Kikuyu Customs, Beliefs and Identity

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kikuyu customs, BELIEFS, CULTURE AND IDENTITY

More on The Agikuyu
The Kikuyu are Kenya's most populous ethnic group. 'Kikuyu' is the
Swahilized 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.

Origins
The ancestors of the Kikuyu can be said with some certainty to have come
from the north, from the region of the Nyambene Hills to the northeast of
Mount Kenya (Kirinyaga), which was the original if not exclusive homeland
of all of central Kenya’s Bantu-speaking peoples, viz. the Meru, Embu,
Chuka, Kamba and possibly Mbeere. The people are believed to have
arrived in the hills as early as the 1200s.From where they came, though, is
a matter subject to a lot of controversy (ie. speculation based on few facts):
one theory argues that they came from Axum (Ethiopia) migrating when the
Aksumite Empire or Axumite Empire fell another the mythical ‘Shungwaya’,
presumably in Somalia, from which the nine tribes of the coastal Mijikenda
also say they came. The other main theory posits that they came from the
west, having split from the proto-Bantu of central Africa.

Whatever their early origins, it is generally accepted that starting from
around the 1500s, the ancestors of the Kikuyu, Meru (including the Igembe
and Tigania), Kamba, Embu and Chuka, began moving south into the richer
foothills of Mount Kenya. By the early 1600s, they were concentrated at
Ithanga, 80 km southeast of the mountain’s peaks at the confluence of the
Thika and Sagana rivers.As Ithanga’s population increased, oral traditions
of all the tribes agree that the people began to fan out in different
directions, eventually becoming the separate and independent tribes that
exist today. The theory that the Chuka, Embu, Mbeere, Gicugu and Ndia
‘broke away’ from the main Kikuyu group before arriving at Ithanga is
plausible, but is contradicted by the oral traditions of various tribes, many of
which include Ithanga in their histories.The Kikuyu themselves moved west
to a place near present-day Murang’a, from where the Kikuyu creation myth
picks up the story.

Ethnologists believe the Kikuyu came to Kenya from Central Africa together
with the other Bantu groups. 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, unlike the Nilotic tribes who were pastoralists, were farmers and
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 Gikuyu and his wife called Mireia (Mumbi) were placed on
Mũkũrwe 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 gave birth to Nine daughters
named,Wanjiku, Wanjirũ, Wangeci, Wambũi, Wangari, Wacera Waithera,
Wairimũ and Wangũi. It so happened that when they were grown up, they
met nine young men from a distant land, ostensibly Axum, 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.

History
Time The Agĩkũyũ had four seasons and two harvests in one year. These
were divided as follows 1. Mbura ya njahĩ -The Season of Big Rain] from
March to July, 2. Magetha ma njahĩ -The season of the big harvest]
between July and Early October. 3. Mbura ya Mwere -Short rain season
from October to January. 4. Magetha ma Mwere -the season of harvesting
millet.

Kikuyu Expansion

The Kikuyu have always been happy to adapt, in terms of territorial
expansion, were by far the most successful of the groups that had originally
migrated south from the Nyambene Hills, relying on a combination of land
purchases, blood-brotherhood (partnerships), intermarriage with other
people, and their adoption and absorption. Only occasionally did warfare
figure in this expansion, such as in the early 1800s when a combined
Kikuyu, Maasai and Athi force defeated (annihilated?) the hunter-gathering
Gumba (or Agumba), a people which one Kikuyu legend refers to as
pygmies.The original inhabitants of Kikuyu-land, it is said, were the
Thagicu, who practised iron-working, herded cattle and sheep and goats,
and hunted. The similarity in name between Thagicu and Gikuyu would
suggest that they were in fact the Kikuyu’s earliest known ancestors, if not
their primary lineage. They may indeed have been the ‘tenth’ of the ‘fully
nine’ clans, though admittedly that that is merely speculation. Sources differ
on the ethnic identity of the Thagicu – some say they were Bantu-speaking,
others that they came from Cushitic peoples.

