Elgeyo Marakwet's unique bathing culture

Two Marakwet men taking a shower at River Embobut. There is a cultural belief among the Marakwet community which bars women from bathing upstream. Those who defy the belief are liable to curses from elders. Photos by Fred Kibor

Normally a trip to a river to bath involves taking alongside bathing materials such as a soap and basin. But in the Elgeyo Marakwet region the script is different as it involves strict cultural undertones which must be adhered to.

Marakwet culture dictates that gender orientation and rank in society plays a key role in deciding the area where one should take a bath in the river failure to which it will attract a disastrous curse.