THE UNIVERSITY OF LEIPZIG

places, there was an array of reasons that were recorded. These are illustrated in the table
below.
Table 7.1 Why people visited sacred places in Kakamega Forest
Value response Frequency Percentage
Never visited 0 0
Spiritual Healing 60 27.40
Circumcision 75 34.25
Carrying out traditional rituals 22 10.05
Clan obligations/ Heritage 50 22.83
Cultural ceremonies 13 5.48
Total 220 100
Source: Field Survey data
In the above table 34.25% informed the study that they had visited these places to witness
circumcision ceremonies, while 10.05% visited to carry out traditional rituals like cleansing
and worship. 22.83% argued that they visited these places due to cultural heritage obligations
(Pilgrimage). 27.40% visited the places in order to seek spiritual interventions and healing.
People visit these sacred places to seek religious healing and purity. They go to get good
heath, good fortune and peace. Therefore, because we bore in mind the role of cultural
continuity in this process, we asked respondents how they had learnt about such places. In
short we wanted to literary find out how this history is shaped and passed on from one
generation to another. The responses are also summarized in the following table.
Table 7.2 How information about sacred places is transferred
Value response Frequency Percentage
Don’t Know 0 0
Parents 18 8.22
Old school peers 46 21.00
Local bulletin 65 29.68
Village peers 34 15.53
Grand parents 52 23.74
Tribal head 5 1.83
Total 220 100
Source: Field Survey Data
From the above presentation, it is observed that 8.22% of the respondents had accessed
information about the sacred places and cultural heritage through their parents, while 21.00%
of the respondents learnt it through their old school peers. 29.68% had learnt about these
places through their local bulletins and another 15.53% had learnt this through their village
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