Jewel in the crown of tourism

Turkana county in northern Kenya is one of the tourist jewels that are being polished to earn its communities revenues and sustain livelihoods.

In the southern part of the country, the Maasai Mara-Serengeti continuum that links Kenya and Tanzania has been well marketed.

To the west of Kenya and specifically around Mount Elgon is a shared natural resource with Uganda that has immense potential.

The Turkana who over the last seven years have taken to promoting their cultural heritage for tourism are close relatives of the Karamojong in Uganda.

The community’s attire, costumes, lifestyle (customs, rites and ceremonies) and historical sites form a rich tourism offering.

The Turkana are a pastoral nomadic community that lives in the arid and semi-arid county.

They have a rare skirt called Abuo – worn by married women on the waist and is made of leather from he-goat.

Another is half-front apron, Adual, worn on thighs below the navel. It is made from leather (goat skin), metal (iron, copper or brass), beads and cowry shells.

The community associates beads with the eagle (yellow or brown beads) – Ng’irisai and others the crow – Ng’imor (black or white) are used on the dresses.

There is an overall, Egolos, worn by married women whose daughters have been married –so that they are not seen by the in-laws.

This is made from sheep, calf and gazelle skins. Yet another attire decorated with glass or plastic beads is worn on the neck.

FULL APRON

Girls wear a rare skin/skirt, Elou Loabor, from the loins to the ankle. It is made from he-goat skin and sheep.

There is also a full apron for girls, hung around the neck to cover front part of the body and is made from goat and sheep skin.

A half-front apron, Arach, made from leather, beads and cowry shells is worn by girls and women who are not married.

There is Eboli that is attached on rare skirt and upper front of skirt. Akiloda is worn at the waist to cover the buttocks.

Men’s attire around neck and shoulders is made of strings and beads. It is like a necklace and is complimented by bangles worn by men on their arms and neck.

Men normally wear leather with fur (from cattle or hare) above the ankle. Turkana men are usually associated with a multi-purpose hand and wrist knife, Abariti, used for cutting meat and for defence purposes.

Jingles are won by both men and women. Men also have head scarf made of leather or old clothes and feathers.

In addition, they own spears, shields and flywhisks. Just like history says that Turkana is the cradle of mankind, it has many historical sites.

Of these historical sites, one is already in danger because tourists come and try to remove the stones. So there is a high chance of some of these historical sites disappearing.

REMAINED LAUGHING

Protecting these sites can earn the community income and increase Government revenue and uplift the country’s economy.

There is a myth in Turkana that nomads were living in a hilly place called Ng’amoltunga – which is 20 kilometres from Lodwar town.

It is here in the evening that the men once went to dance for relaxation. While doing so, a spirit came – it was ugly so some people laughed at her and she became furious and turned them into stone.

Those who were laughing remained laughing, those who were standing remained standing and those who were drinking remained drinking when they were turned into stones.

If you go there you will find the stones today. One of the most important historical sites is a hill known as Moruanayiech.

On this hill is where it is believed the Turkana community originated from in a cave where a woman who came from the Jie tribe in Uganda in search of food found refuge.

She was collecting wild fruits and berries. The nomadic community that moved to this area found a lot of food and one of the men married the woman and this marked the beginning of the Turkana community.

There is need for establishing a cultural centre in the county to showcase a variety of the Turkana artifacts, foodstuffs and documentaries on the community.

A hot spring that borders Baringo, in the Suguta valley, is another tourist attraction in Turkana.

The Turkana Cultural Organization has acquired a 50-acre piece of land where it will construct the proposed cultural centre.

It did a survey of cultural sites in the district and now plans to establish a curio shop in Lodwar where people can access Turkana artifacts, costumes and food.

Neighbouring the Turkana are the Pokot, who also boast a rich cultural heritage. Many cords tie West Pokot to Kenya and they present tourism opportunities are of immense proportions.

RICH CULTURE

The history of independent Kenya is never complete without the mention of the Kapenguria Six, their place of incarceration or the court where their fate was read out to them 60 years ago.

Indeed, the world knows of what befell the Six and how their lives are connected to the country’s independence from colonial rule.

The place where Kenya’s Founding President Mzee Jomo Kenyatta and his colleagues Kung’u Karumba, Paul Ngei, Achieng Oneko, Bildad Kagia and Fred Kubai were detained is a monumental tourist attraction.

Kapenguria Museum and the court are the traditional tourist attractions in West Pokot where KenGen’s Turkwel Hydro-Power Plant is situated.

This plant that produces about 105MW of power that is fed to the national grid. Outside the power plant, a tourist attraction on its own right, elephants roam freely.

Apart from wildlife, other tourist attractions include some scenic sites, escarpments and sports.

It must be remembered that this is where world famous long distance runner Tegla Loroupe hails from West Pokot.

The Pokot have a rich culture that has not been well-promoted.