Daily life and cultural practices
An overview of documented cultural practices — not an exhaustive list.
Long-distance running
Kenyan runners, many from the Kalenjin highlands around Iten, have dominated middle-distance running and the marathon since the 1960s. Eliud Kipchoge was the first to run a marathon in under two hours, in Vienna in 2019, in a race not ratified as a record.
Maasai and Samburu pastoral cultures
Semi-nomadic herders of the south and centre of the country, the Maasai and Samburu have kept an age-set organisation, beadwork and rites of passage such as Eunoto, the young warriors' ceremony inscribed by UNESCO on its list of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding.
Lamu Old Town
The oldest Swahili town in East Africa still inhabited, Lamu has kept its coral-stone and carved-wood houses, its car-free alleys where donkeys roam and its dhows; it has been a World Heritage site since 2001.
Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o and writing in African languages
Imprisoned without trial in 1977–1978, Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o (1938–2025) abandoned English to write in Kikuyu and became one of the great champions of African languages in literature. Kenya has also produced other major voices, such as Binyavanga Wainaina.
Benga and urban music
Born in the 1960s among the Luo around Lake Victoria, benga, with its fast guitars, is Kenya's quintessential popular music. Nairobi's youth today listen to genge, gengetone and Afropop, often sung in Sheng.
Ugali, nyama choma and chai
Ugali, a maize-flour porridge, accompanies most meals with sukuma wiki (sautéed greens). Grilled meat, or nyama choma, is shared among friends, and chai, spiced milk tea, is drunk at any time of day; on the coast, Swahili cuisine favours pilau rice and coconut.