Editing Kipsigis people (section)

===== Genealogical organisation (Ortiinweek) =====
The Kipsigis organize themselves into a series of groupings based on shared kinship analogous to [[clan]]s. A clan is brought about by a shared ancestor with a context of adoption as a way of naturalization into the clan, usually from [[Maasai people|Maasai]]/[[Kisii people|Gusii]]/[[Luo people|Luo]] as Kipsigis cannot adopt from within Kalenjin. The patriarchal ancestors, notably the patriarch Kakipoch, immigrated the Nandi-Kipsigis population to Uasin Ngishu plains and Kerio Valley. Formulation of the clan system is thought to have come about due to assimilation of other communities and population growth as a system of preventing [[pedigree collapse]] and in-breeding as the main purpose of clans was to prevent marriage within the same clan (marriages being mainly heterosexual but with a lesbian marriage in context). Clans also projected various professionalism and probably adopted identities where for instance, certain clans were exclusively priests, others were exclusively smiths, others exclusively hunters and gathers while others had other particular peculiarities.