The Digo are an East African Bantu tribe who, although originating further north, now live on the southern coastal strip of Kenya and the northern coastal strip of Tanzania, and form the Mijikenda (‘nine towns’) with eight other tribes with whom they share a common oral history.
In the 19th and early 20th centuries, the Digo endured famine and many gave themselves, or their children, as ‘blood money’ in exchange for a loan of food. When the debt could not be repaid, they became slaves, with many later obtaining their freedom by converting to Islam. Consquently, although Kenya is predominantly Christian, the vast majority of Digo are Muslim - but they still retain many traditional practices such as ancestor worship, blood sacrifices and belief in the powers of witchdoctors.
The Digo maintain sacred forests – ‘Kayas’. When the Digo were driven south by war, they originally made their home in these thick forests and, although they no longer live there, they consider them untouchable, except by the Kaya elders who are allowed to collect plant material for medical use (more than 50% of Kenya's rare plant species are found at the Coast, many in the Kayas). The forests are ceremonial areas, places of worship and the burial grounds for certain elders. Although the Digo are a peaceful people, they and their fellow Mijikenda tribes fight to protect the Kayas against developers.
Trade with Arab neighbours has allowed the Digo to achieve a higher standard of living than many tribes and they are economically self-sufficient. In addition to trading, the Digo also earn money through fishing and farming, growing sesame, rice, beans, corn and manioc and producing palm wine.
The Digo once lived in large, fortified villages; but now each village has only around 40 huts. Tribal elders live in round huts and the other villagers live in rectangular huts. Sadly, the Digo tradition of telling stories and singing songs about their lifestyle is fading away as modern life encroaches. One tradition which does continue, is the Digo bride-price, which a man must pay his wife’s family when he marries. The bride-price is four cows, two goats or sheep and a quantity of palm wine. One unusual notable fact about the Digo is that their children are potty trained by 4-6 months of age.