This is an excerpt from a song in the Pokomo language that is sung for young women who return home after undergoing an initiation rite following their first menstrual period. Upon their return to the community, these young women are adorned with plaited decorations from the mkindu (wild date palm) and welcomed by this song praising the aesthetic and practical significance of plaiting. The song also instructs the newly initiated to handle adult life with the same skill and endurance which they have acquired from plaiting. Such young-women’s empowering songs and rituals were condemned by European missionaries in colonial times. Their loss was a great loss to all humankind.
Vocals: Bahati Hassan Ruli
Video production and image credits: Najeeb Ahmad Nassir Juma Bhalo
Video editing: Rebeca Ofek