TOWARDS A BIOGRAPHICAL PERSPECTIVE ON SAMBURU LMURRAN WARRIOR ROCK ART, KENYA

Joakim Goldhahn; Peter Skoglund; Peter Letotin Lemoosa; Ebbe Westergren; Victoria Waldock; Steven Longoida Labarakwe; Muchemi Njeruz; Mathews Jackson Wakhungu; Philemon Nyamanga; Leah Simiyu; Emmanuel K. Ndiema

Rock Art Research

Vol. 43 No. 2 (2026)
Published : 2026-06-03

TOWARDS A BIOGRAPHICAL PERSPECTIVE ON SAMBURU LMURRAN WARRIOR ROCK ART, KENYA

Joakim Goldhahn ⁽¹⁾, Peter Skoglund ⁽²⁾, Peter Letotin Lemoosa ⁽³⁾, Ebbe Westergren ⁽⁴⁾, Victoria Waldock ⁽⁵⁾, Steven Longoida Labarakwe ⁽⁶⁾, Muchemi Njeruz ⁽⁷⁾, Mathews Jackson Wakhungu ⁽⁸⁾, Philemon Nyamanga ⁽⁹⁾, Leah Simiyu ⁽¹⁰⁾, Emmanuel K. Ndiema ⁽¹¹⁾,

(1) Professorial Research Fellow, School of Humanities, College of Creative Arts, Design and Humanities, Adelaide University, Australia; Affiliated Professor, School of Cultural Sciences, Linnæus University, Sweden; Affiliated Researcher, The National Museum of Kenya, Nairobi

(2) School of Cultural Sciences, Linnæus University, Sweden; Affiliated Researcher, The National Museum of Kenya, Nairobi

(3) School of Law, Art and Social Sciences, Department of History, Archaeology and Political Studies, Kenyatta University, P.O. Box 43844-00100, Nairobi

(4) Honorary Doctor and Independent Researcher, Linnaeus University, Sweden; Affiliated Researcher, The National Museum of Kenya, Nairobi

(5) Independent Researcher and Affiliated Researcher, Oxford University, UK, and The National Museum of Kenya, Nairobi

(6) Lasamu Camp site, Ngurunit, Marsabit County, Kenya

(7) NGO Empowering the Northern Frontier, Baragoi, Samburu County, Kenya

(8) Ethnographer and Founding Director, KUNGU LABS; Affiliated Senior Research Scientist, National Museums of Kenya, Nairobi

(9) Research Scientist, National Museums of Kenya, Nairobi

(10) Assistant Research Scientist, National Museums of Kenya, Nairobi

(11) Head School of the Department of Earth Sciences, National Museums of Kenya, Nairobi

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Abstract

Rock art research looks in multiple directions. It is often seen as situated between archaeology and anthropology. Archaeology provides the tools and frameworks to categorise and analyse rock art across time and space, while anthropology—especially when supported by informed, emic perspectives—offers rare but invaluable insights into the meaning and creation of these visual expressions. Globally, opportunities to engage directly with rock art artists within living traditions remain exceptional. Our collaborative community-led project, Making Rock Art Today: Encounters with Practising Samburu Rock Art Painters (2025–2027), presents a rare opportunity of this kind. We work closely with several Samburu Lmurran (bachelor warrior) artists, who continue to create both pictographs (paintings) and petroglyphs (engravings). Their firsthand accounts allow us to explore how a biographical approach can enrich traditional formal and contextual analyses of rock art. This article focuses on one artist, Loingeru Leparsore, and his memories of creating rock paintings in three rock shelters located within walking distance of Ngurunit village in Samburu County, northern Kenya.

Rock Art Research

TOWARDS A BIOGRAPHICAL PERSPECTIVE ON SAMBURU LMURRAN WARRIOR ROCK ART, KENYA

Abstract

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