As the land was fertile and ideally suited to agriculture, the population
increased rapidly, causing further waves of migration which lasted until the
eighteenth century: west into the Aberdares (Nyandarua Mountains), south
to the present site of Nairobi, and north to the Nyeri plains and the Laikipia
Plateau, where the Kikuyu came into contact with the cattle-herding Maasai
(who were evicted from the area by the British early in the twentieth
century). Unusually in contacts with the Maasai, the Kikuyu were neither
conquered nor assimilated by them, but instead engaged in trade (as well
as sporadic cattle raiding), which led to a deep and long-lasting social
interaction which especially affected the Kikuyu. During the Maasai civil
wars at the end of the nineteenth century, hundreds of Maasai refugees
were taken in and adopted by the Kikuyu, particularly those in Kiambu.In
consequence, Nilotic social traits such as circumcision clitoridectomy and
the age-set system, were adopted; the taboo against eating fish was also
accepted; and people intermarried, so much so that more than half of the
Kikuyu of some districts are believed to have Maasai blood in their veins
(including Jomo Kenyatta himself, whose paternal grandmother was
Maasai). From other peoples came loanwords for ceremonial dances,
plants and animals, and the concept of irrigation as an agricultural
technique.

Although the Kikuyu were a formidable fighting force, the agricultural nature
of their lives meant that violence was generally only used for defence, for
they lacked the mobility of pastoralists such as the Maasai and Samburu,
who lived to the north and west.Geographically, the Kikuyu were relatively
well protected, with the Ngong Hills so the south, the Nyandarua Mountains
to the west, and Mount Kenya to the northeast. To the east, also, were the
related Meru, Embu and Kamba people, with whom relations were generally
friendly, replying as they did on their trade with the Kikuyu. Defence was
thus a primary concern only in the west, where the Kikuyu were wary of
settling or venturing out onto open plains for fear of the Maasai, who were
interested in controlling the widest possible areas for their herds.Greater
defence was necessary only close to the Maasai border, with the result that
villages there were in effect forts and were built for maximum protection.
Generally, only those family groups (mbari) with “many warrior sons” or
which had attracted a clientele of fighting followers could muster the
defence necessary to settle these new areas. These villages were also well
concealed: Europeans found they could be walking only metres from a
settlement without knowing of its existence.

Anti-colonialism
Kikuyu political organisation grew rapidly in the 1920s as a response to
social problems, land loss and colonial pressures. In the early forefront
against colonial suppression were Mr. Eliud Mathu and Mr. Harry Thuku in
1919. 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 which involved bombing the Mau Mau
enclaves 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 British soldiers
and their African loyalist homeguards - 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 lost lives. Many of the Kikuyu leaders including Jomo
Kenyatta, Bildad Kaggia, Kung'u Karumba were imprisoned for lengthy
period by the colonialists. Other prominent non-Kikuyu personalities who
ere imprisoned include Ochieng Oneko (Luo) and Paul Ngei (Kamba) The
Mau Mau war is considered to be the first great African liberation movement
and probably the most grave crisis of Britain's African colonies.[3]

Although the fight for freedom carried many bad memories, it fascinates on
how the Mau Mau fighters managed to make nail guns among other crude
weapons.

A scene in the 1987 movie The Kitchen Toto, about the Mau Mau uprising,
shows a white police chief ordering Kikuyu police officers out of the force,
suspecting them of working for the Mau Mau.

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, Kamba and Meru people who also live around Mt.
Kenya. The Kikuyu from the greater Kiambu (commonly referred to as the
Kabete) and Nyeri districts are closely related to the Maasai due to
intermarriage prior to colonization, The Kikuyu between Thika and Mbeere
are closely related to Kamba people, who speak a language almost the
same as Kikuyu, being geographical neighbours. Hence the sub-tribes that
retain much of the original Kikuyu heritage reside around Kirinyaga and
Murang'a regions of Kenya. The Kikuyu from Murang'a district are
considered to be more pure, believed to be the cradle of the Kikuyu people.

Religion
Most Kikuyu are Christians, and it is difficult to come across one who
professes to be anything else.Yet there are other signs, too, that the old
ways have not been completely forgotten. The institution of elder hood may
at first sight appear to be defunct, but here too, the Kikuyu have adapted
and adopted to the new ways rather than simply discarding the old: it has
been estimated that 90% of the Catholic priests in the Nairobi diocese have
also been elected as ‘elders’.

Ngai-The Creator
Traditionally, as now, the Kikuyu were monotheists, believing in a unique
and omnipotent God whom they called Ngai (also spelled Mogai or Mungai).
The word, if not the notion, came from the Maasai word Enkai, and was
borrowed by both the Kikuyu and Kamba. God is also known as Mungu,
Murungu, or Mulungu (a variant of a word meaning God which is found as
far south as the Zambezi of Zambia), and is sometimes given the title
Mwathani or Mwathi (the greatest ruler), which comes from the word
gwatha, meaning to rule or reign with authority.

