Lake Turkana Cultural Festival 2015 nears a thrilling finale

The Lake Turkana Cultural Festival is now in full swing and hundreds of spectators from across the country have joined the local communities to celebrate the culture and traditions of this part of Kenya. Supported by the Marsabit County Government, the Kenya Tourism Board, the Kenya Wildlife Service, the National Museums of Kenya as well as development partners has this 8th edition of this unique festival brought the spotlight on Turkana, its cultures and customs, the variety of communities and the challenges they face in their daily lives.

The long weekend in Kenya, tomorrow, Monday 01st of June is Madaraka Day – the day when in 1963 Kenya attained internal self-administration before shedding the colonial yoke half a year later when full Independence finally became reality – has been used by many residents to travel to Turkana, by their own 4×4’s, through organized tours by road and of course by flying to Loiyangalani.

Not too far off is the so called ‘Cradle of Mankind’, one of Kenya’s major archeological dig sites where evidence of early man has been found. The now globally famous ‘Turkana Boy aka Nariokotome Boy’ skeleton, the most intact ever unearthed of early man, was located there in 1984. The remains are estimated to be about 1.6 million years old and the dig site of Koobi Fora, located inside the Sibiloi National Park which adjoins Lake Turkana is one of the globe’s archeological hotspots after more recently stone tools were found, suggesting that the area was inhabited by early man for much longer than previously thought.

This festival, now one of several similar festivals staged every year, is part of Kenya’s tourism diversification, moving beyond just wildlife based and beach holidays to showcase the immense variety of cultures, traditions and the country’s history.