CULTRUAL HISTORY
THE MIJIKENDA
The Mijikenda (or nine
tribes) comprise of nine closely related Bantu people who share a common
linguistic and cultural heritage. They each lived within individual Kayas with
their own tribe along the southern coast when they migrated to Kenya from
somewhere north of the country known as Singwaya. The Mijikenda are said to have
migrated to what is now modern day Kenya sometime between the 16th
and 17th centuries.
The names of the nine tribes are as
follows and are in no particular order. However the Digo and the Giriama were
and still are the largest of the nine tribes.
1. Digo
2.
Giriama
3. Kauma
4. Chonyi
5. Jibana
6. Kambe
7. Ribe
8.
Rabai
9. Duruma
Traditional Kayamba dance
Kaya
ceremony