Mount Kenya and Religion
Ngai is the creator and giver of all things, ‘the Divider of the Universe and
Lord of Nature’. He(God) created the human community,He also created
the first Kikuyu communities, and provided them with all the resources
necessary for life: land, rain, plants and animals.He – for Ngai is male –
cannot be seen, but is manifest in the sun, moon, stars, comets and
meteors, thunder and lighting, rain, in rainbows and in the great fig trees
(mugumo) that served as places of worship and sacrifice, and which
marked the spot at Mukurue wa Gathanga where Gikuyu and Mumbi – the
ancestors of the Kikuyu in the oral legend – first settled.

Yet Ngai was not the distant God (as know in the West). He had human
characteristics, and although some say that He lives in the sky or in the
clouds, kikuyu also said that he come to earth from time to time to inspect it,
bestow blessings and mete out punishment(similar to God's visit of
Abraham before destroying Sodom). When he come he rested on Mount
Kenya and four other sacred mountains. Thunder was interpreted to be the
movement of God, and lightning was God’s weapon by means of which he
cleared the way when moving from one sacred place to another.Other
people believed that Ngai’s abode was on Mount Kenya, or else ‘beyond’ its
peaks. Ngai,one legend, made the mountain his resting place while on an
inspection tour of earth. In the account GOD then took the first man,
Gikuyu, to the top to point out the beauty of the land he was giving him.

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.

Traditional Political Organisation of the Kikuyu People
The political organisation of the Kikuyu people was closely interwoven with
the family and the riika. A young man after initiation through circumcision
automatically entered into the National council of junior warriors(njama ya
anake a mumo). After 82 moons or 12 rain seasons after the circumcision
ceremony the junior warrior was promoted to the Council of senior warriors
(Njama ya ita). Together this two councils would be called upon to protect
the tribe in case of external aggression. The council of senior warriors was
in addition an important decision making organ. The two councils were
served by men of 20 – 40 years.Upon marriage a man was initiated into a
council called kiama kĩa kamatimo. This was the first grade eldership and it
denoted elders who were also warriors. At this stage the man plays the role
of observers of senior elders. They are required to assist in proceedings by
carrying out menial tasks like skinning animals, being messengers, carrying
ceremonial articles or light fires among other tasks.

When a man had a son or a daughter old enough to be circumcised, he
was elevated into another council called the council of peace (kiama kĩa
mataathi). On entering this council the man was now a man of peace and
no longer of the warrior class. He assumed the duty of peace maker in the
community.When a man had had practically all his children circumcised,
and his wife (or wives) had passed child-bearing age he reached the last
and most honoured status. A council known as kiama kĩa maturanguru
(religious and sacrificial council). After paying an ewe which was
slaughtered and offered in sacrifice to Ngai (God) the man was invested
with powers to lead a sacrificial ceremony at the sacred tree (Mũgumũ mũtĩ
wa Igongona). The elders of this grade assumed the role of ‘holy men’.
They were high priests. All religious and ethical ceremonies were in their
hands. In the Agĩkũyũ society the religious, governance and law functions
were closely intertwined. With various councils being called upon to perform
one of this functions. It is not quite clear whether women also had councils
and what functions these councils served. The initiation ceremony seems to
have been organized by a council of both men and women.

Parallel to the said councils the family unit formed a council known as
ndundu ya mũcie of which the father was the head. The father as the head
of the household then represented the family in the next council called
kiama kĩa itora (village council) comprising of all the family heads in the
village. This was headed by the senior elder. A wider council called kiama
kĩa rũgongo (district council) was formed comprising of all the elders from
the district. This was presided over by a committee (kiama kĩa ndundu),
composed of all the senior elders in the district. Among the senior elders,
the most advanced in age was elected as the head and judge (mũthamaki
or mũciiri) of the ndundu. The district councils then came together to form
the national council. Among the judges, one was elected to head the
meetings.

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 means any man 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.

Traditionally the first born boy would be named after his father's father and
the second boy, his mothers father. This is the same with girls, first girl
would be named after her father's mother and the second girl, her mother's
mother. This was because they believed the spirit of the deceased
grandparent would carry on to the child, this was no longer as life spans
became longer and the grandparent is now usually alive when the
grandchild is born.

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 and around the world to look for
opportunities. 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.

