Mijikenda Kaya elders from Kilifi county have called for preservation of their culture to ensure the traditions are passed on to future generations.
Magarini Cultural Centre director Tsuma Nzai said the Mijikenda is among communities with a very rich culture in the country, which deserves to be protected to prevent it from extinction.
Speaking during the annual Mijikenda cultural day celebrations at the Magarini cultural centre, Nzai said the aim of the event is to showcase the rich cultural heritage of the Mijikenda.
“Today is a very important day for the Mijikenda community because we have embarked on a campaign to promote the culture which is under threat,” he said.
Nzai said they will go to all over the region to sensitise the community on the importance of preserving their culture.
Further, he said they have launched a programme for promoting creative arts for cultural heritage of the Mijikenda at the Magarini cultural centre, to promote tourism to showcase the rich traditions.
During the celebration, Kaya elders from all of the region attended.
There were pomp and colour as the elders dressed in full traditional regalia performed different kinds of traditional dances, games such as the ancient ‘Kigogo game’, blacksmiths, traditional witchdoctors among other cultural activities.
Nzai said they organised tournament for the ‘Kigogo’ game which attracted elders from all over the county to revive it.
“We urge the government to also factor in games for elders and stop focusing only on youth’s games as there are ancient games performed by the elderly that are forgotten, and which are meant to be passed to other generations,” he said.
He said they have begun research on the traditional games to promote them and push for them to be included in other sporting activities in the county.
The director said they have had challenges in cultural promotion as county has funding from the ministry of culture, social services and sports, but surprisingly the cultural docket gets very little funding.
He proposed that the cultural docket be mixed with tourism as it will promote business, adding that where it is now, it will not be effective.
Nzai called on Gender CS Aisha Jumwa to convene a meeting with all cultural stakeholders beginning with the ones from Kilifi, to be advised on how to promote the cultural activities and how they can be used to promote tourism.
Dama Chula an elder, called on the government to support them to promote their culture to prevent it from extinction.
Chula showcased different traditional regalia which were traditionally worn by women as beautification.
Such regalia would be used during wedding ceremonies and other cultural events, and are key in the culture of Mijikenda.
Kilifi Deputy Governor Flora Chibule who graced the event, said they have been supporting them as a county by helping them build the traditional clan houses.
“We want to bridge the gap between the youth and the elderly through the Kigogo game, as the youth will learn the traditional game and also create cohesion between the elders and the young ones,” he said.
Chibule said they intend to use the Mijikenda culture to promote tourism using the Kilifi Riviera platform which was launched by Governor Gideon Mung’aro mid this year.
Kilifi CEC member for Gender, Social Services Youth and Sports Dr Ruth Dama said the event was meant to reduce the gap between the intergeneration particularly the increased cases of GBV.
She said the ‘Kigogo’ game was one of those that promote cohesion and that they now plan to make it bigger as its common in the coastal line.
Magarini MP Harrison Kombe who is a Kigogo player, said the game was important to unify the Mijikenda that’s why all subcounties were represented in the tournament.