The Taita Community

The Taita community, also known as Wataita, is a Kenyan tribe that lives in Taita Taveta county near Kenya’s coastal area. They are a Bantu community which migrated to the Taita Taveta region in the period between 1000-1300CE. Historians argue that the Taita community migrated from Tanzania to Kenya in five groups which settled in different places in the modern Taita Taveta county. During their settlement in their current areas, the Taita interacted with other ethnic groups including the Pare of Tanzania, the Maasai, and the Taveta. The inhabitants of the area reveal that the migration took place back and forth in the history of these ethnic groups. As such, the Taita community is considered to be a part of the larger population residing in the Kilimanjaro Corridor.  The community speaks a language known as Kidawida or Kitaita which is a part of the coastal Bantu linguistic group

The Taita are divided into several subtribes including the Wadawida who live near the Dawida, the Wakasighau who live around the Taita Hills’ Kasighau massif and the Wasaghalla who inhabit the area around the Saghalla. The Kasigau are a Kitaita-speaking group which is closely related to the Chagga and Pare of Tanzania. The Saghalla speak a Taita language known as Kisaghalla which closely resembles the Kigiriama language. The fact that the Taita speak a language which is closely related to their neighboring ethnic groups shows that intermarriage and interaction between such communities was and continues to be very common.

The Colonial Era

At the end of the nineteenth century, the British began their colonial project in the Taita area when they began the construction of the Mombasa-Kampala Railway.  The railway included a branch from Voi to Taveta on the border with Tanzania, formely German East Africa. The construction of the railway required the pacification and cooperation of the ethnic groups whose territory the rail would go through. The land was mainly obtained by force and against the will of the inhabitants who viewed the British with suspicion. In spite of their inferior weapons, the Taita resisted bravely and made it difficult for the British to conquer their land. One of the famous resistance leaders from the community was Mwangeka wa Malowa who pushed the British back through his people’s will power and sacrifice. However, the British eventually prevailed backed by their powerful weapons. They also pillaged the land and often killed men indiscriminately in their military incursions. Like all other communities in Kenya, the Taita celebrated the end of colonialism and the independence of the country in 1963.

Taita Culture and Way of Life

Traditionally, the Taita believed in Mulungu who was considered to be the one and only supreme God. They also believed in Milimu (ancestral Spirits) who were called upon during periods of misfortune and calamity. They normally worshiped in caves and evidence of their worship as well as sacrificial remains can still be found in such caves in Taita Taveta County. Today, the Taita have largely abandoned their traditional region due to Christianity, over a hundred years of Westernization, and their adoption of Western values. For example, traditional circumcision was regarded as an important ritual in the process of training young boys aged 7 to 11 to take up adult responsibilities.  Currently, traditional circumcision has been abandoned in most areas of Taita. Instead, parents prefer to have the circumcision done in modern hospitals. In addition, the Taita also practiced female circumcision which was done two to three months after birth. Today, the practice has been abandoned completely with the community opting to adopt alternative initiation rites to help their girls transition to adulthood.

Nonetheless, the Taita have managed to preserve some important aspects of their traditional culture. One of these is their respect for the dead. Traditionally, when a member of the community died, they would be buried, then after a year, their body would be exhumed, the skull separated from the rest of the body and taken to a sacred cave where the dead would be considered to be residing among the ancestors. Although this practice is no longer practiced in modern Taita, the caves where the ancestors’ skulls were kept are still considered to be sacred by many people in the community.

Music and Dance

The Taita have also preserved their love for music and dance. Traditionally, music was considered a form of expression, and the best musicians were highly regarded in society. They had a variety of traditional dances performed by different groups, including women, children, and young men and women. One of the most fascinating Taita dances was the Mwazindika, a spirit (pepo) possession dance. Most of the other dances have either been abandoned or died off and are only performed during special occasions or national holidays. However, members of the Taita community continue to be very talented musically. For example, the late Fadhili Williams was famous for the hit song "Malaika," which is one of the most famous songs in the East African region.

