Furthermore, take a moment to reflect and express how cultural traditions have changed

in your region, due to globalization. You can compare yourself to your parents’ or even
grandparents’ generation.

First and foremost, I live in Kenya- a country located in East Africa. The country has 42 ethnic groups
(tribes), each having its own culture and language (mother tongue). Despite this, there are common
culture that resonate to all these ethnic groups and bring them together. For instance, the use of Swahili
as a national language has been one of the ways in which the country’s culture is preserved. Despite not
being a mother language to these ethnic groups, the language is common and understood by many of
the citizens.

Each of these tribes also preserve their culture through traditional food. When you go to the cities, you
will easily locate restaurants that identify themselves with local delicacies, popularly known as kienyeji,
from different tribes, thus attracting the interest from both the people of those culture and those who
might be interested in tasting such food. For instance, I am Luo, a tribe located in the Western part of
the country and borders the Lake Victoria. Originally, Luos practiced fishing during the pre and post-
colonial epoch, and fish from the lake still remains a major traditional food. When you walk into Kisumu
city which is located in the region, you will identify restaurants that serve traditional foods such as fresh
Tilapia fish. Everyone who goes to the city always wants to enjoy the taste of fresh fish from the lake,
and this even extends to other cities in country, whereby restaurants that identify themselves with fresh
fish and owned by Luos attract many clients who would wish to taste the traditional food as they are
sweeter than those from the fish ponds.

Besides, there are food festivals held by different tribes to mark their food culture. For example, Kisumu
Fish night events have been held in Kisumu in the last few years in order to preserve the fish culture in
the region. In the last four years food festivals have been held in Kisumu attracting several interests
both from within and without the City. The Kisumu fish night event of 2013 marked the melting point
of food culture in Kisumu (Odede et al., 2017)

Various tribes have also preserved their culture through various cultural rights such as in
circumcision. For instance, Kikuyu- which is the largest tribe in Kenya, has preserved practising
circumcision as a passage right from childhood to adulthood ( Mbito & Malia, 2009). On the contrary,
the Luos never practiced circumcision, however, as a way of initiation from childhood to adulthood, they
practiced the removal of six front teeth. However, these practice has since abandoned. This has been as
a result of globalization.

A further look at how globalization has affected culture is in the championing for the abolition of female
circumcision, a vice practiced by many culturally preserved tribes in Kenya that has received a major
backlash and condemnation from the entire world especially by the International organizations and human
rights organizations and bodies. Due to the pressure, the practice is steadily declining. As a result of this,
you will notice that many girls in these current generation are less likely to be circumcised in the genitals
in contrast to their parents and grandparents. Personally, this has been a positive impact of globalization.
References

Mbito, M. N., & Malia, J. A. (2009). Transfer of the Kenyan Kikuyu male circumcision ritual to future
generations living in the United States. Journal of adolescence, 32(1), 39-53.

Odede, F. A., Hayombe, P. O., & Agong, S. G. (2017). Exploration of food culture in Kisumu: A socio-
cultural perspective. Journal of Arts and Humanities, 6(7), 74-86.