A “Lineage” Matrix Population Model of the Rendille of Northern Kenya

Merwan H. Engineer, University of Victoria
Ming Kang, University of Victoria

The Rendille tribe of Northern Kenya is an “age-group society” in which cohorts of similarly aged males known as “age sets” are organized along periodic lines of descent. This paper develops a matrix population model that reveals the genealogical dynamics inherent in the Rendille social organization. The rules governing marriage as they relate to lineage considerations substantially reduce the size and the growth rate of the population; they also induce periodicity in the demographics and dramatically favour one of the age-set lines. More generally, the analysis suggests that matrix population modeling is a powerful tool for analyzing the social dynamics of age-group societies.