Sites significant to the Mijikenda peoples of the Kenyan coast, in particular the sacred kaya forests that serve both as settlement sites and as places of ritual and ancestral significance. Sacred sites are grouped by tradition at a fine grain here, so a heading can be narrow without that saying anything about the tradition's own reach.
Facts
Overview
What Defines This GroupingKaya: the cleared, palisaded forest settlements the Mijikenda built for defence, left as places of residence by the mid-twentieth century and kept as places of prayer, of elder burial and of the deposit of protective fingo. The forest around them survives because entry and cutting are forbidden. 2 Peoples and Traditions CoveredNine Mijikenda peoples - Giriama, Digo, Duruma, Chonyi, Jibana, Kambe, Kauma, Rabai and Ribe - each with its own kaya and its own council of elders. Mijikenda names a federation of related peoples, not one people. 2 Learn More
Mijikenda sacred sites
This small group gathers a sacred site of the Mijikenda peoples of the Kenyan coast, most notably the kaya, sacred forests that sheltered their fortified villages and remain places of ancestral veneration and ritual.
The browser will find the site the atlas classes here. The entry describes its significance within the living Mijikenda tradition.
Browse By
Connections
Belongs to Tradition
Source Sacred Mijikenda Kaya Forests, UNESCO World Heritage ListUNESCO World Heritage Centre
Sources
1. Divinity Atlas Directory Taxonomy, First Edition Category Tree
2. African Sacred Groves: Ecological Dynamics and Social Change
Michael J. Sheridan and Celia Nyamweru (eds.), Ohio University Press, 2008on the Mijikenda kayaView the Source Divinity Atlas Directory Prose, First Edition Category Descriptions
Sacred Mijikenda Kaya Forests, UNESCO World Heritage List
Reader Challenges (0)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.
Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.