The great Rendille people.

Identity:
Visually the Rendille resemble other Cushitic groups with their fine facial features. As such they are quite distinct from the Nilotic and Bantu peoples of Africa. Linguistically the Rendille are most closely related to Somali and Aweer (formerly known as Boni). Culturally they are closest to the Gabbra, who have similar ceremonies to the Rendille. They are nomadic pastoralists, caring for goats, fat-tailed sheep and camels. Some families also now have cattle although the area is very harsh.

The Rendille proper, or "White" Rendille, consist of eight inter-related clans, plus one other clan called O'doola. The 8 clans are divided into two moieties, East and West. Related to their eclectic compositon, referred to above, Spencer reports that the clans claim descent from the following groups:
(Bold items indicate the Rendille clan, while bracketed items indicate clan or sub clan in neighboring group)
Somali: Saali (Fakhashiini), Dibshai (Rakhwen-Dafara), Matarpa (Ugaden), Nahagan (Ugaden), Nebei, Lekila (Saakh), Odoolah (Garri)
Boran: Dibshai (Furr), Tubsha (Deele)
Reshiat: Rongummo, Galdeelan (Spencer 1973, 147)

One's identity is strongly based on the clan. An unmarried girl therefore really only gains her proper clan identity when she gets married. These clans have from 2 to 7 subclans. Having adopted some Borana customs, the Rendille are culturally similar to the Gabbra. Their language is closely related to Somali, but their allies are the Samburu to the South.

One group of the Rendille, the Ariaal, are in reality a different people group. The Ariaal Rendille are a separate grouping from the Rendille proper, and have adopted some Samburu customs and some Rendille customs. The Ariaal follow Samburu clan groupings and initiation rites. The vast majority of the Ariaal are Samburu speakers, although those living in the lowlands closer to the Rendille speak Rendille.

The Ariaal readily adapt themselves to their surroundings. Those living in the highlands are indistinguishable from the Samburu settlements in terms of house structure and size, while those in the lowlands have large villages and Rendille style huts (Fratkin 1987, 53).

In addition, depending on what is most beneficial to them at that time, the Ariaal may call themselves Samburu or Rendille. Currently the vast majority of the Ariaal will claim to be Samburu since they see the much larger Samburu as more prestigious. (It should be noted that the Kenya census did not differentiate between Ariaal Rendille and Rendille proper.)