Why Piny Luo Festival holds deep meaning for Luo communities worldwide

The Piny Luo Cultural Festival is a significant event that celebrates the Luo people’s cultural identity and heritage.

It is an annual gathering of the Luo community from across East and Central Africa, where thousands of participants come together to honour their cultural roots and traditions.

The festival aims to promote unity, cultural pride and economic empowerment within the Luo nation and beyond.

The Piny Luo Festival, which was first hosted in Kenya in 2021, serves as a platform for dialogue and collaboration, fostering connections among the Luo people and their diaspora. Its patron was the late former Prime Minister Raila Odinga.

The festival also highlights the Luo people’s shared history, values and aspirations, while providing an opportunity for the younger generation to connect with their roots and appreciate the unique customs and values that define the Luo community.

Piny Luo was founded as a cultural and socio-economic movement dedicated to celebrating, preserving and advancing Luo heritage, language and traditions, while fostering unity, peace and sustainable development.

Luo Council of Elders member Odungi Randa reminded the community of the need to uphold their culture.

“We don’t want the culture of the Luo people to vanish,” Mzee Randa said.

The festival holds a vision of creating a united and progressive society that draws strength from its cultural roots while embracing modernity and inclusivity.

Piny Luo Festival empowers communities, promotes regional cooperation and positions culture as a key pillar for economic, social and political development.

The Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) Party leader described Luo culture as dynamic, saying the community must keep pace with changing times.

He urged the Luo community to change its way of living and reminded them that land is not expanding despite the increasing population.

“The affordable housing teaches us this. We can live together so as to get services like water and electricity,” Dr Oburu said.

He urged young people to embrace the culture and parents to teach their children the Luo dialect so that the language that identifies the community does not become extinct.

The festival, which brings together Luo communities from Uganda, Tanzania, Kenya, South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo, has been celebrated five times, with its fifth edition taking place in Migori County.

“This festival is more than an event. It is unity in action. This celebration embodies the unity in diversity that defines our region,” Migori Governor Ayacko said.

Traditional dances and music performances during the Piny Luo Festival bring to life vibrant cultural expressions that have defined the Luo community for generations.

The performances connect the past to the present, telling stories of love, celebration, struggle and triumph.

They demonstrate how music and dance serve as vessels of cultural identity, memory and unity.

The Piny Luo Festival does not leave out the youth, who are given a chance to perform cultural dances, embedding Luo culture in their memories through intergenerational interaction.

During the celebrations, artisans are given the opportunity to showcase their creativity and mastery in pottery-making, basket weaving, wood carving, beadwork and the creation of traditional musical instruments, including the nyatiti, orutu and drums.

The celebration also entails visits to cultural heritage sites, with historical tours forming an essential part of the festival.

In Migori, participants in this year’s Piny Luo Festival toured significant landmarks, including Thim Lich Ohinga, which has existed for over 500 years, and Senye Beach.

Thim Lich Ohinga is a UNESCO World Heritage Site featuring ancient dry-stone walls built without mortar, while Senye Beach serves as a key landing site for local fishermen and a popular leisure destination for visitors exploring Migori County’s lakeside attractions.

Activities held at Senye Beach included boat racing, tug of war, wrestling, swimming competitions, pot balancing and beach volleyball.

President William Ruto, the chief guest at the celebration, promised to construct a proper cultural centre at Thim Lich Ohinga.

“This is a historical place. We have plans for this place. The cultural centre will ensure that what happened here is preserved. It is because of history that we can approximate the present and plan the future,” President Ruto said.

The three-day celebration of the Piny Luo Festival in Migori boosted business activities through trade fairs, accommodation, transport, food services and hospitality.

“We prepared ourselves well and gave our hotels a facelift,” said Alfred Mdaizy, chairman of the Bars and Hotels Owners Association in Migori County.

The festival expanded market access for local artisans, MSMEs, women and youth enterprises through exhibitions, brand visibility and product showcasing.

The fifth edition of the Piny Luo Festival, held in the absence of its patron, the late former Prime Minister Raila Odinga, honoured his legacy after he left a message of unity to the Luo community as his last wish before his death.

Leaders who graced the occasion echoed Raila’s call for unity, saying it is what he stood for and desired for the community.