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Satellite image of Mfangano
Mfangano Island lies in the eastern part of Lake Victoria, at the mouth of the Winam Gulf. Part of Kenya, it lies west of Rusinga Island. The island is 65 km2 in area and rises to 1,694 m at Mount Kwitutu. It had a population of 16,282 at the 1999 census. As of 2024, the population is estimated to be approximately 30,000. Administratively, Mfangano is part of Homa Bay County.
The island is home to the largest population of Olusuba or Suba people language speakers in Kenya. Olusuba is becoming rarer, in part because of intermarriage between Suba men and Luo women from the mainland, as it is traditional for children to learn the "mother tongue", that is, the language of their mother. Other languages spoken on the island include Luo, Swahili, and English. Members of the Luo tribe are concentrated on the eastern side of the island, most of whom are fishermen and subsistence farmers. Some of the inhabitants of Mfangano are believed to be descendants of emigrants from the Buganda kingdom in Uganda who arrived after the controversial early nineteenth century killing of the kabaka juju.
Most inhabitants live near the water for ease in fishing and collecting the day's water supply. The water's edge of the island is quite rocky with a few black sandy shores. Transportation consists mostly walking and of boat travel in small wooden handmade boats that sometimes have a sail. There are a few bicycles now that the government cut a road that circles the island on which motorbikes can travel. The first car to be driven on the island's soil was on February 2, 2007. It was driven 500 m. In it was Road and Public Services Hon. Simeon Nyachae, MP. Since then, several automobiles have been seen, and others now are used locally for transport. There is a small dirt landing strip for small planes which has been improved to support other bigger planes. This is used mostly for tourists and mission workers.
Apart from the above-mentioned, the government has also worked hard and ensured that there is constant electricity supply within the island by use of the generators hence this has seen growth within the region and improvement on the economic ability of the island as fishermen can now store their fish as they wait for the market.
Many more will be able to experience the region with the improving tourism rate boosted by the establishment of the Abasuba Community Peace Museum in October 2009.
Mfangano is also known for its ancient rock art, possibly 2,000 years old and thought to have been created by early forager-hunters, perhaps a Twa people.
MfanganoIsland lies in the eastern part of Lake Victoria, at the mouth of the Winam Gulf. Part of Kenya, it lies west of Rusinga Island. The island is...
cone: the semicircular Rangwa mountain range, and the islands of Rusinga and neighboring MfanganoIsland. This rift valley volcano on the southern flank of...
for forest plantation and dairy production, then as refugee lands) MfanganoIsland, Kenya (prehistoric only) The Great Lakes Twa speak distinct dialects...
opportunistically adapted to produce musical tones, such as that on MfanganoIsland, in Lake Victoria, Kenya. The Gaval Dash in Gobustan State Historical...
ceramics. Twa people are thought to have created the rock art present on MfanganoIsland. Bantu speakers, early migrants from West Africa, are thought to have...
Land snail: Urocyclidae indet. MfanganoIsland Rusinga Island Feibel & Brown 1991 Harrison 1986, pp. 265–6 "Maboko Island". The Paleobiology Database. Retrieved...
Conservation Area". UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Retrieved 8 November 2021. "MfanganoIsland Rock Art Sites". UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Retrieved 8 November...
Bahi rock paintings Chabbé Dhaymoole Handoga Kondoa Rock-Art Sites MfanganoIsland Rock art of Uganda Cave paintings are found in most parts of Southern...
sites date between 2000BCE and 1000 CE. This tradition thrived at MfanganoIsland, Chelelemuk hills, Namoratunga and Lewa Downs. The rock paintings are...
sites around the ancient Kisingiri volcano in Kenya on Rusinga Island and MfanganoIsland in Lake Victoria. The name Ekembo is Suba for "ape" or "monkey"...
Nubi, and the Olusuba-speaking Suba people (Kenya) from Rusinga Island, MfanganoIsland, and sections of Homa Bay County. The Nubians were settled by the...
adapted to life in the rainforest, it is associated particularly with MfanganoIsland although the species previously inhabited a woodland-bushland environment...
1000), and Namiti. Rusinga and Mfangano are within Kenyan borders. The 1911 Britannica said: "Most of these islands are densely forested, and some of...
of the town, Lake Victoria Safari Village and Mfanganoisland camp which is located on a nearby island. This can be connected by the ferry which leaves...
1330920306. PMID 8291620. Partial skeleton of Proconsul nyanzae from MfanganoIsland, Kenya, abstract of article by CV Ward in American Journal of Physical...
Mount Soklo is a mountain on MfanganoIsland (Kenya), in Lake Victoria, Africa. The mountain has a river, as well as a spring that provides drinking water...
the National Museums of Kenya (NMK). Abasuba Community Peace Museum, MfanganoIsland. Aeumbu Community Peace Museum, near Embu. African Heritage Pan African...
He would be incarcerated for almost 40 years, finally released from MfanganoIsland before independence in 1962. Bavarian State Commissioner Gustav von...
address gender and number. Suba clans are located on the eastern shore and islands of Lake Victoria in Kenya and Tanzania. They have formed alliances with...
mid-18th century and settled in South Nyanza, especially at Rusinga and Mfanganoislands. Luo speakers crossed Winam Gulf of Lake Victoria from northern Nyanza...
district was named after the Suba people, who inhabit local Rusinga and MfanganoIslands. The district had two constituencies: Mbita Constituency and Gwassi...
Kenya's longest serving political prisoner. He was detained at Meru, MfanganoIsland and in Kapsabet. Multiple reports suggest that Barsirian Arap Manyei...
1000 AD The East African Rock art tradition thrives with sites at MfanganoIsland, Chelelemuk hills, Namoratunga and Lewa Downs. The rock paintings are...
Ngodhe area in Gembe locality and Muhuru Bay area, and the nearby islands, such as Mfangano, Ringiti, Takawiri, Elemba and Rusinga. The Abakunta have been...
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