Kikuyu

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There is also a town in Kiambu district called Kikuyu, and a species of Pennisetum grass native to the Kenyan highlands named Kikuyu.
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A Kikuyu woman in traditional dress.
A Kikuyu woman in traditional dress.
Mwai Kibaki is a Kikuyu.
Mwai Kibaki is a Kikuyu.

The Kikuyu are Kenya's most populous ethnic group. 'Kikuyu' is the anglicised form of the proper name and pronunciation of Gĩkũyũ although they refer to themselves as the Agĩkũyũ people. There are about 5,347,000 Kikuyu people in Kenya (1994 I. Larsen BTL)[1], equal to about 22% of Kenya's total population[2]. They cultivate the fertile central highlands and are also the most economically active ethnic group in Kenya.

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[edit] Origins

Although uncertain, ethnologists believe the Kikuyu came to Kenya from West Africa together with the other Bantu tribes. On reaching present Tanzania, they moved east past Mount Kilimanjaro and into Kenya, finally settling around Mount Kenya, while the rest of the group continued migrating to Southern Africa . They were originally hunter-gatherers but unlike the Nilotic tribes who were pastoralists, they began farming the very fertile volcanic land around Mt. Kenya and the Kenyan highlands.

However, Kikuyu legends have it that in the beginning, a man called Kikuyu and his "helper" or wife called Mireia (Mumbi) were placed on mukurwe-ini wa nyagathanga in Present day Murang'a District by God, Mwene Nyaga or Ngai. It was said that they were placed near the Mugumo or Fig tree upon the slopes of the mountain. They were to give birth to Nine daughters named, Wanjiku, Wanjiru, Njeri, Wambui, Wangari, Wacera, Waithera, Wairimu and Wangui. It so happened that when they were grown up, they met nine young men from a distant land, (ostensibly Maasai, with whom Kikuyu's have a long standing love-hate relationship) who married the girls and from whom the Kikuyu nation arose. A popular myth claims that when Kikuyu's daughters came of marrying age, Kikuyu prayed to Mwene Nyaga to provide husbands for their daughters whom he duly provided by a fig tree.

[edit] History

The Kikuyu were generally on good terms with the Maasai – their neighbours, with whom they traded extensively. Colonialism, however, disturbed this order. Beginning in the 1880s, the British settled first on the coast and then in Nairobi, when building the railroad from the coast to Lake Victoria which travels into the neighbouring country Uganda. They confiscated land from the Kikuyu, who were confined to a small reserve, unable to cultivate their land.

[edit] Anti-colonialism

Kikuyu political organisation grew rapidly in the 1920s as a response to social problems, land loss and colonial pressures. One moderately radical group, the Kikuyu Central Association (KCA), was established in the 1920s under the leadership of young, mission-educated members including Jomo Kenyatta. Frustrations, anti-colonialism and internal divisions contributed to the Mau Mau uprising after World War II, fought amongst the Kikuyu central highlands from roughly 1952-1958. This divisive, dirty and violent war was fought mainly by guerillas in central Kenyan forests, including Dedan Kimathi among its leaders. Following massive detentions by the British and huge numbers of Kikuyu deaths - mostly from internal fighting - the Mau Mau was a major contributor to moves for Kenyan independence. By the end of the rebellion, the British had taken the lives of over 11,000 rebels and detained around 100,000 people under force - in contrast with 200 Europeans and 2,000 Britain-loyal Africans. This is considered to be the first great African liberation movement and probably the most grave crisis of Britain's African colonies.[3]

[edit] Post-independence

Jomo Kenyatta, Kenya's first president, was a Kikuyu. Kenya's third and current president, Mwai Kibaki is also a Kikuyu. Kibaki won the 2002 elections in a landslide against Uhuru Kenyatta, son of the first president, despite outgoing president Daniel Arap Moi's support for Kenyatta. Wangari Maathai, Africa's first female Nobel Peace Prize winner, is a Kikuyu, as is the famous Kenyan author Ngugi wa Thiong'o, who now writes exclusively in Kikuyu and Swahili. John Githongo, the former anti-graft advisor to the president, now since 2005 self-exiled in Britain, is a Kikuyu. Famous Kikuyu sports stars include: Julius Kariuki, the 3,000m steeplechase 1988 olympic champion; John Ngugi, 5,000m 1988 Olympic champion; Douglas Wakiihuri, a Nagoya and London Marathon Champion; Catherine Ndereba, the Boston and Chicago marathon champion and Charles Kamathi, the 2001 world champion at 10,000m. The Kikuyu have continued to play vital roles in independent Kenya's political and economic development. However, it is not uncommon to hear negative commentaries in the local media of the involvement of Kikuyus in government affairs.

