Kenya Travel – Its Culture, People & Traditions
Culture is the set of shared attitudes, values, goals, and practices that characterizes an institution, organization or group and Kenya is blest to have a diversity of cultures well represented through its people and Art.
A good illustration of the Kenyan culture can be seen through music, traditions, language, food, customs, society and dance. The current generation and more so the youth are quickly adapting the western way of living “civilization” and are quickly forgetting their roots causing a drastic cultural erosion and a need to preserve the same has become a necessity rest it soon becomes extinct.
To prove how important our cultural heritage is the government has dedicated a whole ministry known as “Ministry for state National heritage and culture” whose vision is to have a vibrant, cohesive Kenyan society that thrives and prides in the richness of her cultural diversity. This they hope to achieve through promoting, preserving, revitalizing and developing Kenya’s diverse cultural heritage for appreciation, national cohesion and for sustainable development.
Art and culture go hand in hand and both complement each other so well and having one without the other is not quite the same as both play an integral part in giving a community that distinct identity setting it a part from the rest. Art is a representation of the daily life and culture of a people which can be mirrored through clothes, jewellery, handicrafts, paintings, sculptures, music, literature and dance.
When it comes to the Kenyan people, all bring a lot to the table in terms of culture. Blest with 42 tribes the country is rich in cultural diversity. Each tribe has its own unique dialect with two common languages between them i.e. Kiswahili the national language and English the official language. The major tribes include the Kikuyu, Luo, Luhya, Kamba, Kalenjin, Meru, Kisii, Turkana, Maasai, and Samburu.
Maintaining most of their traditional cultural roots to date in spite of all the influences of the modern cultures are the Maasai and several other nomadic pastoralist groups such as the Turkana and Samburu. Practices such as marriage and rite of passage are still done in the traditional way.
Their sense of style is still the same in the sense that they are still known to use traditional decorative beading and jewellery to emphasize social status whilst placing great significance on physical beauty and adornment, especially among warriors, who take great care of their physical appearance, using hair styling and ochre body painting. Their colorful attires normally “shukas” wrapped around the body are quite an attraction on their own.
The Swahili culture has also implanted its roots in the Kenyan coast and have even gone a step further to showcase it in an annual festival known as the Lamu cultural festival which draws many curious onlookers.
Outward appearance is a big part of culture thus great emphasis is placed on it. Jewellery is a great accessory used by people everywhere and Kenya is no exception. African jewellery is a depiction of an imaginary journey through the rituals and culture of an African tribe.
Capturing the mystery and fashion of Africa these unique jewellery have for centuries commanded attention world over. The African ethnic jewellery designs include hand made items such as earrings, necklaces, anklets and pendants.
Another popular form of art is sculptures; and the Kamba and Kisii top the list with the former specializing in wood carvings while the latter specializes in soap stone carvings. Their carvings are often sold in curios as souvenirs allowing the tourists to take a piece of Kenyan art with them. Locals also buy the carvings and use them to adorn their homes.
Kenya is known for its traditional tribal masks, mats, sisal baskets, paintings, prints, batik cloth, kangas (women’s wraparound skirts with beautiful patterns) which often have Swahili proverbs printed on them, kikois (type of sarong for men that comes in many different colours and textiles), Maasai bead jewellery, musical instruments, and silver & gold jewellery among other artifacts all of which have created a lucrative art and craft tourist market.
Music and dance forms an integral part of Kenya’s cultural heritage and are usually used in social and religious gatherings forming part of the entertainment or as an educative tool. Traditionally, Kenya music centered on drumming and dance with the accompaniment of melodious humming and singing. Also common were instruments such as flute, lyres and guitars often found on display in the National Museums of Kenya.
In the 1960s Benga music, a traditional contemporary dance was quite popular with most. Taarab an Arab Indian inspired style of music has continued its popularity especially in the coastal region. With times changing everything changes with it and music is no exception and Afro-jazz, Rap, African hip hop and dance music are currently the in thing.
Literature is an art which appeals to a vast majority of people and is often used to tell of both fictional and non fictional stories. In Kenya literature is valued with authors like Ngugi wa Thiong’o whose main themes were in matters of social, political and even personal expression which he publish in both Kikuyu and English languages being rated as being one of the best authors and has inspired many more to follow in his footsteps.
Literature helps sell a country to the rest of the world and Kenya’s reputation as a land of eccentric and bohemians has continued to draw many independent spirits seeking to enhance their literal skills. Names like J.H. Patterson author of “The man eaters of Tsavo” went ahead to become a bestseller further opening doors of literature in the genre of safari and hunting.
Acclaimed Danish author Karen Blixen of the “Out of Africa” fame, a lyrical tale of her life on a coffee plantation outside Nairobi is also a best seller. Other popular names include Eryl Markham’s “West with the Night”; Joy Adamson’s “Born Free” and Kuki Gallmann, “I dreamed of Africa” a major bestseller. All these authors give vivid descriptions of the natural beauty, adventurous ventures and the emotions of this uniquely eccentric land.
No matter what part of the globe you are in every one must eat to live and as such food is an integral part of a people’s culture. Having multi-ethnic groups cuisines found here are no different and are found in a wide variety. The most popular of these dishes include the Ugali, Nyama choma (charcoal-grilled beef or goat meat), chapatti, a variety of fish, Githeri, rice and various traditional vegetables.
Showcasing the Kenya cultural heritage is BOMAS OF KENYA, established in 1971 by the Kenya tourist development cooperation with the aim of preserving, maintaining and promoting the rich diverse cultural values of various ethnic groups in Kenya.
It is located a few Kilometers from the city center and features numerous homesteads reflecting Kenya’s cocktail of cultures which has been faithfully recreated for visitors to see traditional village life. The greatest excitement in the afternoon is a visit to the display of traditional dances, music and folklore song in splendid arena.
If you enjoyed this post, please consider to leave a comment or subscribe to the feed and get future articles delivered to your feed reader.
