Indigenous people in western Kenya have relied on the
mystical abilities of the Nganyi rainmakers to predict the weather
for generations.
 |
| Obedi Osore Nganyi instructs an apprentice on the rainmaker
practice of pot blowing. |
| Copyright : DFID / IDRC /Thomas Omondi |
However, the erratic weather caused by climate change has made the
signs rainmakers need for their forecast opaque. The Nganyi
rainmakers have begun collaborating with meteorologists, combining
their indigenous knowledge with modern science, to help them make
more accurate weather forecast for the communities that depend on
their advice.
“The rainmakers’ predictions are based on close
observation of natural phenomena, like the budding or flowering of
specific plant species and the behaviour of local insects and
animals, associated with seasonal changes,” Mary
O’Neill of Climate Change Adaptation in Africa (CCAA) told
MediaGlobal. “As weather patterns have become erratic in
their community in recent years, the Nganyi have been finding that
these ‘indicator’ species are less and less
reliable.”
“Climate change has come so fast,” said Obedi Osore, a
traditional forecaster filmed in the CCAA’s video Nganyi
Indigenous Knowledge Adaptation Project. “People don’t
know how to adapt. Our traditional crops are disappearing because
they can’t handle the new conditions.” Osore explained,
“We need new strategies to handle the climate change
issue.”
The Kenya Meteorology Department is adding its scientific knowledge
to the traditional knowledge of the Nganyi, in a project lead by
the IGAD Climate Prediction and Applications Centre (ICPAC) to
provide more reliable information for communities at risk from
climate change. The CCAA is supporting the project and sees this as
a “valuable opportunity to explore how climate information
can be made more accessible and relevant to rural people whose
livelihoods depend on it,” said O’Neill. “People
in many parts of rural Africa look to indigenous knowledge
forecasters to tell them what the rains will bring, and how to
prepare.”
Rainmakers’ predictions only pertain to the immediate
community and the meteorologists forecast apply on the national and
regional level. ICPAC believes the two groups will compliment each
other to better serve parts of Kenya that have been affected by
drought and erratic rainfall in recent years. The project uses a
system that combines each group’s knowledge.
After making their predictions for the upcoming season, Nganyi
rainmakers meet with researchers that compare the Nganyi forecast
with a scientific forecast from the Climate Outlook Forum to
develop a consensus forecast. The Nganyi shares the consensus
forecast for the coming season with the local community, in local
languages, through radio, in churches and other community gathering
points. “The Nganyi provide their forecasts in simple and
specific terms that are very relevant to local people,”
explained O’Neill.
The project has been in use for two seasons with positive results.
“The forecasts were surprisingly accurate for the local area,
even on one occasion when it appeared to contradict the overall
seasonal outlook at the country level,” said
O’Neill.
The ICPAC is also documenting the Nganyi approach to forecasting.
“The improved understanding of indigenous forecasting
knowledge is being integrated into university curriculum on
disaster risk management [that is] being developed at the Great
Lakes University of Kisumu,” said O’Neill. It is
important to ICPAC that there is a better understanding of
indigenous systems of climate forecasting.
The information from the project is being used to protect the
health and livelihood of the indigenous people from the impact of
climate change. Relaying the information through traditional
rainmakers will make it more accessible for local communities that
find the scientific approach cluttered with technical terms.
“The Nganyi rainmakers are particularly well known for their
skills,” said O’Neill.
By incorporating the indigenous knowledge of the Nganyi with
scientific weather technology, the ICPAC project has discovered a
way to combat the affects of climate change without neglecting the
heritage of the Nganyi people. People will continue to approach
Nganyi forecaster Abineri Osango — a rainmaker interviewed in
the CCAA’s video — and ask about the weather because
“they have that confidence in us,” he said. |
 |
| A meteorological officer shares weather and climatic indicators
with the Nganyi rainmakers. |
| Copyright : DFID / IDRC /Thomas Omondi |
|
|
SOURCE
