Culture defines a person and every community has its own that they hold on to close to their chest with significance accompanied by the tradition.
For nomadic communities living in the North rift, women have a sacred belt known as ‘Leketio’ which plays a critical role in womanhood especially after giving birth and during ceremonies such as rites of passage and traditional prayers.
‘Leketio’among Tugen ,Pokot and Ilchamus communities defines a woman as it acts as a symbol of respect and it helps to bring back the shape of womb after giving birth.
Christine Bett who makes the belt says apart from women wearing it after birth, the belt also is used to catch wrong doers in the society as when a crime is committed in the community after a suspect has committing the crime, the belt comes in handy as they are paraded to cross over the belt to apprehend the suspect.
Grace Kaisang reveals that when women are praying for something they wear the belt as a sign sacrifice to God to answer prayers for instance when Deputy President William Ruto’s mother was praying for her son during Hague case she confessed publicly that she used the belt to pray.
She is worried with the westernization that has eroded the culture and that young mothers are not seeing the importance of the belt.
It was evident every woman who participated in Baringo County cultural festivals that were held yesterday at the Kenya School Of Government –Kabarnet wore the belt as it is used during ceremonies like cultural festivals.
Chief Officer for Culture Gladys Naseku said the event was organized to promote cultural activities practiced by fore fathers so that they may not forget following the erosion of western culture.