The Taita

The Taita are a tribe that lives in the Taita hills of Southwest Kenya near the border of Tanzania. It is a tribe compiled of three different tribes: the Wadawida, the Wasaghala and the Whataveta. Their language is of Bantu origin and is very similar to the Chagga people of Tanzania. The largest hill is called Dawida, it is a massive fertile place which is densely populated by the tribe. They practice many different types of agriculture and sell the bulk of what they produce to the nearest coastal provinces; a majority of it going to Mombasa. Surrounding the Taita hills is the Tsavo West National Game Park, before this became a National Park it was where the tribe would hunt for large game, and retain most of their meat supply. The Taita have assimilated many factions of the western culture, and most of their traditional culture has faded away. The biggest and most sacred tradition of the Taita people is circumcision. For hundreds of years it was a important training ritual for boys 7-11, it was a celebration of the undertaking of more responsibility. Another remarkable thing about the Taita people is that they have an outstanding amount of respect for the dead. A year after the burial of a person, their skull is taken from the ground and put in a cave with all the other skulls of all the other dead. Although this practice is not widely practiced anymore, the skull caves are considered very sacred. The Taita are very into their music and have many rituals and traditions based off music and dance. The most common dance of the Taita people is the pepo, the spirit possession dance. This dance is not only performed on national holidays.