Mfangano Island

Kenya - Wilderness Areas

Mfangano Island is a large, mountainous island on Lake Victoria, south of Kisumu and Homa Bay.

Most of the rock art on Mfangano island consists of geometric paintings believed to have been made by Twa hunter-gatherers between 2000 and 4000 years ago. Todayā€™s inhabitants are the Abasuba or Suba people who were using Mawanga sites for rainmaking rituals until the 1980s.

The main rock art sites on Mfangano Island are Mawanga and Kwitone. Mawanga cave is situated only a short walk from Mawanga village, where the boat jetty is located. It looks out towards the lake and Nzenze Island, which is sacred to one of the Suba clans. Kwitone shelter is located near the top of a mountain above a sacred forest and can be reached from Mawanga after a 40-minute hike through the forest.

smiling white male wearing a backpack

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