Luo Cultural Shrines: The Hembko of Got Ramogi, Kenya

Got Ramogi in Kenya is a hill shrouded with many mysteries and awe-inspiring cultural beliefs and practices. He hill has attracted the interests of archeologists, geologists, historians, ethnographers, foresters, herbalists, worshippers, politicians and tourists in equal measure. Ramogi Ajwang’, the founder father of the Luo nation, is believed to have settled on the strategichill when his people arrived in Kenya through Uganda from the southern Sudan. The objective ofthe study was to establish the number of cultural sites and shrines (hembko) at the hill, the cultural beliefs and practices associated with them, and the spiritual significance of each shrine on the spirituality and he future of the Luo community in Kenya and the diaspora. The information discussed in his paper was obtained through internet library research using the Google search engine. Google is considered to be the most popular and the best search engine due to its advanced algorithms and vast database. The search was able to identify nine (9) cultural shrines or hembko in Dholuo. Each of these shrines had unique name and function in the cultural and spiritual heritage of the people. The Luo offered spotless animal rituals to their God Nyasaye to propitiate or placate the supernatural world for continued prosperity and posterity. Further research should be conducted on Ramogi Hill to discover even more unearthed shrines.