[edit] Language

Kikuyu speak Kikuyu, a Bantu language, as their native tongue. Additionally, many speak Swahili and English as well, the national and official languages of Kenya respectively. The Kikuyu are closely related to the Embu, Mbeere and Meru people who also live around Mt. Kenya. The Kikuyu from the greater Kiambu and Murang'a districts, commonly referred to as the Kabete subtribe of the Kikuyu's, is closely related to the Maasai due to intermarriage prior to colonization. Hence the Sub Tribes that retain much of the original Kikuyu heritage reside further up Mt. Kenya, namely the Kirinyaga and Nyeri Regions of Kenya

[edit] Religion

(NOTE: This section describes spiritual practices of the Kikuyu in the pre-colonial period. Modern Kikuyu are predominantly Christian)

The Kikuyu religion is monotheistic. According to legend, Ngai (The Provider or The One Who Distributes, the creator worshipped also by the Maasai and Kamba), resides atop Kîrînyaga, known as Mount Kenya.[2] According to tradition, Ngai created the land and gave it to the people, creating an inseparable bond between man and land. Other important aspects of Kikuyu tradition include the value of ancestry and the forest. In present day, 73% are identified as Christian[citation needed], causing a decline in 'traditional' beliefs.

The name Kĩrĩnyaga is composed of two Kikuyu words - kĩrĩ, meaning 'the one with', and nyaga, meaning ostrich (referring to the mountain's semblance to an ostrich, with its white snowcap and black volcanic rock body); thus, the full name Kĩrĩma (mountain) Kĩrĩnyaga means the mountain with the ostrich.

Ngai is also called Mwene-Nyaga, or owner of the ostrich.


[edit] Social structure

According to folklore, the Kikuyu tribe was ruled based on a matriarchal system. During the rule of Wangũ wa Makeeri, a leader who was said to be so fierce she held meetings seated on the backs of men, the men decided to revolt and take over leadership. (Although modern Kikuyu often assume that Wangu was a mythical character, she was in fact one of the first "chiefs" installed by the British at the end of the 19th Century in Murang'a District as a result of her liaison with a more well-known "chief" Karuri wa Gakure.)[4] One version of the story says that the revolution took place when Kikuyu men organized to have all the women dance naked in a Kĩbaata dance. The women refused and the Kikuyu men took the rule to themselves. In another version, the men conspired to make all the women pregnant at the same time. This made them vulnerable and unable to carry out leadership duties. The men then took over leadership- and never let go.

[edit] Family Life

The Kikuyu man is referred to as a mũthuuri (meaning someone who can choose or discern evil from good) and the Kikuyu woman is called a mũtumia (meaning someone who retains family secrets and practices). Traditionally, Kikuyu society is polygamous so that any man with means could have as many wives as he could afford.

The family lived in a homestead with several huts for different family members. These huts were constructed so that during the cold season the interior would be very warm while in hot season the hut would be cool. The husband’s hut was called ‘thingira’, and that was where the husband would call his children in for instruction on family norms and traditions and he would also call his wives for serious family discussions. Each wife had her own hut where she and her children slept. After boys were circumcised (at puberty) they moved out of their mother’s hut into the young men’s hut.

The husband would invite his age-mates of his riika (age group) to a horn (rũhĩa) of traditional beer (njoohi) called mũratina; an alcoholic drink made from sugar cane and the mũratina fruit.

The Kikuyu had a systematic method of family planning. A father would only have another child with his wife, after her youngest child was at an age where the mother could send them to look after the family’s herd of goats, a practice called (gũthiĩ rũũru). Rũũru is a collection of goats and sheep or commonly referred as herding.

