Rituals and practices associated with Kit Mikayi shrine

Overview

The Rituals and practices associated with Kit Mikayi shrine concern the Luos of western Kenya. Legend has it that Kit Mikayi Shrine is associated with the good fortunes of the Seme people and other Luo ethnic communities who live around the shrine enclave. People access the shrine for many different reasons, including praying, taking oaths, undertaking rituals and associated practices, and enjoying its natural beauty. During times of catastrophe like hunger and famine, Luo elders would conduct rituals at the shrine and rain and bounty harvests would follow. Elderly men and women of excellent social standing would guide the rituals; while men would partake in activities such as slaughtering the animals, women did the singing, dancing and cooking of the foods accompanying the rituals. For generations, the community has relied on the shrine as a sacred site, where they could visit and...

This record is imported from the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage public dataset as discovery metadata. ARED has not independently verified community authority, access protocols or local naming beyond the source record.

Community and Authority

Communities: Kenya
Languages: Not specified in UNESCO dataset
Cultural territories: Kenya
Countries: Kenya

How the System Works

Music, Performance and Oral Literature Language, Story and Memory Food, Agriculture and Seasonal Practice Health, Healing and Care Ceremony, Spirituality and Cosmology Ways of Knowing and Knowledge Transmission

Sources and Evidence

Imported from UNESCO DataHub dataset ich001. Field-level provenance is retained in the record metadata.

UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage ListsDataset

Open original source record

Field-Level Provenance

title: UNESCO DataHub field title_en
preferredTitle: UNESCO DataHub field title_fr
summary: UNESCO DataHub field description_en
type: UNESCO DataHub fields type_of_element_en and type_acronym
countries: UNESCO DataHub field countries, ISO codes resolved with ISO-3166 regional metadata
categories: ARED category inference from UNESCO concepts_primary_names, concepts_secondary_names and title
relationships: UNESCO concepts_primary_names, concepts_secondary_names, type fields and World Heritage links
sourceUrl: UNESCO DataHub field http_url_en
rights: UNESCO DataHub dataset metadata license and license_url

Original Source Metadata

uuid5215d769-729e-4e3a-86c0-35088f44d86e

ich_public_ref1489

inscription_year2019

title_enRituals and practices associated with Kit Mikayi shrine

title_frLes rituels et pratiques associés au sanctuaire de Kit Mikayi

type_of_element_enUrgent Safeguarding List

type_acronymUSL

countriesKE

http_url_enhttps://ich.unesco.org/en/USL/01489

concepts_primary_namesProsperity ritual, Religious practice

concepts_secondary_namesDance, Food preparation, Offering, Oral tradition, Ritual purification, Sacred sites, Temples, Traditional medicine, Veneration of the dead, Vocal music

main_image_urlhttps://ich.unesco.org/img/photo/thumb/12782-LRG.jpg

main_image_caption_enSeme community elder, Benjamin Outa, saying a traditional prayer at Kit Mikayi shrine

main_image_copyrightJosphat Githua, Kenya, 2015

main_image_authorNot supplied

videoshttps://www.youtube-nocookie.com/v/QuBc3G86nGI

images[object Object], [object Object], [object Object]

Why This Record Is Credible

This public record is connected to 1 source and has been labelled Source Supported. ARED separates evidence sources from cultural authority so users can see both provenance and review limits.

Cultural Access

Use this as public discovery metadata only. It does not replace community authority or local access protocols.

Relationships

Prosperity ritual Religious practice Dance Food preparation Offering Oral tradition Ritual purification Sacred sites Temples Traditional medicine UNESCO urgent safeguarding list

Review and Corrections

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