Akamba nuptials

ANTHONY KAGIRI heads to Kitui to find out how the Akamba community goes about traditional marriage

The joining of a man and woman has particularly been a highlight of all Kenyan societies and each has set ways of conducting the union and the accompanying festivities. Dowry negotiations meant to show a prospective groom’s eligibility preceded this union, but with the advent of Christianity, traditions of indigenous Kenyan communities have slowly ebbed away. The Akamba community is one whose dowry practices are shrouded in mystery and little of their marriage practices have been chronicled. I sought the aid of a guru Robert Kieti to help bridge this gap. Nothing prepared me for the fun-learning adventure that came with unearthing of Akamba marriage traditions. As I discovered, the Akamba that reside close to the Nairobi-Mombasa highway are less pragmatic. My search for an authentic source of Akamba dowry practices led me to Kitui county, the heart of Kambaland situated in the Eastern part of the country, some 160 kilometers east of Nairobi.