By Yvonne Chiben, Kakamega
There was pomp and colour during the ongoing Tamasha Cultural Festival kicked off at Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology (Mmust) in Kakamega.
Students each representing their community, wore cultural regalia emulating what their community folks back home have been doing generation after generation.
Traditional dance, shaking of shoulders and waists, swinging of hands, each synchronizing with drum beats or song being played through the sound system kept the audience shaking their bodies.
The students from Turkana, Samburu, Coast, Luhya, Kalenjin, Kamba, Maasai, Kuria, Luo, Kikuyu communities just to mention a few danced to their traditional songs photocopying moves and styles engineered by cultural orientation
The aroma that filled Graduation Square made some satisfied but to many, it was a chance to taste and enjoy meals their community fore fathers had no knowledge about and if they had, they never tasted.
Students used the occasion to display diverse cultures across the country. The cultural week kicked off on Wednesday and is set to come to an end on Sunday.
The theme of the event is leveraging on culture for climate change mitigation and Sustainable Development.
Mmust Vice Chancellor Solomon Shibairo officially opened the cultural festivals.
The Tamasha Cultural Week is celebrated annually where students from all the schools display their cultural diversity ranging from traditional foods and outfits, cultural exhibition, modeling, egg and spoon race and sack race, local/student artist performance and bull fighting.
Along with the ongoing events, the university uses the opportunity to conduct voluntary HIV testing, mental awareness and free cancer screening and general medical check-up among the students and staff.
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