Syotune: The Warrior of the Wilderness (Kamba community)

Syotune wa Kathuke was a Kamba warrior and prophetess. She is celebrated for having effectively used a sacred dance called Kilumi to protect her people against the British colonial government.

Syotune was born in the mid-1800s in Kamba land. Like her peers from the same region, the revered prophetesses Syokimau and Syonguu, Syotune was a strong leader. Throughout history, the Kambas were feared for defeating their enemies using traditional religious practices and supernatural powers. One of the outstanding practices was the Kilumi dance.

The Kilumi dance was used for exorcism of evil spirits; the medicine men would conduct the exorcism as the women performed a frenzied dance uttering sacred words. Between 1911 and 1913 Syotune wa Kathuke mobilized women and used the dance to effectively demonstrate women’s opposition to the colonial administration and to spark off a major anti-colonial movement. Assisted by a man known as Kiamba and others, she led an organization known as Ngai Ngoma (God's Dance). She also formed a small army of women who would spy on and report to her disobedient locals who were collaborating with the colonial administration.

With her supporting forces Syotune ordered people not to pay the hut and poll taxes enforced on them by the British colonial government. The people refused to work as porters and demanded the return of their cattle confiscated by the colonial administrators. They also demanded the removal of all Europeans from Kenya and the return of land that had been alienated for white settlement. Syotune ran her organization successfully for at least two years.

Eventually, the colonial administrators saw Syotune’s movement as a political threat and sent troops to forcefully suppress it and arrested her. She was exiled to Kismayu for two years. She later escaped and returned to her people. Syotune was among the first women to form a women’s resistance movement to save her people from colonial domination.

Bonus Information:
Syotune wa Kithuke was able to effectively use traditional knowledge to address a problem that her community was experiencing. Even today, valuing and protecting traditional knowledge is important to ensure that future generations understand their history. If our history and our traditions are lost, who are we and where do we belong? It is encouraging to see that some governments are recognising the importance of protecting traditional knowledge. After all, if you do not know your history you cannot understand your future.