Food

Traditionally, the Taita diet consisted of millet, sweet potatoes, bananas, cow peas, yams, cassava, pumpkins, and beans. Some members of the community who kept poultry and livestock would also supplement their meals with meat occasionally. The Taita also engaged in hunting for game meat as a source of food. In the past one hundred years, the Taita have adopted the cultivation of maize and the government has severely restricted hunting. As a result, today, the staple food in the community is ugali and vegetables such as sukuma wiki and cabbages. In addition, more people in the community practice small-scale livestock farming meaning that the consumption of milk and meat has also increased significantly. Kimanga (a mashed combination of beans and either bananas, pumpkins, sweet potatoes, or cassava) is a traditional dish which is still very popular among the Taita. It is accompanied by mbangara, which is a traditional drink made out of cassava, maize or sugarcane.

Marriage

In the past, polygamy was common among families in the Taita community. The marriages were usually pre-arranged and most people tended to marry family friends. The groom was required to pay dowry in the form of livestock in installments throughout the marriage and the bride price was determined by the bride’s father and uncles (from the maternal side). When girls were considered to be mature enough for marriage, they would be ceremoniously ‘kidnapped’ by their future in-laws and taken to their groom/future husband. This mostly happened in the evenings when they were out to collect firewood or fetch water.

Celebrations and Festivities

The Taita have harvest festivals where they celebrate good harvests. In addition, the naming of children is also considered to be a major event by the community. Family members and friends visit the newborn baby and present gifts during the ceremony. The children are normally named after the season when the baby was born or after a deceased relative. For example, if a child is named Mwanjala, it means that he or she was born during drought, Tabu means that the child was born during a period of trouble and Wamva means that the child was born during the rainy season. Additionally, the Taita also celebrate circumcision rites and weddings like most African communities.

Economic Activities

As stated earlier, the Taita are a Bantu people, and like most Bantus, they were and continue to be an agrarian society meaning that agriculture is their main economic activity. In the past, they mainly farmed millet, cassava, beans, sweet potatoes, and other grains. After interacting with other communities, especially the pastoralists, they adopted the keeping of livestock such as goats, sheep, cows, and chickens. Today, most people in Taita are small-scale farmers who combine crop farming and livestock farming. They have improved greatly in dairy farming and are the largest suppliers of milk in the coastal province in Kenya. Some members of the community also grow coffee which is mainly exported or processed for local consumption.

Although agriculture remains the primary occupation, the Taita economy has diversified over the past few decades. Many members of the community work in other sectors such as tourism, banking, transportation, construction, health and teaching among others. The fact that the community is located near Mombasa and the coastal area means that many people leave their villages to work in the city where there are more employment opportunities and better paying jobs. Recently, the development of the mining sector such as  the mining of gemstones and titanium has also provided decent-paying jobs for the people in Taita Taveta.

Political and Social Organization

In the past, the leadership in the Taita society was based on territorial allegiances. The three political regions were Kasigau, Sagala and Dawida. The community had two types of authorities: the elders and the headmen. Once a headman was appointed, he could not be removed from office or deposed. After his death, the headman would be succeeded by one of his sons after approval from the people. The main responsibility of the headman was to preside over the council of elders, often known as the kiama. The Council of elders was responsible for the resolution of conflicts such as debt, marriage disputes, criminal offenses, and disputes over water and land rights.

Like most of the agricultural communities in Kenya and the East African region, the Taita practised division of labor where the clearing of land was done by men and the cultivation by the women. Men and women would participate in harvesting, which was considered to be a happy occasion. The men were responsible of maintaining the irrigation schemes. Domestically, women were the custodians of the home and were responsible for collecting firewood, cooking, cleaning and looking after the children. Young men were responsible for herding the cattle and protecting the homestead. In case of wars, young men were organized into battalions where they would fight using arrows and shields.

In modern Kenya, the Taita are well integrated into the political system and have all civil rights including the right to vote for their political representatives. Some of the members of the community work in the government as civil servants, police officers, soldiers, judges, members of parliament, senators and governors. As such, all the traditional forms of political organization have been completely abandoned. The people now rely on government structures for public services and conflict resolution.

References

Bravman, W. A. (1992). Becoming Taita: A social history, 1850-1950.(Volumes I and II). Stanford University.

Merritt, E. H. (1975). A History of the Taita of Kenya to 1900. Indiana University.

Momanyi, C. (2002). The history of the Wataveta: The hidden reality.

Sakamoto, K. (1986). Social Organization and Ritual among the Taita of Kenya The process of the social change from kichuku type to muzi type. Journal of African Studies, 1986(28), 27-47.