A UNESCO high-level mission met with the Council of Elders at the Kaya Sacred Forest of the Mijikenda World Heritage site in Kenya
The KayaFungo elders welcomed Mr. Nicolas Kassianides at the Sacred Forest of the Mijikenda in Kaloleni, Kilifi County (c) L-A.Mackongo/UNESCO
On 20 June 2018, the UNESCO Assistant Director General a.i for External and Public Information, Mr. Nicolas Kassianides, received a warm welcome by the Council of Elders of KayaFungo during a special ceremony at the Sacred Forest of the Mijikenda in Kaloleni, Kilifi County. The meeting addressed conservation and management issues relating to the site’s World Heritage and Intangible Cultural Heritage status as well as the elders’ fight against illicit trafficking of their cultural property.
The UNESCO site visit to the Kayas was organized in the sidelines of the Fifth Interregional Meeting of National Commissions for UNESCO, co-organized by the UNESCO Secretariat and the Kenyan National Commission for UNESCO, from 19 to 21 June in Diani, Kenya. The KayaFungo elders welcomed Mr. Kassianides by honouring him with their signature red, white and blue traditional regalia, which Mr. Kassianides donned for the official visit to the sacred heritage site.
During the opening ceremony, the Council of Elders’ Chairperson thanked the leadership in UNESCO, as well as the Kenya National Commission for UNESCO and the National Museums of Kenya for their ongoing support to the Kaya communities across the Kenyan coast throughout the years.
The site visit included Ms. Louise-Agnès Mackongo and Ms. Judith Ogana from UNESCO Regional Office for Eastern Africa; Mr. Anthony Githitho and Mr. Chiro from the Coastal Forest Conservation Unit of the National Museums of Kenya; and Julius Mwahunga from the Kenya National Commission for UNESCO. Guests were warmly welcome by the Council of Elders and the community in lively song and dance, accompanied by drums and other percussion instruments. The group was then led to a site with vigangos of their ancestors, draped in colored cloth that mirrored the elders’ traditional regalia. “Vigangos are carved wooden memorial statues erected to commemorate recently deceased family members to appease spirits,” explained Mr. Chiro, the visit-guide from the National Museums of Kenya. “They are extremely important to the Mijikenda people as they represent life after death and the spirit of the departed ancestors.”
As part of the official welcome, the guests planted seedlings of the indigenous Mkwaju (Tamarind) tree, in the spirit of conserving and protecting the natural heritage.
The elders expressed their appreciation for the attention and acknowledgement the Kayas and Mijikenda people have received since their international recognition by the UNESCO 1972 and 2003 conventions. The Kenyan National Commission for UNESCO awarded the Kayafungo a prize in 2017 in recognition of their management and conservation of the Sacred Kaya Forests.
Despite these accolades and increased conservation measures, the sacred Vigango statues of the Mijikenda have been targets of illicit trafficking of cultural property for decades. The elders of the Kaya Forest have been campaigning for the return of their “departed ancestors”, the statues of which are coveted by museums and art galleries around the world. Various diplomatic efforts have succeeded in obtaining the return and restitution of some of these statues to Kenya, but high levies imposed on the value of the statues (reported estimates are between 1000 USD to 4000 USD each) by the Kenya Revenue Authority have resulted in at least fifty statues being stored at the International Airport in Kenya since 2014 awaiting a reported “Sh5 million-taxation” taxes to be paid. During a courtesy call with the Cabinet Secretary, Ministry of Sports and Heritage Mr. Rashid Echesa Mohammed earlier in the week, Mr. Kassianides discussed this issue, and received assurance from the Cabinet Secretary of his Ministry’s commitment to resolving this issue..
KayaFungo is one of eleven unique Sacred Mijikenda Kaya Forests, which were inscribed in 2008 as World Heritage Sites in the context of the 1972 Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage. The Kayas are an irreplaceable legacy. Being inscribed as a World Heritage site means they are recognized by the global community as having an Outstanding Universal Value that needs to be protected for future generations.
In addition, within the framework of the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, Traditions and practices associated with the Kayas in the sacred forest of the Mijikenda were inscribed in 2009 on the UNESCO List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in need of Urgent Safeguarding.
After a three-hour traditional and cultural immersion, Mr. Kassianides expressed his deep appreciation for the honor of being welcomed into the sacred forest, and pledged UNESCO’s continued support to the Kaya communities. “These Kayas are an irreplaceable legacy,” Mr. Kassianides asserted. “I am honored to have witnessed this rich cultural heritage in person. The experience of walking through the forest while interacting with the community and elders is far richer than what is imagined,” he concluded.
More information
UNESCO Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage
UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage
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