Kaya

Kaya is sacred woodland of the Mijikenda human beings in the former Coast Province of Kenya. The kaya forest is taken into consideration to be an intrinsic supply of formality energy and the foundation of cultural identification; it's also a place of prayer for participants of the unique ethnic institution. The settlement, ritual centre, and fortified enclosure associated with the wooded area are also part of the kaya. In the modern-day, the kaya is also called a traditional organizational unit of the Mijikenda.

Eleven of the approximately 30 separate kaya had been grouped together and inscribed as the Sacred Mijikenda Kaya Forests, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Many kaya were at first fortified villages of the various ethnic businesses, the Digo, Chonyi, Kambe, Duruma, Kauma, Ribe, Rabai, Jibana, and Giriama people. The villages have lowland tropical wooded area areas in their surrounds and had been reached through paths through the forest. The wooded area plants changed into used completely for the gathering of medicinal herbs. The practices of tree cutting, livestock grazing, and farmland clearing have been not accredited within a kaya.