Kaya is a sacred woodland of the Mijikenda people in Kenya’s former Coast Province. It is located in the former Coast Province. Plural makaya or kayas is believed to be a natural source of ceremonial power and the wellspring of cultural identity. It is also a prayer site for members of the particular ethnic community that visit it. The kaya includes the community, ritual center, and walled enclosure related to the forest, among other things. In modern times, the kaya is also referred to as a traditional organizational unit of the Mijikenda. However, this is not the case. On November 11, 2011, eleven of the approximately 30 individual kaya forests were banded together and inscribed as the Sacred Mijikenda Kaya Forests, which UNESCO now recognizes as a World Heritage Site.
Geography
More than 50 kaya have been found in Kwale, Mombasa, and Kilifi, among other places.
They range from 30 hectares to 300 hectares in size apiece.
In the southern coastal plains of Kenya, between the towns of Mombasa and Kilifi, these are dispersed over a 200-kilometer (120-mile)coastal stretch, which is divided into two sections.
The Kaya Kinondo Ecotourism Project manages a 30-hectare forest on Diani Beach that is open to guests. While most makaya are closed to visitors, the Kaya Kinondo Ecotourism Project contains a 30-hectare forest on Diani Beach.
History
Many of the kaya were once fortified villages of numerous ethnic groups, including the Digo, Chonyi, Kambe, Duruma, Kauma, Ribe, Rabai, Jibana, and Giriama, the Digo, Chonyi, and Kambe people. Lowland tropical forest areas surround the villages. They were reached via routes that wound their way through the forest. Medicinal plants were collected primarily from the forest’s flora, considered a valuable resource. The techniques of tree cutting, cattle grazing, and agricultural clearance were not permitted within a kaya (forest) boundaries.
Today, because of extensive deforestation for agricultural purposes and logging, 38 kaya forest regions have been designated as legally protected national monuments by the government. Local communities manage these locations.
Wildlife and environmental protection
It has been determined that wildlife in the Kaya Kinodao area can be visited as an ecotourism initiative. While 187 plant species have been found, 48 bird species and 45 butterfly species have also been identified. There have also been reports of the Colobus monkey and the Golden-rumped elephant shrew.
The customary regulations of entry into the forest were established by a governing body known as the ngambi, which comprised elderly community members and governed the village. According to traditional ideas about the forest’s sanctity, this governing body was principally concerned with its management, conservation, and usage of biological resources following its sacredness. The establishment of a central governing body, on the other hand, has had an impact on the role of local elders.
An Ecotourism project was created in 2001 with money granted by the Ford Foundation to produce revenue for the local people while also encouraging ecotourism and, at the same time, aiding in the preservation of the forests’ sacredness and their natural beauty.
In 2008, the Sacred Mijikenda Kaya Forests were designated as a World Heritage Site under criteria (iii), (v), and (vi). The forest comprises eleven Mijikenda kaya that have been gathered together (vi).
Culture
In the Mijikenda, fingo (protection talismans) are buried and cared for by kaya elders dedicated to preserving the traditions of the Mijikenda people.
According to a legend about their origins, they think they brought the fingo charms with them from their ancestral land of Shungwaya. Many fingos, considered works of art, are lost or stolen in today’s world.
There are numerous tales and beliefs about the sacredness of these forests that have been passed down through generations of women in the area. It is often believed that the forests are home to ghosts and other supernatural beings. According to some of them, it is possible that when you chop down a tree with a machete, the machete would bounce and cause an injury to the leg that can only be repaired by donating cloth to village elders during a ritual. It is also thought that food prepared with wood from these sacred forests will make people sick. A house constructed entirely of wood from the forest will collapse in a natural disaster. The preservation of the forest’s sacredness was intended to ensure that its darkness would be preserved.