Also pastoralists, the Rendille (approximately 22,000 strong) share a common territorial boundary with the Samburu to the west, marked by the N'doto and Nyiru mountain ranges and the south east shores of Lake Turkana. To the north the land stretches as far as the Chabli desert, and to the south the Losai mountains, encompassing large tracts of the Koroli and Kaisut deserts. It is a land of contrasts similar to that of the Samburu but more arid, distinguished by the aforementioned deserts, scrubland and volcanic mountain outcrops.

By tradition, the Rendille are essentially camel herders. In this they differ from their Samburu neighbours with whom, despite linguistic and cultural divisions, they have ties of kinship and economic cooperation that go back many generations. The camel economy of the Rendille is centred around large semi-permanent settlements of married men, women and children where only a few milk camels may be kept, and the mobile camps where older boys and young men (morran) look after the balance of the herds, moving frequently to ensure adequate browse. The large flocks of sheep and goats are shepherded by the young girls. Rendille camels are not ridden, but used as pack animals. The camel, which need only to be watered every 10 to 14 days, will continue to give adequate supplies of milk, on which these people are dependent, even in the dry season when their cows have dried up.

The composite character of the Rendille is reflected in their folklore which stresses the intertribal links and migrations of the past. Long ago say the Rendille, nine Somali warriors herding camels from a remote camp became lost. After travelling for many days they eventually reached the outskirts of Samburu country. Before they were permitted to marry women from that tribe the strangers were instructed to discard their customs and throw away the Qur'an (the Holy Book of Islam). The Somalis agreed, and from these first unions with Samburu women grew the Rendille tribe.