
Kigango, the ancestral Mijikenda sculpture for protection.
A ‘kigango’ is a wooden sculpture whose purpose is to give ancestral spirits a physical dwelling in the physical world. Their main role is to protect the community. Through token sacrifices of flour and mnazi (palm wine), the Mijikenda believe that the ancestors can be accessed and entreated to communicate with God on the tribe's behalf since they are closer to him in their spirit form than the living.
Unfortunately, during the colonial era, many of these vigango, which were in people’s homes were stolen and taken to museums as pieces of art. The Kenyan government has made efforts to return the vigango back to their rightful places. The Mijikenda believe that the absence of their ancestors has brought calamities to their communities.
The Mijikenda, as the name suggests, comprise of 9 subclans of the Mijikenda community namely the Giriama, Chonyi, Digo, Duruma, Rabai, Ribe, Jibana, Kauma and Kambe and each community has a different name for these ancestor representations. The installation of a Kigango/Koma/Chiphalau is the last of the 3 burial ceremonies of the Mijikenda people. The Kigango is only installed for significant male elders. For women, a koma is installed.
The Mijikenda people believe that the deceased is the one who demands for an installation of the kigango or koma or chiphalau. The dead communicate to the living for a fulfillment of these rites through bizarre incidents like a swarm of bees or snakes lurking around the homesteads, unusual illnesses or a series of bad luck. These signs are believed to be a reminder to the living to appease the dead by conducting their final burial rites. Among the Mijikenda, only the Kauma and the Giriama carve the vigangos. To signify the koma, the other communities install a piece of wood with no carvings.
However, depending on the status of the deceased, the Rabai have a chiphalau, with two-point piece of wood. All these are representations of those that are gone before them, the koma (ancestors) who they pray to intercede for them to God. The vigangos /komas are adorned in blue, white and red clothing which are the colors that the Mijikenda identify with.
Deep inside Kaya Kauma, now a protected UNESCO heritage site, a shrine that houses the physical representation of the founding fathers of the Kauma are five tall life size carvings that look like a male figure and five short female looking carvings. The male figure carvings are vigango while the female figure carvings are koma. A koma is a placed next to the kigango as a representation of the wife to the man. They are usually sheltered in a structure called a kigojo. In the Kauma community, one of the nine sub tribes of the Mijikenda tribe, there is the Gohu society. This is a spiritual leader-society that constitutes of only members of the Dzunza sub clan of the Kauma tribe. They are the only ones who are allowed to carve the vigangos. According to Kauma history, they are made up of five sub clans, namely the; Mdzakaa, Mphitso, Mdzunza, Mndarari and Mmongwe.
Apart from those five vigango, any other Kigango represents a soul departed that was a member of the Gohu society while alive and thus had to have been a descendant of the Dzunza clan. The carving of the kigango and the intricacies of its installation are shrouded in so much mystery given that it is done in the forest, with only the Kaya elders having access to this ceremony. From our conversations with communities we visited, even those with vigangos installed in their homesteads have very sketchy details on what their installation entails.
According to the elders, a family intending to put up a kigango is required to part with two cows, a ram, a goat and cocks of every color before the carving can begin. Once this requirement is met, the Gohu go into the forest to carve the kigango. This process takes 7 days. The wood used to curve these vigango comes from very specific trees, namely: Muhuhu, Muhingo and Muhumba. On the 7th day, late in the night, they install the Kigango in the homestead.
The vigango are beautiful and can be mistaken for a piece of art. It is no wonder that these artefacts found themselves in museums as art pieces. Unfortunately, the already returned ‘vigango’ cannot find themselves back to the community they are meant to protect as it is not known where they were stolen from. It is for this reason that even though they are back home, they are still in the museums.
The Mijikenda community, especially the older generation, have keenly followed the repatriation process. The younger generation have scanty or little knowledge of these process. Many young people have associated the installation of the koma and vigango with witchcraft and outdated practices.
This information was gathered through focused group discussions and visits to the Mijikenda communities. Special thanks to:
- Kaya Kauma community.
- Chonyi Mwarakaya community.
- Rabai,Mwembe wa Marunga elders.