#rusingafest2016

[fifislense]

Eminyiika || Traditional Wrestling *The storm* #wrestling #traditionalwrestling #rusingaisland #rusingafest2016 #magicalkenya #tembeakenya #traveldiaries (at Rusinga)

[owaahh]

For nearly a generation, the Wasaki ruled an empire that stretched from Rusinga across the water to Mfangano, and some sections of the mainland. They had beaten their Abakantu cousins and now rivals, the Waware, onto the inner parts of the mainland. The Waware helped the Luo in a few of their internal and external wars in the 1830s and the 1840s, partially to survive in areas such as Gwassi. In turn they picked up a few things, including how to fashion a shield from rhino hide, which is tougher than cow hide. In the final showdown, in 1850, the Waware left nothing to chance. When a diviner said they had to sacrifice a man, Wakiagi, one of the two chiefs, offered himself. He drank poison and died on the way to Mfangano. Mamra, the remaining king of this invasion, won the war for the island and focused on Rusinga which was the mainstay of the Wasaki empire. To take it, he first sent in a small, deliberately weak invasion force as a distraction. Then, as the Wasaki celebrated their triumph, two flanks, from the east and west, landed on Rusinga and ended nearly four decades of Wasaki rule. But the Waware victory lasted just five decades before European power forced them to become closer to the Luo, even placing them as the last wave of Luo migrants into the area (although they came much later, and from the Buganda). Image by @Anthony_Ochieng_tony #rusingafest2016 #Rusinga #Travel #Travelogue #Owaahh #Kenya #magicalkenya

[fifislense]

Eminyiika || Traditional Wrestling *Calm before the storm* #wrestling #traditionalwrestling #rusingaisland #rusingafest2016 #magicalkenya #tembeakenya #traveldiaries (at Rusinga Island)

[owaahh]

The Rusinga Festival, held every December for the last 5 years, is a celebration of the colorful history of the Abasuba, or as they like to be called now, the Subanese. The Subanese are direct descendants of a group of people called the Abakantu, who helped Semakooikoro become the Kabaka of the Buganda in 1797 after a vicious battle with his brother, Jjinja, who had been Kabaka for 17 years. The Abakantu went overboard though when they killed Jjinja and cut off his dick and balls, throwing them away. Semakooikoro planned to wipe them out, as revenge and to consolidate power, so the Abakantu fled across Lake Victoria, landing in Mfangano and Rusinga Islands. There they became two competing groups over the next 50 years, the Wasaki and the Waware. Read more about the wars between this two groups, and who eventually triumphed, in "Rusinga Festival 2016: A Photo Essay", link in bio. Image by Anthony Ochieng' #Travel #Kenya #History #RusingaFest2016 #Culture #Abasuba #Travelogue

[themagunga]

Boat racing happening now at Lwore Beach. #RusingaFest2016 #Wanderlust #Travel

[themagunga]

Boat racing happening now at Lwore Beach. #RusingaFest2016 #Wanderlust #Travel (at Rusinga Island)