National Parks

Kit Mikayi, a stone monument and its legend

Sort of dolmen on Lake Victoria, is becoming a destination for tourism

15-09-2023 by redazione

A singular natural monument overlooking an enchanting landscape, in an area little visited by mass tourism in Kenya but becoming a place of historical and scenic interest.
Kit-Mikayi is an imposing seventy-meter-high rock formation on the road from the town of Kisumu to the town of Bondo in western Kenya, not far from Lake Victoria. 
After thirty kilometers, coming from Kisumu, you take the road to Bondo and after one kilometer you see the gate of an elementary school, N'gop Ngeso Primary School.
Kit-Mikayi in the dialect of the "Luo," the indigenous ethnic group, means "First Wife Rocks" or "First Wife Rocks."
The legend of Kit Mikayi says that many centuries ago there was an old man named Ngeso who was very attuned to the stones. Every day when he woke up in the morning, he used to enter the cave inside the 'stone and stay there all day, forcing his wife to bring him breakfast and lunch. The old man fell passionately in love with this stone to the point that people often asked his wife where it was, and she disconsolately replied that he had gone to his first wife (Mikayi) hence the name "first wife's stone" (Kit Mikayi).
A 'further explanation of this unique rock formation is that according to its features and components, the structure represents the polygamous family of the Luo tradition that had the house of the first wife (Mikayi) built further between the right side was the house of the second wife (Nyachira), while the house of the third wife (Reru) was built on the left side of the house. 
For a long time, this stone was a sacred place for the villagers, as well as a place of worship and tribal initiation rites. 
The local people living around the stones are known as the "Kakello" clan. 
The site is associated with sacrifices and many legends from pre-Christian times.
Kit-Mikayi today is a regional tourist point of interest. 
It has also become a popular local pilgrimage site for followers of the "Legio Maria" sect who stand before the rock to pray and fast for several weeks at a time.
The rock stands in an attraction-rich area, not far from the more famous Ndere Island, known for its wildlife, birdwatching, hippos, Nile crocodiles and impalas.

TAGS: kit mikayimonumenti kenyaparchi kenyariserve kenyaluoghi kenyaleggende kenya

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