Lake Victoria is
the largest lake in Africa and the source of one of Africa’s mightiest
rivers, the Nile. Its northern shores are situated just below the
equator and three countries – Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda – share its
waters. Looking out from the shores, visitors have the impression of
being at the edge of an ocean, for it is impossible to see the far
side. Many islands punctuate this vastness, most of them in Uganda and
Tanzania, although a few are on the Kenyan side. Two of these, Mfangano
and Rusinga, with their adjacent shores, provide the nucleus of Suba
District.
The largest island, Mfangano, rises steeply from the great lake, a
hunched-over giant, clothed with green vegetation. Its rocky backbone
rises over 300 metres (1,000 feet) above the lake and is exposed as
tall red cliffs in some places. The shore is edged by black rocks with
overhanging fig trees, beaches with black volcanic sand and narrow
stands of reeds. The people reside in homesteads along the narrow
shoreline and on the steep slopes of the mountainous island. They are
primarily fishermen and small-scale farmers growing maize, millet,
cassava, beans, and fruit, and rearing cattle, goat, sheep, duck and
chicken. Many homesteads are bordered by hedges of yellow-flowered
Thevetia peruviana bushes, and wild morning-glories abound in fallow
fields. Beautifully painted canoes can be seen lined up on the beaches
or at work out on the lake. While a road network and electricity supply
are the latest arrivals on Mfangano, the people of Mfangano mostly get
around by boat, bicycle and motorcycle taxis.
Narrow paths wind up the steep slopes of the island. The land is rocky
and the soil shallow, but a stunted dry forest of olive and associated
trees survives on the higher slopes. On the south-eastern side, the
climate is drier and the plants tend to be bushy and thorny, including
Acacia, the invasive Lantana bush and its indigenous cousin Lippia
(Phyla canescens). To the north and west there is a little more rain
and a more diverse forest.
Mfangano Island is called Ivangano
by its Abasuba inhabitants. The name
Ivangano, which means
‘Reconciliation’, was given to the island after a
17th century feud among the local community was resolved by a
reconciliation ceremony. Since that time, the Abasuba promised to live
in peace and to leave behind a legacy of respect for the values of
reconciliation and forgiveness as a means of promoting peace within
their own community and beyond.
This region is the site of many ancient migrations and is the setting
for a number of rock art sites. Rock art makes up one of the oldest and
most extensive records of human thought on earth. It also represents
some of the earliest artistic expressions of human kind. Found all over
the world, it is richly represented in the Lake Victoria region and
particularly in the Suba District of Kenya. The art in Suba District
was created long before the Abasuba people arrived here (they arrived
roughly two centuries ago). In some cases it has retained power and
importance in the culture of the Abasuba and this has helped protect it
from damage and oblivion. Several sites are available for visitors to
view; please treat these sites with care and respect so the art can be
conserved for future generations in Suba.
More general information about rock art in East Africa can be found in
a short guidebook: Rock Art in East
Africa (TARA, 2005), available at the Abasuba Museum or in
museum bookshops of the National Museums of Kenya (NMK).
website
& images ©
2008 TARA