WHERE THE KIKUYUS LIVE
While the Kikuyu can be found throughout Kenya, the heaviest
concentration being in Central Province, known as the traditional Kikuyu
homeland. They traditionally identify their land as bounded by these
mountains or ranges: Mt. Kenya (which they call Kirinyaga — the shining
mountain), Ol Donyo Sapuk, the Ngong Hills and the Aberdare
(Nyandarua) Range. Many Kikuyus also live in Uganda and Tanzania,
some having risen to national leadership.

THE HISTORY OF THE AGIKUYU
The Kikuyu traditionally believe that a man, Gikuyu, was the founder of the
tribe. He had a wife named Mumbi, who gave birth to nine (plus one)
daughters. The daughters married and had their own families, retaining a
domineering role in Kikuyu society.

This has led to the current division of the Kikuyu into nine (plus one)
family groupings. According to legend, the men grew tired of their
treatment by the women and rebelled. This legend seems to represent a
change in history from matriarchal to patriarchal organization, which also
occurred with other Bantu peoples.

Ancestors of the Kikuyu arrived in Kenya during the Bantu migrations of
1200-1600 AD. The Kikuyu developed from several continuous waves of
migration and remigration within the area. The Kikuyu as such actually
came to be by around 1800, and include some families from all the
surrounding peoples.

One genetic line contributing to the Kikuyu is the Thagicu, thought to be
the earliest Bantu settlers in the area, perhaps around 1200 AD. The
Kamba also incorporate some of those people in the Thaicu of today,
related to the Dhaiso (Segeju) of northern coastal Tanzania. It was in
Mukurue division of Nyeri district where an identifiable beginning for the
modern Kikuyu people is defined.

The key event was military conflict with and defeat of the Gumba people
by the Mathira and Tetu people, allied with the Athi and the Maasai in the
early 1800's. Settlement of the Nyeri plains took place after the British
moved the Maasai from the area. The Kikuyu were in Kabete by around
1850, Ruiru about 1900.

The Kikuyus' contact with the outside world came through missionaries
and settlers. The name for the mountain around which they are settled,
Mt. Kenya, is actually a Kamba word because it was a Kamba guide who
led the first white person — when the person asked the name of the
mountain, he gave him the Kamba name.

The Kikuyu responded strongly to missionaries and western education.
Their proximity to the British colonial government in Nairobi and the
settlers who desired the comfortable Central Highlands simultaneously
gave them a great advantage and imposed on them the greatest burden
of peoples under colonialism.

They had greater access to education and opportunities for involvement
in the new money economy and political changes in their country. They
also experienced the greatest cultural change because of both the
opportunities and the oppression of their colonial masters. They
developed a greater adaptability and used the British colonial system to
overcome the system.

Identity:
The Kikuyu speech is a Bantu language, so they are related culturally to
other Bantu-speaking peoples of East Africa. The Kikuyu are identified
with other Highland Bantu peoples, primarily the Kamba, the Meru, the
Embu, and the Chuka. These tribes of central Kenya can hear each
other, even though they might not speak the other's language fluently.
Kikuyu are traditionally an industrious agricultural people. Most still live on
small family plots, but large numbers of them are involved in all kinds of
businesses.

With modernization, many have seen opportunities in business and have
moved into cities and new areas to work. They have a desire for
education and many Kikuyu have become scholars and university
professors in many countries of the world. The Kikuyu people are
capitalistic in almost everything they do. Many own or drive matatus (mini-
van taxis). It is common for a Kikuyu to have many small or large
enterprises going on at the same time. They have a reputation for astute
management of money and hard work.

Because of their varied origins and the incorporation of many different
refugee or migrant groups, Kukuyus exhibit a wide range of height,
physical build, skin tone and facial features. The Kikuyu language and
naming system are strong identification factors. (In common East African
English usage, one finds the plural for individuals occurring as both
Kikuyu and Kikuyus.)

Language:
The Kikuyus speak a Bantu language in the Northeastern Highland Bantu
family. It has lexical similarities with Kamba, Embu and Meru. It exhibits
three inherently intelligible dialects with local variations. Embu is very
close and these two languages are intelligible with some dialects of Kamba.

Kikuyu language, often referred to technically in its Kikuyu spelling
Gikuyu, is written in a modified Roman alphabet developed by
Presbyterian missionaries. The language name is spelled Gikuyu due to a
pattern of phonetic change in the Kikuyu grammar. This spelling is
sometimes seen in English references. The Bible was translated in
Gikuyu over 100 years ago, one of first in East Africa.

Gikuyu is the primary language. Older members of the family speak only
Gikuyu. Kikuyu are very proud of their language and most multilingual
Kikuyu prefer to speak Kikuyu with anyone who knows the language.
Church services are always in Kikuyu, except in towns, where Swahili is
used or services are bilingual. Kikuyu is a common language that you
hear in many government offices because of the strong influence of
Kikuyu in the country.

