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The Marakwet Community is set to host the first cultural festival on November 8, 2024, at Bomas of Kenya to showcase its rich culture, with the aim of passing the knowledge to the next generation.
The Marakwet festival 2024 that is expected to run till Saturday dawn has attracted various music artists from the community and dignitaries.
Speaking during a media briefing held yesterday in Nairobi, the Marakwet Cultural Festival Chairman John Kisang said the festival would showcase the outstanding history of the Marakwet culture, which has allegedly never been documented.
“Our rich culture touches on various items such as traditional songs, economic lives, the food we eat, and even our rites of passage. All these serve to educate the community on the pros and cons of life,” he said.
Kisang further revealed that the objective of the event is to show the world how the Marakwet community coexists with the natural environment despite the strong arm of Western education, which has affected their way of life.
In her remarks, the Marakwet Cultural Festival Director and Coordinator, Christine Cherop, noted that the event also seeks to foster unity among various communities through knowledge sharing and cultural exchange.
“We have been organising such events at our native homes, but we chose to do one in Nairobi to educate our youth who have not been able to strongly connect with their culture,” she said.
The Director said the festival will enlighten the world to understand the history of the Marakwet community, which she noted will help in preserving the community’s culture.
“We want our children to understand the culture since they are future leaders of the community and the world as a whole,” she added.
Kikie Kendagor, a member of the Marakwet Cultural Festival and the in charge of Information, Communication and Documentary, revealed that the Marakwet community conducts itself within the measures of the natural environment.
He added, “This is because the community lies between the Cherangany forest and the Kerio Valley.”
Kendagor revealed that the culture is governed by customary laws that the community is enshrined in.
“Our culture requires us to relate to wildlife and natural resources, and this is seen when we name our children after wild animals and seasons, like the name Cherop for a lady, which means a rainy season,” stated Kendagor.
“The Marakwet used to predict seasons or changes in climate where they would use migratory birds and reptiles such as the croaking of frogs to mean the emergence of a rainy season,” he added.
Kendagor disclosed that the traditional attire for their community is goat skin and leg beads, specifically for women to symbolise motherhood.
In terms of education, he said that the Marakwet would use proverbs, artefacts, cultural events, traditional attire, and storytelling to instill knowledge to the youth.
“The most essential item that we want to pass to the next generation is our customary laws and the rites of passage since it is a symbol of our identification,” stated Kendagor.
He called for the need to protect the natural ecosystem, as it is a vital factor needed by the Marakwet community to preserve their way of life.
By Manu Mumba
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