While at Matheniko, the people now known as Dodoth separated from the rest of the Karamojong. They moved north to the vicinity of Loyoro which was on the fringe of Maliri held territory and here established themselves. Tradition relates that the encounter was peaceful and this appears to be borne out by relations between these communities in later times when they had by then moved away from each other. Turkana According to traditions recorded by Wilson (1970), the Jie advanced eastward and entered the present Karimoja territory at Adilang, an area that was at this time occupied by the Maliri. The nature of contact seems to have been hostile for the Maliri retreated eastwards toward the region of Koten Mountain where they stayed for a while. This state of affairs did not hold for long, for the people from the hill of Turkan, now calling themselves Turkana, broke away from the Jie at Kotido and started advancing eastward. This brought extreme pressure to bear on the Maliri at Koten, causing this group to break in two. One group of Maliri, still known as such to the Karamojong but as Merille elsewhere, moved further eastward settling on the east of the Turkana escarpment. The other group, calling themselves Pokotozek moved south and arrived at Nakiloro, which lies on the Turkana escarpment just north of the Moroto mountain. Fragmentation According to Turkana traditions noted by Lamphear (1988) concerning the early Turkana community, the developing community "formed itself into two 'major parts', the Curo and the Monia". He also recorded traditions regarding an assimilation. Lamphear records population groupings that emerged from this assimilation and of population dispersal. He notes that the two major groups took on a common name 'Turkana' while some settlers abandoned the Tarash to move south to the area beyond Mount Elgon. He also notes that about the same time some far-ranging contingents of Bantu-speaking Meru were absorbed by several Turkana clans. Interactions In pushing eastward the Turkana had arrived at a dramatic ecological and cultural frontier. All the way to the shores of Lake Turkana lay arid land peppered with the occasional cultivatable oasis. This hard country was inhabited by communities that were radically different from any the Turkana had encountered before. There were three communities already resident, who lived in close association with each other, herding an array of livestock which included exotic creatures with long necks and