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With forty two tribes in Kenya, defining a particular entertainment as ‘traditional’ is sort of unattainable without going into an extreme treatise on the subject. Each tribe has tune, dance, costumes and musical devices particular to their area. This article offers a short overview of the types of leisure, some examples from varied tribes and where you’ll find traditional leisure when you come to Kenya.

Track is a type of traditional entertainment almost globally so it is not any surprise to find Kenyan tribes additionally singing. Each of the forty two tribes has their own language, so it is easy to tell the place the music is from… as long as you can recognise the language! Across the tribes one thing is the same: there are completely different beats and words for songs associated with the varied ceremonies. This means that when a Kikuyu returns to his village and hears singing he can inform what’s happening. It doesn’t mean however that if a Taita goes to the Kikuyu village he will even be able to inform what is going on, unless he understands Kikuyu. So each tribe has circumcision songs, party songs, marriage ceremony songs, funeral songs, new baby songs and so on.

Alongside with singing comes dancing and, again, movements differ across the tribes. Kikuyus wear bells on their ankles with women and men pairing up, placing palms together and swaying. In Luhya tradition, the dance is all in regards to the shoulders and for Luos it’s about the hips. The Maasai males leap and it is a show of manliness if they can leap higher than their peers.

Dance is complemented by the traditional costumes which are made from materials present in a tribe’s area. Luo men wear grass skirts from the reeds by Lake Victoria and cow hide on their back. Towards the coast, Taita males wear kangas from the Swahili tradition while the ladies wear grass skirts. In the central highlands, the Kikuyus’ costumes are a bit more substantial to protect towards the cold, with sheepskin hats confusing many travellers as they look much like the typical Russian hats! The boys typically wear white and the women a brown-beige colour. Kikuyu males also carry swords and have a belt made of animal skin to hold the sword.

Musical instruments typically accompany the singing and dancing and most of the people are familiar with the African drum. However there are even variations in how the drum is used across Kenya. For instance, the Kamba sit with the drum between their legs while the Luhya hold the drum under their arm. Kamba additionally use a whistle to signify a beat change.

Story-telling is widespread with the old males teaching lessons by stories to the younger boys. Nowadays comedy is turning into in style, with sketches performed between music sets. The stories and sketches are often set in on a regular basis situations that Kenyans can easily relate to.

Bomas of Kenya placed on a lengthy efficiency every afternoon which showcases singing, dancing, costumes and musical devices from every of the tribes. Shade Hotel in Karen additionally does a more casual afternoon of traditional leisure every Sunday and on public holidays. In the event you visit a Maasai village in your safari, the villagers will carry out a welcome dance for you. The Samburu villages do the identical in northern Kenya. Finally, the Lake Turkana Cultural Festival is perhaps one of the best opportunity to see a wide range of traditional entertainment. A gathering of 14 tribes from northern Kenya, this Festival is a celebration of various cultures living together. They sing, they dance, they build huts, they cook, they dress traditionally – it’s fantastic! It is held every May in Loiyangalani on the shore of Lake Turkana and well definitely worth the journey.

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