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Category: Intangible Heritage

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04 Mar 2022
By tourism Intangible Heritage

Rites of Passage

The Abaluhya community had beliefs and practices performed at the various phases of a human life commencing with before and ending with the after death. Rites of passage were critical in passage of knowledge from older to younger, cultivating societal ethics and norms, promoting social cohesion and integration, supporting community identity and also as a form of entertainment. They include: naming, circumcision, dowry, marriage and death/burial.

Naming Rituals

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Buried when Seated

 

Dowry Payment

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Marriage

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Circumcision

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04 Mar 2022
By tourism Intangible Heritage

Rituals and Practices

Rain Making Rituals

The rainmakers of the country are found in various Subtribes in Kakamega County which include the Banyala, Isukha, Idakho, and Tachoni. These communities can be found in Navakholo, Ikolomani, shinyalu and lugari constituency respectively. All of them have involved themselves in rain making rituals.

The rainmakers are given tokens to make rain fall during drought or not fall during important occasions, such as wedding, political events, evolutional conference or sports events. Within the rainmaker’s families, this knowledge is guarded carefully, as both a sacred trust and source of livelihood as witnessed among the clan of Avairifuma in Navakholo.

They use Africa traditional indigenous knowledge embedded in African religion to`` pray for rain’ ’by predicting, causing, redirecting and controlling rain within their locality. The role of rainmaking and its effects is therefore crucial. Rainmaking is performed as an expression of African religion through communal ceremonies and further notes that indigenous knowledge in rainmaking rituals is significant in helping local communities respond to climate changes.

04 Mar 2022
By tourism Intangible Heritage

Isukuti Dance

The Isukuti dance is a traditional celebratory performance practiced mainly among the Isukha and Idakho communities of Kakamega County.

It takes the form of a fast-paced, energetic and passionate dance accompanied by drumming and singing. An integral tool for cultural transmission and harmonious co-existence between families and communities, it permeates most occasions and stages in life including childbirths, initiations, weddings, funerals, commemorations, inaugurations, religious festivities, sporting events and other public congregations. The dance derives its name from the drums used in the performance, played in sets of three – a Big (Isikuti isatsa -male), Medium (Omutibo -female) and a small drum son) – and normally accompanied by a bull horn and assorted metal rattles. A soloist leads the dance, singing thematic texts in tandem with the rhythm of the drumbeats and the steps of the dancers, arranged in separate rows for men and women. Transmission of Isukuti dance is presently weakening and the frequency of performance is diminishing. Many bearers are elderly and lack successors to whom they can pass on their knowledge. Lack of funds and the necessary materials to make the instruments and costumes also present an obstacle. Finally, many composers prefer to work in more commercial genres, and audiences frequently substitute contemporary entertainment for traditional Isukuti dances.

In 2014, Isikuti Dance was inscribed by UNESCO as an Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding.