With spirit of Isukuti, we will rise each time we fall!
A section of AFC Leopards fans head to the Nyayo National Stadium for their Football Kenya Federation Premier League match against Gor Mahia on January 29, 2023.
What you need to know:
- Isukuti dance has been and is still loved by the old, youth and children, and is performed during all ceremonies including childbirth, circumcision, weddings, burials and bullfighting contests
- Among those who have embraced the culture of Isukuti are politicians, football fans, tourists and players in the hotel industry
- The dance is performed by shaking the shoulders, the bottom and twisting of the legs
Culture explains who people are, it’s what we eat, dance or even name our children. That is what Ingwe has been for nearly 60 years!
The only team that has had something to celebrate is AFC Leopards. Isukuti is the other name of AFC Leopards, which for six decades has been ever present featuring at AFC Leopards’ matches.
Isukuti dance has been and is still loved by the old, youth and children, and is performed during all ceremonies including childbirth, circumcision, weddings, burials and bullfighting contests.
Among those who have embraced the culture of Isukuti are politicians, football fans, tourists and players in the hotel industry. The dance is performed by shaking the shoulders, the bottom and twisting of the legs. It has no equivalent in African football, let alone in Kenya.
Unique identity
The drumbeat and the xylophone are inspiring. Win or lose, the spirit of the Isukuti is always there. The young generation sees it as a gift from past generations that gives the Luhya tribe a unique identity to be cherished for a long time to come.
It is our spirit of “Never Say Die”. We rise every time we are down, which is why the young Leopards can tangle with the big boys in the Kenyan Premier League.
Made in sets of three from a monitor lizard’s skin. The big one is a “husband”, the medium one is the “wife” and the small one is the “child” — one which symbolises the unity of the nuclear family.
Getting the skin is hard because tactful hunters with well-trained dogs need to lay an ambush on the reptile near river banks, which is what makes it a prized instrument. The drums are made of wood from either three trees namely; Mukomari, Murembe and Mung’oma.
The tree logs inside are chipped off to leave a hollow canal that is on one end covered with a monitor lizard’s skin which is skillfully attached by small pins. After this, the drums are put in the sun to dry for a week. The name Isukuti came about because of a language during the colonial era. The mood created by the drumbeats, dance and song cheered the Wazungu.
Kakamega DC Macdonald said ,“It’s good, it’s good,” but the local chief Milimu Amayitsa, who could not comprehend the accent, heard “Isukuti” . The name stuck to date.
