Brokers in a Camel Market in Northeastern Kenya

Abstract

The predominant form of livelihood in the south of the Horn of Africa is livestock production by Somali pastoralists. Livestock and related products have been exported from this area on a large scale for decades, and this has prospered even after the collapse of Siad Barre’s dictatorial regime in Somalia. This informal economic activity is characterized by a chain of actors, including shirkad (large-scale companies), gana’sade (large-scale traders), jeble (small-scale traders), dilaal (brokers), and raa’i (trekkers). Among these, dilaal are sometimes characterized as a negative component of market transactions. They are market negotiators, and their employment is a traditional part of the livestock trading system. They are regarded as being dishonest with herders, who are not accustomed to market negotiations, and are said to be greedy and raise their fees from unwary traders and herders. Based on fieldwork in a primary market for camels in Modogashe, northeastern Kenya, this paper aims to examine their activities and their social implications. For the camel herders in the bush (reer baadiya), dilaal are indispensable as mediators with livestock traders (reer magaalada), who are culturally distinct from them.