The Kilumi Rain Dance in Modern Kenya - Journal of Pan African ...

Figure 2.0 – Dancers Summoning the Rain Making Spirits 32
Strengthening
Strengthening is the process in which participants reach a climatic state. 33 During this
process, specific dance movements are used and referred to as kusunga or kwina, depending on
the specific Ukamba territory. In addition, rain making dances utilize many symbols. In fact, the
rain making Kilumi rite is full of symbolic structure and meaning. Symbolic structure and use is
the focus of Victor Turner in his book, The Forest of Symbols:
The symbol is the smallest unity of ritual which still retains the specific properties of
ritual behavior; it is the ultimate unity of specific structure in a ritual context…a symbol
is a thing regarded by general consent as naturally typifying or representing or recalling
something by possession of analogous qualities or by association in fact or thought…the
ritual symbol becomes a factor in social action, a positive force in an activity field. The
symbol becomes associated with human interests, purposes, ends, and means, whether
these are explicitly formulated or have to be inferred from the observed behavior. 34
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The Journal of Pan African Studies, vol.4, no.6, September 2011