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Mfangano Island – Where the Lake's Heart Beats
Kiswahili
Illustration: Culture, Mfangano Island

Culture

Language, faith, sacred places, life by the lake and the festivals of the Abasuba and their neighbours.

Two languages, one island

In everyday life most people on Mfangano speak Dholuo; health surveys on the island, for example, are carried out in Dholuo 1. The Suba language, Olusuba, lives on above all among older people. A UNESCO report of 2008 classed Suba as endangered and named Mfangano, together with Muhuru, as the area where the language was still strongest 2. The Mfangano variety, Olwivwangano, was chosen as the basis of standard Suba 3.

Keeping the language alive

The Ministry of Education revived the teaching of Suba in 1995 3. Today the community radio station Ekialo Kiona (EK-FM), linked to the Ekialo Kiona Centre, broadcasts in Suba and Luo and trains young people to make programmes in Olusuba 4,5. Dance groups and community associations campaign for Olusuba to be taught in schools 6,7.

Sacred places and making peace

A study from 2004 recorded 36 sacred groves (kibaga) on Mfangano, 19 of which still existed. They are protected by clans, and taboos forbid using their trees for building or firewood 8. Ancestors were regarded as intermediaries, and sacred forests and "peace trees" are still used for reconciliation 9. Nzenze Island is used by the Wasamo clan for rain-making to this day 9. The Abasuba Community Peace Museum keeps these traditions of peace and reconciliation alive 10.

Life by the lake

Fishing and farming are the main livelihoods. Men fish mostly from small wooden boats, and women play a large part in processing and trading the catch 11,12. Nile perch and omena (dagaa) are the most important fish 12. Fish belongs to almost every meal: in a study of breastfeeding mothers on the island, 97 per cent had eaten fish in the previous three days 13. On the farms maize, millet and beans are grown, and families keep cattle, goats and chickens 11.

Faith

In Homa Bay County 97 per cent of the population is Christian (census 2019); Protestant, Evangelical, African Instituted and Catholic churches are all represented 14. Figures for the island alone do not exist. A Quaker congregation has met on Mfangano since 2021 15.

Festivals and events

Every December the Rusinga Cultural Festival on neighbouring Rusinga Island brings together boat races, Abasuba dances, traditional games and food 16,17. In 2025 a marathon around Mfangano raised money for widows' groups; it started at Sena beach 18.

Sources (18)

  1. Chung, E. O. et al.: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 16(14), 2019, 2510. doi.org
  2. Mhando, J. (National Museums of Kenya) for UNESCO Nairobi: Safeguarding Endangered Oral Traditions in East Africa, January 2008. ich.unesco.org
  3. Obiero, O. J.: "Evaluating Language Revitalization in Kenya". Nordic Journal of African Studies 17(4), 2008, 247–268. mail.njas.fi
  4. Okata, J.: "This radio station in Kenya works to keep an endangered language alive". IJNet, 5 October 2022. ijnet.org
  5. Kenya Community Media Network (KCOMNET): Community Radios Broadcasting for Peace, 2018. ziviler-friedensdienst.org
  6. Nation: "How Suba dancers keep endangered language alive", September 2025. nation.africa
  7. Nation: "Push to save dying Suba language now gathers momentum". nation.africa
  8. Ogola, P. O., Ogol, C. K. P. O. & Khayota, B.: "Sacred groves (kibaga) of Mfangano Island, Lake Victoria, Kenya", 2004. Maseno University repository. repository.maseno.ac.ke
  9. Coulson, D., Borona, G. K. & Nyasuna-Wanga, G.: Abasuba Natural and Cultural Heritage and Mfangano Island. Trust for African Rock Art, 2014. s3.amazonaws.com
  10. Nyasuna-Wanga, G. & Borona, G. K.: Managing Community Projects – TARA and the Abasuba Community Peace Museum. Trust for African Rock Art, c. 2010. africanrockart.org
  11. Idris, Z. M. et al.: "High and Heterogeneous Prevalence of Asymptomatic and Sub-microscopic Malaria Infections on Islands in Lake Victoria, Kenya". Scientific Reports 6, 2016, 36958. doi.org
  12. Fiorella, K. J. et al.: "Human health alters the sustainability of fishing practices in East Africa". PNAS 114, 2017. doi.org
  13. Fiorella, K. J. et al.: Public Health Nutrition 21(4), 2018, 777–784. doi.org
  14. Kenya National Bureau of Statistics: 2019 Kenya Population and Housing Census, Volume IV – Distribution of Population by Socio-Economic Characteristics, 2020 (tables via openAFRICA). open.africa
  15. Friends United Meeting: "Kenyan Friends Partner for Mission to Lake Victoria's Mfangano Island", 25 May 2021. friendsunitedmeeting.org
  16. Nation: "Pomp and colour at 8th Rusinga Cultural Festival" (December 2019). nation.africa
  17. Nation Media Group: "Rusinga Cultural Festival – Inside renewed bid to save the Abasuba culture", 27 December 2023. mwananchi.co.tz
  18. Kenya News Agency: "Marathon raises funds to empower widows", 1 April 2025. kenyanews.go.ke

Last checked: 13 October 2026