Kaya (Mijikenda)
| Sacred Mijikenda Kaya Forests | |
|---|---|
| Name as inscribed on the World Heritage List | |
 |
|
| Location | Kenya |
| Type | Cultural |
| Criteria | (iii),(v),(vi) |
| Reference | 1231 rev |
| UNESCO region | Africa |
| Inscription history | |
| Inscription | 2008 (32nd Session) |
Kaya (plural makaya) is a sacred forest of the Mijikenda people in the former Coast Province of Kenya. The kaya forest is considered to be an intrinsic source of ritual power and the origin of cultural identity; it is also a place of prayer for members of the particular ethnic group. The settlement, ritual centre, and fortified enclosure associated with the forest are also part of the kaya. In the present day, the kaya is also referred to as a traditional organizational unit of the Mijikenda. Eleven of the approximately 30 separate kaya have been grouped together and inscribed as the Sacred Mijikenda Kaya Forests, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
More than 50 kaya have been identified within the Kwale, Mombasa, and Kilifi counties. They measure between 30 and 300 hectares each. These are scattered over a coastal stretch of 200 kilometres (120 mi) in the southern coastal plains area of Kenya, between the towns of Mombasa and Kilifi. While visitors are not allowed to enter most makaya, Kaya Kinondo, a 30-hectare forest on Diani Beach, allows visitors and falls under the auspices of the Kaya Kinondo Ecotourism Project.
Many kaya were originally fortified villages of the various ethnic groups, the Digo, Chonyi, Kambe, Duruma, Kauma, Ribe, Rabai, Jibana, and Giriama people. The villages have lowland tropical forest areas in their surrounds and were reached via paths through the forest. The forest flora was used solely for the collection of medicinal herbs. The practices of tree cutting, livestock grazing, and farmland clearing were not permitted within a kaya.
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