There are 42 tribes in Kenya. Each tribe has its own unique cultural practices and beliefs. Most of these practices and beliefs are worth adhering to while others are outdated and only inhibiting people from development. Most communities have shed some of their irrelevant and punitive traditions while others have completely clung to all of their traditions. However, some cultures have been declared illegal by the Kenyan laws. Such traditions are believed to only cause harm to its people than the good they bring. Here are the top five weird cultures in Kenya:
Wife inheritance
Wife inheritance is a practice still going on in some native communities across the country. In the native Luo communities, a woman whose husband dies is taken by the husband’s brother as his own wife. This practice is meant to ensure the family bond is kept strong even after the death of a man.
Weird burial positions
People are used to burying their dead while straight asleep in their cascade. However, in the Teso community, people are buried in abnormal positions that people are not used to. Their dead is buried sited on the sides of the wall.
Female Genital Mutilation
This practice was declared illegal by the government of Kenya. Anyone found circumcising women is jailed up to five years. Female circumcision had reduced in the country. However, some native communities are still doing it in secrets as they believe a woman cannot be complete without being circumcised.
Dangerous rites of passage
Many communities have their own unique rites of passage from one stage of life to the other. Most communities practice circumcision of men to mark a transition from childhood to adulthood. However, some communities like the Maasai, believe that before a man becomes a Moran, he should go deep into the forest and hunt, kill a lion with a mere spear.
Cleansing the bewitched
Communities like the Kisii are greatly known for these practices. When someone has been bewitched, elders gather, ask for various things which will help them summon their spirits in a bid to cleansing a bewitched person. In the process, they do exorcism and incantations which comes with weird happenings.