Missing Mijikenda artefacts linked to madness, diseases and deaths

Kenyan traditional artefacts displayed at Uhuru Garden's Museum in Nairobi on July 25, 2022. [File, Standard]

Kaya elders in Kilifi County want the government and the National Museums of Kenya (NMK) to hand back the vigango, the sacred wooden memorial statues of the Miji Kenda people, to their owners.

The elders want the artefacts returned to their original positions as their continued storage in museums has brought misfortunes within families, including unexplained illnesses and deaths.

A kigango represents a departed soul of a Gohu, the society’s traditional religious leaders and lawmakers, among the Mijikenda, who is believed to continue participating in all matters in a homestead and the community in a spiritual form. In case a decision needs to be made regarding marriage, calamities or any family issue, the kigango is consulted.

Baya Mwalupembe a Gohu and Kaya elder says the removal of vigangos from their original positions has led to catastrophic consequences, including madness, illnesses, family members getting lost mysteriously, discord in families, loss of harvest and livestock, drought and children being born with different types of disabilities.

‘’Back then when the vigangos were in their original positions, there were no diseases and premature deaths, it was peaceful,” Mr Mwalupembe said, adding:

What followed after the disappearance of these vigangos was that people stated disappearing mysteriously, others died in unclear circumstances and others run mad. So let the government know that those spirits kept in the national museums continue to hurt families up to date .”

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The elder says the Mijikenda pray to God through vigangos. They believe in the saying that “Koma on earth and God in heaven” (Koma tsi Mulungu dzulu).

When a Mijikenda family migrates from the homestead, its members do not carry the vigango with them to the new home because that is considered disturbing the spirits of the dead.

The kigango of a migrating family is normally left in the abandoned home (ganzoni) and, instead, a piece of wood called kibao is carried and installed in the new home to represent it.

Mwalupembe, however, says elders in the community continue to visit the old home to take care of the kigango by performing the necessary rituals to keep the deceased’s spirit at peace.

‘’A kigango is addressed by the name of the deceased as if they are alive and present. Sometimes, even before eating or drinking palm wine, we pour some small portion of it on the ground to show that we are sharing with the ancestors,’’ Mwalupembe said.

Tsuma Nzai, a director and custodian of the Mijikenda traditions at the Magarini Cultural Centre, says the continuous absence of the vigangos from homesteads is harming families.

‘’These items are sacred and inalienable. Separating vigango from their rightful owners harms the spiritual well-being of the whole community,” he said.

In addition, Nzai says whenever a calamity befalls the community, a Gohu prays to the ancestors through the vigango.

‘’ The departed souls, through the vigango, act as mediators between God and the Mijikenda people,’’ Tsuma said.

Vigangos also issue warnings of impending calamities. The warnings are usually given through dreams to families of the departed and the messages are interpreted by elders.

In return, a Gohu performs rituals to the vigango begging them to tell God not to bring such calamities upon the community.

The Kaya elder further said the vigango will continue to be restless until they are returned to their original homes, warning that unless the vigango are reunited with their families, affected families will continue to experience calamities because their ancestral spirits are restless.

In 2023, the US government returned 85 vigangos that had been stolen from Kenya, sold to art dealers and, made their way to tourist shops and museums.

The artefacts were believed to have been stolen in the 1980s by traders and explorers visiting the Kenyan Coast, which they later donated to cultural institutions in their home countries.

Chengo wa Kadzomba and Mweni wa Maitha are among the deceased whose vigangos had been stolen.

‘’They uprooted my grandfather’s kigango but it refused and it broke into two pieces. They went one piece. So I had to build my house at the exact spot where his kigango was erected,” said John Wa Kadzomba.

The families of the affected are also demanding compensation from the British government, saying the spirits of their ancestors were forced on a journey to unknown land and locked in museums like slaves.

‘’They took our dead people and we want them back to our homes. My great grandfather’s kigango was stolen. We don’t know if it is among those returned or not,’’ said Dama Katana.

Doris Kamuye, a curator at Malindi Museum, says for now, the Kaya Kauma holds 10 statues while 75 are at the Fort Jesus conservation laboratory because it is unclear who specifically owns them.

‘’When they were stolen, no one was there to document. So it is difficult to identify the owners. Only two statues were identified because a curator had photographed them earlier on and we returned them to Chalani in Kaloleni,’’ Kamuye said, adding:

“We are contemplating having a collection centre for the statues but that will happen after the Kaya elders perform a cleansing ceremony.

Museums around the world still hold and exhibit stolen items despite a UNESCO treaty in 1970 halting the illicit trade in cultural artefacts and a growing awareness of repatriation, which supports returning artifacts to their home countries.