrowed from a Pokomo lullaby, composed by Mzee Menza Morowa Galana of Makere village.
Language
Kipokomo (Pokomo) is a Northeast Coastal Bantu language within the Sabaki subgroup — the same family as Kiswahili — spoken exclusively in Tana River County. With 112,075 speakers recorded in 2019, the community is divided into two groups: the Upper Pokomo, making up 75% of the population, and the Lower Pokomo. Pokomo is divided into two main dialect clusters — Upper Pokomo (Mila juyu) and Lower Pokomo (Mila nchini) — with significant phonological, lexical, and morphological differences reflecting the riverine geography that separates communities. Named dialects include Gwano, Kinakomba, Malalulu, Ndera, Ndura, and Zubaki, with Lower Pokomo dialects such as Ngatana, Buu, Dzunza, and Kalindi showing stronger influence from coastal Swahili. The two main groups are also divided by religion: the Upper Pokomo are predominantly Muslim, while the Lower Pokomo, living near the Tana Delta, are predominantly Christian.
Culture
The Tana River is the Pokomo's garden, highway, and larder all at once. They grew plantains and sugarcane on the riverbanks, rice on the lowlands, and maize and beans on higher ground, reading the sky and moon to distinguish between Mvula ya Masika (short rains for fast-maturing crops) and Mvula ya Kilimo (long rains for rice and water-hungry crops). Fishing was equally vital — their traditional diet includes catfish (mtonzi), tilapia (ntuku), trout (ningu), and eel (mamba), caught in cone-shaped traps woven from the pongoyo tree. Music is the lifeblood of Pokomo celebrations: traditional songs and dances mark harvests, fishing seasons, hunting, weddings, circumcision, and births. Authority rested with village elders (wazee) who presided over the moro, a council of elders — with entry forbidden to women, young men, and children. A stricter judicial body, the Kijo, held powers to excommunicate, imprison, or execute those found guilty of serious offences. The Pokomo believed in a supreme being, Mulungu, worshipped in sacred forests, and consulted spiritual leaders for guidance on religious and community matters