The Kikuyu language is spoken by many people of other tribes and is
commonly heard in Nairobi along with Swahili. In many schools, education
is begun in the home language, but universally Swahili is taught, then
used as a medium in upper elementary, when English is introduced.
English is the language of secondary and advanced education. In urban
areas, English is introduced in lower grades, and some children go
toEnglish-medium scholls from the beginning.

Kikuyu commonly speak Swahili, and English is quite common. Those who
are reared in the cities do not speak it as fluently and often as those in the
outlying areas. In recent years, urban families have come to use English
and Swahili in the home and many Kikuyu children in Nairobi cannot easily
talk directly to their grandparents in their mother tongue.

Political Government:
The Kikuyu have always had a family-oriented government. They never
had chiefs, but had a council of elders drawn from the senior elder age-
set. A spokesman would be chosen by consensus, but he would be
removed if he was not cooperative. The Kikuyu are lineage oriented,
considering themselves a lineage from one common ancestor, Gikuyu and
his wife Mumbi.

The ten ("full-nine") clans of the Kikuyu are named after the daughters of
Mumbi. As various peoples have joined the Kikuyu society, they have
become part of the welcoming Kikuyu society, and taken on the language
and mythical identification with Gikuyu. Much has been written by Kikuyu
scholars and others on the legendary and historical origins and factors in
Kikuyu history.

They have been traditional enemies of the Maasai, who raided across the
Kikuyu, Meru and Kamba areas and all the way to the Giryama areas of
the coast. The Maasai would steal their cattle, though for the Kikuyu
cattle grazing is not the focus, but farming.

At the same time, they have had close trading ties with the Maasai and
even intermarried with them. During the Maasai civil wars at the end of
the 19th century, hundreds of Maasai refugees were taken in and adopted
by the Kikuyu, particularly those in Kiambu.

They are active politically. They have been influential in the politics of
East Africa, especially Kenya, where the bulk of them live. The first
president of Kenya, Jomo Kenyatta, was a Kikuyu who lived with Maasai
kinfolks in the Rift Valley when he was orphaned.

He took the name Kenyatta from a Maasai beaded belt in honour of his
Maasai family. Kenyatta was a major figure in the fight for independence
and was influential in the Mau Mau uprising against the British. Kenya
became independent in 1963 under Kenyatta's leadership.

Changes
In the 1980s and 1990s, the Kikuyu suffered greatly under the regime of
President Daniel arap Moi, a Tugen (Kalenjin) whose government
depended largely on a coalition of mostly Nilotic ethnic groups in Kenya.
The Kikuyu, being the largest single ethnicity in not only Kenya, but all of
East Africa, were considered a threat to the power block leading Kenya
from 1978, when Jomo Kenyatta died and Moi became President.

Because the Kikuyu people had been so close to the centres of colonial
power, they had experienced significant advantages in the move to
independence and in the early independence government led by
Kenyatta. The Moi government continued to increase repression and
persecution of the Kikuyus and their former cultural and political allies who
were seen as a threat.

They were gradually dispossessed and pressed in private and business
life as a guard against their rivalry to the primarily Nilotic block leading
Kenya in the Moi era. Kikuyus commented openly that "the government
was at war with the Kikuyus." Many Kikuyu youth left the country to
escape the situation and find a safer, more positive life in Canada, the UK
or the US. Many Kikuyus are found in academic and business positions in
South Africa, as well.

Customs:
Traditionally, boys and girls were raised in a different manner. Girls were
raised to work in the shamba (farm), while boys were expected to care for
animals. Much has changed as Kikuyu sought education for both boys
and girls and there is quite a liberal sharing of various tasks between the
genders, especially in urban areas.

Many rural Kikuyu are very poor and everyone works for the benefit of the
farm and the improvement of conditions for the next generation. Girls are
responsible for taking care of a baby brother or sister and also for helping
the mother with the household chores. This still tends to be the case even
in urban families who cannot afford to hire a maid.

Education
Formal education is a priority for most Kikuyu families, even in the rural
areas. Now it is common to provide full education for both boys and girls.
Both men and women are now found in virtually every area of business
and professional life. Rural families are closer to the traditional pattern.

