As the world awaited with anticipation to observe a total lunar eclipse commonly referred to as “Blood moon”, for some traditionalists among the Bukusu community in Bungoma County, the occurrence evokes feelings of apprehension and anxiety.
In astronomy, a total eclipse occurs when the earth moves between the sun and a full moon, casting its shadow on the moon significantly impacting the moon’s glow, which was expected to be visible to nearly 6 billion people in the world on September 7th.
A section of the Bukusu community in Western Kenya have a myth in connection with the unusual occurrence, terming it as a bad sign foreshadowing calamity.
Speaking to Kenya News Agency barely three hours before the anticipated time for the visibility of blood moon, Simiyu Khisa, a Bukusu elder from Maeni village in Kimilili constituency, said when red or a darkened moon appeared it implied an impending threat.
According to Bukusu folklore, the occurrence of an eclipse was believed to be the moon getting swallowed by a monster locally referred to as Kamkuywa in the local dialect.
Khisa says to save the moon, villagers would come out of their houses to beat drums, bang objects that could produce noise, light fires, whistle and sing war songs believing by so doing, they would scare away the monster.
The Bukusu elder said pregnant women were forbidden against looking at the blood moon, since it was believed that it could bring misfortune to the unborn child and they were strictly cautioned to stay indoors, until the moon regained its normal hue.
"This spectacle was treated as a natural warning to the community; it was a moment treated with fear and the situation usually called for a need to appease the spirits and forefathers, who it is believed were not happy about or someone," Khisa said.
Khisa further recounted that when such phenomena are observed it was taken as a warning sign of either poor rain, serious outbreak of livestock diseases and poor harvest among others.
The Bukusu elder said that in the olden days whenever the blood moon appeared, there was need to appease the spirits by performing some rituals.
“This was done by a select group of revered elders who performed a sacrifice using traditional brew commonly known as Busaa and slaughtered a domestic animal," he said.
Khisa explained that in order to the appease spirits and forefathers, a sacrifice had to be conducted with the brew (Busaa) being poured on the ground as libation and the slaughtered livestock offered, asking the ancestors to restore harmony, peace and to continue protecting the community from evil.
He called on the Bukusu Council of Elders to convene an urgent meeting at the Bukusu cultural centre in Kamkuywa to give the community away forward after deliberating on the blood moon of September 7, 2025.
Despite his advanced age, Khisa applauded the drastic changes that have been experienced in the current world.
The bukusu elder said that on an occasion like the blood moon during their younger days, they could wait for ages to visualize it, but currently things have changed and technology has made it easier that they can predict day and time it will appear.
He called upon the Bukusu community, saying despite the numerous changes including technology, they should not run away from their traditions and culture.
Khisa also asked the young generation to take advantage of the changes to document and digitise their culture and traditions for future reference.
"During our days, we never went to school, we did not get the opportunity to use technology, we only used to memorise so as to orally pass information, culture and traditions to another generation; you are privileged, so make good use of modernity," he added.
