Home » Lukembe - Customs, Traditions of the Bukusu circumcision festival

Lukembe – Customs, Traditions of the Bukusu circumcision festival

Lukembe, the Bukusu traditional circumcision ceremony is a symbolical, rich, sacred, dramatic event that not only defines a people, but is at the very heart of their existence. Immerse in lukembe – customs, traditions of the Bukusu circumcision festival.

Meet The song of the Bukusu circumcision 2022: Enjaka khunywa makalama (Wajackoyah)

Luhya Culture, Luhya traditional circumcision, Bukusu Culture /

An election, a season and a song: The story behind enjaka khunywa makalama, the song of the 2022 Bukusu traditional circumcision season. Every two years, to the Luhya of western Kenya, comes circumcision year. And every circumcision year, a new circumcision song emerges that serves to notate the times and is the soundtrack of the […]

Meet The song of the Bukusu circumcision 2022: Enjaka khunywa makalama (Wajackoyah) Read More »

Everything khuchukhila, the penultimate event ushering in the knife during Bukusu traditional cut

Bukusu Culture, Luhya Culture /

Over days and weeks the initiate, omusinde, through song and dance, calls his kith and kin to witness his becoming of a man. But some two days before the big day, his bravery is tested. As a sign of the man he will become, the initiate is required to put out an act of courage,

Everything khuchukhila, the penultimate event ushering in the knife during Bukusu traditional cut Read More »

oster titled 'likhoni luliki lukembe' with image of a bull's testicles

FAQ: What is Likhoni or luliki in Bukusu circumcision?

Luhya traditional circumcision /

Answers to frequently asked questions on likhoni or luliki in Bukusu circumcision. Use the comments section to post more questions which we will endeavor to answer as accurate as possible. For more terms, phrases, traditions on the traditional Bukusu circumcision ceremony, browse our glossary titled Speak With Authority on Bukusu Traditional Circumcision Ceremony; or comb

FAQ: What is Likhoni or luliki in Bukusu circumcision? Read More »

poster titled songs of sikhebo with image of boys in traditional regalia and fuscha tone

Tunes of life: Sikhebo songs before and after COVID-19

Music in Mulembe - A portal to the world of African Luhya music, Luhya traditional circumcision /

Mirror, mirror, on the wall. Who is the fairest of them all? The language of music is the fairest and the most unifying of all. As with sikhebo songs, which even as they morph with the times, continue to relate social gossip, news and political commentary whose net effect is to bring us together in

Tunes of life: Sikhebo songs before and after COVID-19 Read More »

poster of khulanga the bukusu circumcision tradition with image of two boys in traditional regalia dancing and blowing whistles

Meet khulanga, a tradition at the heart of the Bukusu circumcision ceremony

Luhya traditional circumcision /

The Bukusu circumcision ceremony is important to the health of the community of Babukusu, the largest of the 18 houses of mulembe, because it brings together kith and kin in celebration of life, progress and continuity. The tradition of khulanga, makes this possible. To date, the Bukusu of Kenya hold their customs and traditions sacred.

Meet khulanga, a tradition at the heart of the Bukusu circumcision ceremony Read More »

All about ‘changa style ndolekho’, the penultimate dance of the Bukusu traditional circumcision ceremony

Luhya traditional circumcision, Bukusu Culture, Luhya Culture /

Changa style ndolekho is not a challenge to pronounce lightly. You better be prepared, you have to know how to strut your stuff on the dance floor. Most importantly, you must be prepared to leave it all there. Whenever, in the ceremony known as khuchukhila, a omusinde form Bayemba clan pours water that he’s fetched

All about ‘changa style ndolekho’, the penultimate dance of the Bukusu traditional circumcision ceremony Read More »

poster with dark yellow background and words the traditional Bukusu circumcision ceremony - everything you'll ever need to know

Speak with authority on Bukusu traditional circumcision ceremony like a true son or daughter of the soil: Who is omusinde? What is sisingilo? And other important vocabulary

Luhya traditional circumcision, Bukusu Culture, Luhya Culture /

Were you circumcised in the traditional way? This is a common, albeit rude, question that Gents face whenever they identify themselves as Bukusu. So popular is the Bukusu traditional circumcision ceremony that it is sure to dominate conversations. If for one reason or another your knowledge on your peoples ways isn’t up to scratch, that’s

Speak with authority on Bukusu traditional circumcision ceremony like a true son or daughter of the soil: Who is omusinde? What is sisingilo? And other important vocabulary Read More »

Grey scale poster with the words khutiukha, an elaborate bukusu sex education ceremony

Meet khutiukha: the elaborate Bukusu sex education ceremony that made us quality women and made men of honor of omufulu (fresh initiates)

Luhya Culture, Luhya traditional circumcision, Bukusu Culture /

My first formal sex education lesson occurred after one of my cousins had been circumcised when I participated in a ceremony called khutiukha. The Bukusu, my people, are not shamed by sex. Sex education for us begins early. But it doesn’t happen in the drab fashion of today: formal classrooms with uneasy teachers doling out

Meet khutiukha: the elaborate Bukusu sex education ceremony that made us quality women and made men of honor of omufulu (fresh initiates) Read More »