Laikipiak people
| (Maa-speaking, related to Kwavi people) Maa-speaking, related to Kwavi people (including those of ancestral descent) | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
|---|---|
| Kenya | |
| Languages | |
| Maa and Swahili | |
| Religion | |
| Traditional beliefs and Christianity | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Maasai people, Samburu people, Kwavi people, Uasin Gishu people | |
The Laikipiak were a significant community in the 19th century, known for their conflicts with the Maasai and their eventual dispersal. |
The Laikipiak people were a community that inhabited the plateau located on the eastern escarpment of the Rift Valley in Kenya that today bears their name. They are said to have arisen from the scattering of the Kwavi by the Maasai in the 1830s.They were one of two significant sections of that community that stayed together. The other being the Uasin Gishu with whom they would later ally against the Maasai. Many Maa-speakers in Laikipia County today claim Laikipiak ancestry, namely those among the Ilng'wesi, Ildigirri and Ilmumonyot sub-sections of the Laikipia Maasai.