Centuries old Swahili cultural fete steeped in controversy

Swahili elders perform rituals on food leftovers at the Kigunza festival in Mombasa. (Photo: Gideon Maundu/Standard)

There was great excitement at Mombasa’s Allidina Visram High School when the Swahili community gathered to mark Kigunza, an annual ceremony steeped in centuries of rich but controversial Swahili cultural traditions handed down through generations.

Traditional songs, dance and merry-making were the hallmark of the ceremony as men, women and children celebrated the good health, love and happiness they enjoyed the previous last year.

But Kigunza is well known at the Coastal region for its controversial rituals, “Sadaka ya Bahari” (sacrifice for the sea), where all food remains, bones and hooves from the feast are ferried to the deep sea by boat for disposal by elders.

In the ceremony marked on June 2, a bull was offered as a sacrifice, leading to day-long feasting.

After all leftovers had been put in a bag, elders performed special rituals before they were ferried to sea to be cast into the oceanic depth.

“No one is allowed to carry any remains outside the gates of the venue where the ceremony is held,” said Ibrahim Khamis, 78, the village elder of Kuza in Old Town. Khamis has attended the yearly ceremony since he was a child. Mzee Khamis says Kigunza, also known as Khitma ya Mji, is celebrated by Swahili communities living along the Coastal strip in Somalia, the Comoros and the Persian Gulf. He strongly defends the yearly gathering which he describes as a key medium for passing on important secrets to their children, who are expected to carry on with the tradition for generations to come.

Thabat Muhatar Thabit, 60, has attend Kigunza since he was four. “As a young boy, I enjoyed the food and dancing with my age mates,” he reminisces.

Bad eye

The ceremony holds a special place in Thabit’s heart and he believes the practice will not be diluted by Western influence.

Stanbuli Nassir, a respected Swahili historian, says the ceremony has evolved and now provides an opportunity for issues affecting the community — drug abuse, radicalisation, health matters and economic empowerment — to be addressed.

“In recent times, organisers have deemed it important to include matters on education, health and economic empowerment in the discussions. Although the ceremony is evolving, it has maintained its authenticity,” he says.

Kigunza also helps to shield participants from the “evil eye”, Nassir says.

The venue of this year’s ceremony, Allidina Visram, holds a special place within the Swahili community.  Ahmad Mohamad Bin Mshamu, famously known as Shee Mvita, an honoured Swahili ruler captured and killed by the Portuguese in 1563, is buried here.

But why does the community throw away the leftovers in the sea?

“It is a way of extending the ceremony from the land to the sea. The fish and other creatures in the sea also benefit from what we human beings enjoy,” Thabit says.

No one should question the tradition or go against it, he warns.

“Eat to your fill but don’t carry any of the remaining food outside. That is the tradition. That is the law. And I don’t see why someone should try to break such a sacred law which I have not witnessed being broken in the 50 years I have attended the ceremony.”

Pagan rituals

Thabit is quick to tell off critics who say the ceremony is composed of pagan rituals.

“All we do is pray to God and I don’t see how that is wrong. Besides, we also recite the Koran during the ceremony. In this year’s ceremony, we prayed against insecurity, poverty and floods,” he says.

The issue of the recognition of the Swahili people was also discussed in this year’s ceremony.

Speakers criticised the government for identifying the community as either Indian, Arab or other local communities despite their distinct culture and origin.

Athman Hussein, the Coast region assistant director of National Museum of Kenya (NMK), said Kigunza can make a good tourist attraction if well marketed. Hussein, who has attended the ceremony in the past, says Kenya Tourist Board (KTB) should support the fete.

The ceremony smarts from poor funding and has to rely on donations from community members.

“NMK is a non-partisan institution and is involved only with purely cultural matters. The ceremony is riddled with religious connotations, that is why it is not recognised by NMK,” said Hussen.