Bomas Of Kenya

Nairobi, Kenya

---

Bomas of Kenya is a premier cultural center and tourist village located in the Langata suburb of Nairobi, about 10 kilometers from the city center near the main gate of Nairobi National Park. Established in October 1971 by the Kenya Tourist Development Corporation and conceived by Barack Obama Sr., the site is often called “Kenya in miniature” because it showcases authentic replicas of traditional homesteads, or bomas (Swahili for homestead), from 23 of Kenya’s more than 40 ethnic groups. Visitors can explore these outdoor village reproductions to see unique architectural styles and ways of life, while the centerpiece is a 3,000-seat auditorium—one of Africa’s largest—where the resident Bomas Harambee Dancers perform vibrant traditional music, songs, folktales, warrior dances, and a spectacular acrobatic show daily in the afternoon. The institution operates as a State Corporation under Kenya’s Ministry of Gender, Culture, the Arts & Heritage with the mandate to preserve and promote the country’s diverse cultural heritage, and it also holds historical significance as the venue where the 2003 National Constitutional Conference produced the influential “Bomas Draft” of Kenya’s new constitution.