Another interesting practice was the practice of sharing wives akin to what is today referred to as swinging. This was known as kũithia (literally, ‘to help steal’). This practice was allowed to break curses and inheritable negative genes in a family line. All the children borne of the wife belonged to the husband. The practice was also important so as to provide companionship to the wives, who had to share their husbands with other wives. It also gave the young men who were not yet married an outlet for their physical ‘urges.' (However, young women were not yet married were not allowed to engage sexually with men.) Wives would also be asked to ‘warm the bed’ of the husband’s visiting friends. The husband would break into song once he neared his homestead to alert any stranger in the homestead who would then safely disappear into the darkness.

[edit] Culture

Colonization eroded many traditional practices and values, although the language has survived and continues to evolve. Many Kikuyu have moved from their traditional homeland to the cities to find jobs. They have also moved to other parts of the country and the world due to intermarriage, business opportunities, study, and generally seeking better prospects in life. Those living in rural areas tend to continue to practice farming.

In the Kikuyu land there is a very diverse history of how people lived. One is the form of entertainment in those days. The Kikuyu young women and men could travel to isolated areas for dance and feasting. Discipline however was observed and no man was supposed to touch a lady sexually. The young men only enjoyed the dance and they had the chance to mingle with the beautiful young ladies who would eventually become their suitors. Many of the songs they used to dance to are being revived in modern bars and clubs.

The common dances were Nguchu, Nduumo, Mũgoiyo, Gĩchukia and ndachi ya irua (circumcisional dance). The grandmothers had a critical role of checking if any man unwound the inner garment of the young ladies. This garment was called mũthuru. The grandmothers (macũcũ), tied it safely to protect any promiscuity in young women. Women who engaged in sex before marriage, affairs, or got pregnant could only be married as a second wife and were commonly referred to as ‘Gĩchokio’. Therefore the Kikuyu customs valued the chastity of unmarried women and protected young women against abuse. It also ensured some form of entertainment was prepared and young people carried forward the practices from generation to generation.

[edit] Legends

A religious Kikuyu prophet called Mũgo wa Kĩbirũ prophesied about the coming of the Europeans long before they arrived at the Coast. It was said that there would come people from a different land, having the colour of kiũũra kya marigũ-ini "frog of the banana plantation". This depicts something close to the native white color. He also predicted the arrival of aeroplanes, "like butterflies in the sky".

Some of the other memorable men in the Kikuyu history were Wang’ombe wa Ihũũra who killed a man-eating leopard with his bare hands. The other man was Wamũgumo. This man could sink 3/4 of traditional a hunting spear to the bare earth. He was a giant sized man whose size and eating habits were legendary. Waiyaki Wa Hinga was another Kikuyu paramount chief who was credited as among the first to resist the entrechment of the White settlers in the Kikuyu land. When confronting one white settler in his (settler) tent, Waiyaki's sword got caught in the tent's roof when he raised it to strike. He was quickly overpowered, severely beaten, and buried alive in Kismayu.

[edit] List of prominent Kikuyu people

Politicians & Freedom Fighters

Others

Edi Gathegi — Actor 'House', 'Gone baby, Gone'

[edit] References

  1. ^ http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=kik Accessed 2007/07/09
  2. ^ CIA Factbook [1] retrieved on October 16, 2007
  3. ^ Robbins, Richard H. (2008). 'Global Problems and the Culture of Capitalism (4th Ed.). Pearson Education, Inc. P. 315.
  4. ^ Godfrey Muriuki, A History of the Kikuyu, 1500-1900, Oxford University Press 1974

[edit] Selected Literature

  • Lonsdale, John, and Berman, Bruce. 1992. Unhappy Valley: conflict in Kenya and Africa. (J Currey Press)
  • Lonsdale, John, and Atieno Odhiambo, E.S. (eds.) 2003. Mau Mau and Nationhood: arms, authority and narration. (J. Currey Press)
  • Lambert, H.E. 1956. Kikuyu Social and Political Institutions. (Oxford U Press)

[edit] External links

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kikuyu"
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