Cultural festivals simply immerse us into our heritage and remind us of who we are as a people. They do not only give us an immersive glimpse of where we came from but also help us contextualize our identity in the modern era.
Over the years, an impressive record number of culturally inclined festivals take place every year in Kenya. The most notable are the Turkana Festivals in June, the Lamu Festival in November, the Mombasa International Cultural Festival in August, and the Rusinga Festival in December, and the Maa Festival.
Other festivals include the Maragoli Festival, the Isambo Beach Carnival, The Tiriki Festival, and the Terik Festival, among others, many of them happening in pockets celebrating the heritage of various ethnic communities mostly in December.
Cultural festivals save heritage
During these festivals, hundreds of local and international tourists flock in the localities to share in the experiences and learn. This boosts the economic power of locals who have traditional merchandise to sell, as well as services such as accommodation in hotels and AirBnB facilities, tour guiding, and anything that can fetch cash.
Yet the most important reason is mitigating the threat of a people losing their identity and custom due to modernization and urban migration.
Since sizable populations of community members live in urban areas, organizers of these festivals strive to put aside two or three days out of the 365 every year for ‘homecoming’ sons and daughters to remember who they are while buttressing the efforts of those who hold the foundation stones in place, albeit on shaky ground.
Existential threat
Ask any Kenyan from Vihiga whether they have ever heard of the Terik. The possible response would be that you are pronouncing it wrongly; that it should be Tiriki. But the Terik and the Tiriki are two distinct groups with different cultures and languages, yet one is being assimilated and in danger of disappearing altogether.
It is the same situation for the ethnic Suba, most of whom speak dholuo better and only a few or no LuSuba words.
Fortunately, these two communities have gotten godsend opportunities to revive their cultures and languages. Others peoples like the Ogiek and the Yiaku – these had only two surviving elders who were able to speak kiyiaku fluently by 2018 – haven’t had that ‘luck’.
Cultural festivals are not a new thing, they happened regularly before colonization came and dismantled the way of life. That is when the minority Suba were forced to learn dholuo in order to benefit from any colonial handout extended to their neighbours. It is a herculean task to turn such a situation around. And festivals are playing a significant role in this effort.
After following on the organization of Rusinga Festival since the second edition, I discovered that bringing such an event to life is no mean feat. The time and financial resources that go into organizing a festivals on a grand scale are enormous. It takes at least a year of fundraising for a festival of three days, not mentioning the human resources involved both on the ground and at management level.
The performers have to be taken care of, sound and transport systems paid for, and money used to organize competitions, invite artists, organize security, food and accommodation, and above all incentivize active participation of the economically weak community members.
The festival has now taken place for 11 consecutive years with astounding strides being made.
In the 2018 festival, I was elated to hear younger people communicate in lusuba rather than dholuo. It was amazing to hear the MCs speak more lusuba than in previous events. I was surprised to find out there was now a Suba radio station, EK-FM (Ekilao Kiona Youth FM) operating on Mfangano Island.
Economic empowerment of local communities
Mfangano Island is one of the major Suba Islands, together with Rusinga and Takawiri. The three islands have experienced a surge in visitor numbers since the first edition of Rusinga Festival. More hotels have come up and competition is now stiff.
Organizations that have used the festival to extent their CSR activities have enabled record number of HIV testing and education. Locals have been trained in issues such as financial management and marketing. Artists have earned from performing and selling artefacts.
The only missing piece in this organization is government support and political goodwill.
Need for government support
During the festival in 2018, I had the pleasure of meeting the then Miss Tourism Homa Bay County, Beth Odek. She opened my eyes during a boat ride to the picturesque Mfangano and Takawiri Islands. My assumption that the title came with at least a desk, a budget, and technical support from the Homa Bay county government in promotion of tourism was wrong. The title just comes with, well, the sash – nothing more. Which is quite disappointing and I must commend her for doing her bit in the quest to revitalize Suba culture.
Entities like Brand Kenya and the Kenya Tourism Board, as well as the Ministry of Tourism and Culture are all talk but no action. They haven’t spent any money on the festival by 2024, even though their use of the festival’s pictures and name in their offices and tourism promotion reports may mislead you to think otherwise.
This despite hyping the Rusinga Festival as one of the major events in the ministry’s calendar.
It is commonsense to know that political goodwill and financial government support for cultural events lends great credence not only to the identity of the people involved but to their socioeconomic and political wellbeing. Political leaders from Suba region should therefore be ashamed for not supporting the promotion of their own identity.
The allure of political support however comes with its own challenges: in festivals such as Isambo Beach Carnival, where political leaders have taken centre stage, the events take the tone of a prolonged political rally rather than a cultural festival celebrating a people. Such festivals end up dying when the politician no longer needs it, an example being the defunct Isukha Cultural Festival.
Knowing that great nations are built upon resilient cultures, the Ministry of Culture must work harder to reignite Kenya’s quest for cultural identity on the world stage. It should help communities strengthen their positive cultural endeavours. Instances where the central government of the day sometimes relegates the ministry into a mere department should not occur.
The national government should heed to this call, and county governments should learn to appreciate and support rather than act as stumbling blocks to their own communities.