Teta
Plural:Tuga
Other forms of the word:tany,tich (singular,plural respectively).
Meaning:
1. Teta-Cow, universal name, for both male and female. A male cow is called 'kirgit' if it is not castrated or 'eito' if it is. Plural is 'kirugik' and 'eik' respectively.
2. Teta- A valuable. Anything valuable to a kalenjin is a cow. Be it an electronic, a vehicle, a piece of land or even a woman. Especially a woman who is not legally someone's. A beautiful woman passes by and a Kalenjin man would ask another, 'bo ng'o tanyi?' i.e 'whose cow is this'.(For the benefit of modern day slayqueens, don't be offended if you are called a cow. On the contrary, feel proud). Of you encroach a Kalenjin man's land, he will ask you ,"why are you joking with my cows?'. A kalenjin parent will rebuke their child who has failed in exams as having wasted their cows.
3. Teta. Wages. To a very large extent, wages in Kalenjin land is measured in terms of cows. If you tell someone you have been in some certain contract or any other form of employment, he will ask you, 'how many cows did you buy'? You show them even if there are in another form be it land or something.
4. Teta-Identity. Different Kalenjin families and clans have different ways of piercing the ears of their cows for identification. As such, one can see a cow and know the owner or the family he comes from. So sometimes, instead of asking one's clan, as 'ii anora'(which clan are you), one can ask, 'ii antanya?'( which cow are you?). Next time you are asked so, you are required to say your clan.
Nouns associated with cows are 'botich' and 'batany' both names used to refer to grandfathers across Kipsigisland. There are many proper names that are Kaptich,Kip/Cherotich,Kip/Chepngetich,Taprantich,Taputany,Cherutany,Marintany,Kiprantich among others.
5.Children in kalenjin are counted silently using cattle,they normally asked ii kaptany at a? Meaning how children do you have
Cows among the Kalenjin are so important that a man who is from a long journey will first go to the cattle boma to look at his cows before inquiring the welfare of children. The ownership of cows is mostly a man affair but are said to belong to children. When someone is asked to sell a cow to buy something and he is not willing to, he will simply say, "bo lagok"( it belongs to the children).
The uses of cows include payment of bride price and 'muget'. 'Muget' is payment made after someone has murdered another person of the Kalenjin Community. The clan that the murderer comes from contributes nine cows to the aggrieved clan.
The young one of a cow(calf) is called 'moita'. Traditionally, Kalenjins don't brag and will usually don't brag or rather parade their wealth. They prefer mentioning it in a manner that makes it look small. A kalenjin man will go to the market and say he is looking for a calf to buy. He then goes ahead and buys a very big cow. 'Atinye moen tuten'(I have got a few calves), says someone with 100 heads of cattle.