Kenya is one of the countries in Africa that have many ethnic tribes. Kenya has over 40 ethnic groups which are distributed across the country. Today am going to share the touching story of the illmanyang Community. According to a report published by The Standard illmanyang community has a population of 39 members. This is a minority tribe that lives in Kin Papua village on the shores of Lake Turkana. Their bodies do not sweat because they lack skin pores which are essential for removing excess heat from the body.
About two hundred and fifty years ago, an Ilimanyang Turkana man named Ilimanyang married a lady from the minority El Molo tribe in the neighboring Marsabit County, and the consequence was the formation of the Ilimanyang minority group.
The Ilimanyang are afflicted with unusual diseases such as dry skin and a lack of hair on their heads, among others. Adult members of the minority group have only two teeth out of a normal set of 32, compared to the rest of the population. They carry water with them wherever they go to keep their bodies cool. Males are more susceptible to unusual disorders.
Their skins suffer from a rare condition called hypohidrotic ectodermal dysplasia that hinders the body from cooling itself through sweating. This raises the body temperature and they are forced to walk around with jerricans full of water to cool their bodies every hour when the temperatures raises. We all know that sweating cools the body temperature and as sweat evaporates from the skin it cools down the body.
If they fail to cool their bodies using this method the high body temperatures can lead to death. According to Dr. Lokoel, the genetics are passed from father to male children this genetic disorder affects males more than females.
The video below provides more details about the illmanyang Community of Kenya and the type of Anhidrosis which is a rare condition.