Isukuti dance of Western Kenya Inscribed for Urgent Safeguarding

 

The Isukuti dance of the Isukha and Idakho communities of Western Kenya was inscribed on the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding

 

 

The Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, meeting in Paris until 28 November, inscribed this tradition due to its vulnerability and threats to its survival. This inscription and several others added bring to 38 the number of elements on the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding. Its purpose is to help States mobilize international cooperation and assistance to ensure the transmission of the cultural practices inscribed with the participation of the communities concerned.

 

 

The Isukuti dance is a traditional celebratory performance practiced among the Isukha and Idakho communities of Western Kenya. It takes the form of a fast-paced, energetic and passionate dance accompanied by drumming and singing. A vehicle for cultural transmission and harmonious coexistence between families and communities, it is performed on numerous occasions throughout people’s lives. Transmission of Isukuti dance is weakening, however, and frequency of performances is diminishing. Many of the dancers are elderly and lack successors, and the young prefer contemporary entertainment over traditional Isukuti dances.

 

 

The dance derives its name from the drums used in the performance, played in sets of three – a big, medium and small drum – and normally accompanied by an antelope horn and assorted metal rattles. A soloist leads the dance, singing thematic texts in tandem with the rhythm of the drumbeats and the steps of the dancers, arranged in separate rows for men and women.

 

 

With the involvement of the communities concerned, Isukuti dance was included in 2008 in the National Inventory of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Kenya, administered by the Department of Culture of the Ministry of Sports, Culture and the Arts.