SOCIAL ORGANIZATION
- They were divided into clans, with the clan as the basic unit in the community.
- They practised circumcision.
- They believed in the existence of a supernatural being: God.
- Diviners and medicine people were highly valued. Some communities had seers.
- They had rituals that marked different stages of life, e.g. birth, naming, circumcision, marriage and death.
- They had a regimental (Age-Set) system. circumcision formed the basis for an age-set and age-grade system.
POLITICAL ORGANIZATION
- They were divided into clans, each with a clan head.
- They had councils of elders, who settled disputes and presided over ceremonies.
- Some like the Wanga were centralized under monarchs. The Wanga was led by a King (Nabongo).
- Some, like the Mijikenda, lived in fortified villages.
- They were organized into Age-sets and age grades.
- They had warriors chosen from the Age-sets to defend the community or enrich it through cattle raids on their neighbours.