As the world awaited with anticipation to observe a total lunar eclipse commonly referred to as Blood Moon, for some traditionalists among the Luhyia sub-community of Bukusu in Bungoma County, the occurrence evokes feelings of apprehension and anxiety.

In astronomy, a total eclipse occurs when the earth moves between the sun and a full moon, casting its shadow on the moon and significantly impacting the moon’s glow, which was visible to approximately six billion people around the world on September 7.

A section of the Luhyia subtribe, the Bukusu, in western Kenya have a myth in connection with the unusual occurrence, terming it as a bad sign foreshadowing calamity.

Commenting three hours before the anticipated time for the visibility of blood moon, Simiyu Khisa, a Bukusu elder from Maeni village in Kimilili constituency, said when red or a darkened moon appears it portends an imminent catastrophe.

In Bukusu folklore, the occurrence of an eclipse was believed to be the moon getting swallowed up by a monster locally referred to as Kamkuywa in this Luhyia sub-ethnic dialect.

Khisa says to save the moon, villagers would come out of their houses to beat drums, bang objects that could produce noise, light fires, whistle and sing war songs believing by so doing, they would scare away the monster.

The elder said pregnant women were forbidden against looking at the blood moon, since it was believed that it could bring misfortune to the unborn child and they were strictly cautioned to stay indoors, until the moon regained its normal hue.

“This spectacle was treated as a natural warning to the community – it was a moment treated with fear and trepidation the situation usually called for a need to appease the spirits and forefathers, who it is believed were not happy about or someone,” Khisa said.

Khisa further recalls that when such phenomenon occurred, it symbolised impending natural catastrophe such as either warning of poor rain followed with famine, serious outbreak of livestock diseases or poor harvest, among others.

Khisa said that in the past, whenever the blood moon appeared, there was need to appease the spirits by performing some rituals.

“This was done by a select group of revered elders who performed a sacrifice using traditional brew known as busaa and slaughtered a domestic animal,” he said.

Khisa explained that in order to the appease spirits of their forefathers, a sacrifice had to be conducted with the brew (busaa) being poured on the ground as libation and the slaughtered livestock offered, asking the ancestors to restore harmony, peace and to continue protecting the community from evil.

He called on the Bukusu Council of Elders to convene an urgent meeting at the Bukusu Cultural Centre in Kamkuywa to give the community a way forward after deliberating on the blood moon of September 7, 2025.

Despite his advanced age, Khisa applauded the drastic changes and scientific knowledge that has helped people understand cosmic world better.

He explained that during  the appearance of the blood moon when h was young, the community waited ages to experience it, but currently things have changed and technology has made it easier to predict the day and time it will appear.

He called upon the Bukusu community, saying despite the numerous changes including technology, they should not run away from their traditions and culture. Khisa also asked the young generation to take advantage of the changes to document and digitise their culture and traditions for future reference.

“During our days, we did not went to school or had the opportunity to use technology. We only used to orally pass information, culture and traditions to the next generation. Modern generation is privileged because of technology,” he pointed out.

• A Tell Media / KNA report / By Douglas Mudambo