Story and Song
The youth are still often taught through stories and other traditional
teaching methods. Like most cultures of the world, oral "literature" is a
treasure, with their oral history, legends and traditional stories. Like many
other African peoples, the Kikuyu value proverbs and riddles. Rhetoric
and verbal games are both entertainment and skill development. One
source comments on this oral cultural treasure of the Kikuyu:

"The Kikuyu had a very elaborate sung riddle game, a duet called the
enigma poem or gicandia set text poem of riddles. It is sung in a duet and
the players are in a competition. The duet is strikingly different than the
normal singing of the Kikuyu performed by a soloist and a chorus. The
poem is learned by heart. A decorated gourd rattle accompanies the
singing. One gicandi may consists of 127 stanzas.”

Music and Dance are strong components of Kikuyu culture. There is a
vigorous Kikuyu recording industry, for both popular and gospel music, in
their pentatonic scale and western music styles.

Age Grades
Traditionally there was a circumcision ceremony for boys and girls by age
grades of about five-year periods. All of the men in that circumcision
group would take an age-grade name. Times in Kikuyu history could be
gauged by age-grade names.

It is thought that the early Thagicu, one of the ancestral groups of the
Kikuyu, borrowed this system from Cushitic and Nilotic peoples. However,
we see this same kind of structure among the Nguni people of Southern
Africa, such as the Zulu. We still see this age-grade system, organizing
newly-adult men into a warrior class and the graduating warriors into junior
elders, among the Kukuyu's neighbours the Maasai.

This practice of circumcision for boys is still loosely followed, but it is a
family matter and is done in hospital nowadays. Some men still prefer to
be called by their age-grade name, but as the people have expanded
geographically and in number, and as rapid cultural change occurred, the
age-grade system has basically died out.

The female circumcision which caused early divisions in Christianity has
lost some of its emphasis among Evangelical Christians. It is still practiced
widely among those with traditional beliefs and Roman Catholics. It is still
officially discouraged by most churches. Younger generations and more
urban families have abandoned the practice.

Traditional Beliefs
The Kikuyu traditionally were superstitious and today they retain some
practices of traditions held over from the old times. For instance, some
Kikuyu still honor some traditional superstitions such as a taboo against
whistling. The traditional belief was that this would call malicious spirits.
Only a few old people would still have this actual belief.

The Kikuyu believe the number 10 was unlucky, so even though their
legend says Gikuyu had 10 daughters, they always say nine. When
counting they used to say "full nine" instead of the word for ten.
Nowadays this term is still used sometimes by old people or in a joking
manner. The real word is still retained, ikumi.

It was likewise considered bad luck to speak openly about the coming birth
of a child, because it was thought evil spirits might take the child. Even
now they are sometimes troubled by the European practice of baby
showers and mention of the expected date of birth, and especially the idea
of choosing or mentioning the expected baby's name before birth.

Naming
The Kikuyu observe a unique ritual pattern of naming children, still
followed strongly today. The family identity is carried on in each
generation by naming children in the following pattern: the first boy is
named after the father's father, the second boy after the mother's father.
The first girl is named after the father's mother, the second after the
mother's mother.

Subsequent children are named similarly after the brothers and sisters of
the grandmother and grandfather, from eldest to youngest, alternating
from father's to mother's family. as refugees are accepted into a clan the
naming pattern will incorporate new lineages and integrate them into
Kikuyu society and history. A Kikuyu marrying a non-Kikuyu will follow this
naming pattern.

Because of the rapid changes in the social and material culture, this
naming pattern is an extremely strong and important factor of Kikuyu
identity. This practice also has the positive value of ceremonially and
literally incorporating a non-Kikuyu into the tribal lineage.

Thus the names of the parents in the other ethnic group will be added to
the next generation of Kikuyu descendants. This mechanism incorporates
the "mixed" children into one of the existing Kikuyu lineages, while allowing
the Kikuyu social structure to grow incorporate new lineages. This
facilitates the introduction whole new family lines while maintaining the
same core structure and organization of Kikuyu identity.

Religion:
Traditionally the Kikuyu held a worldview that has been referred to as
ancestor worship. They believed spirits of dead can be pleased or
displeased like a living individual. The ancestors were honoured as
intercessors with God and spiritual powers. They were honoured in the
naming system, and people often explain the traditional belief that the
actual spirit of the grandparent on other ancestor comes into the new child
named after them. This has now changed due to acceptance of a more
scientific worldview, Christian faith and longer life spans. (The
grandparents are often still alive when the grandchildren are born!)

The Kikuyu traditionally worship one god whom they call Ngai. This is the
Maasai name for the One Creator God and was borrowed by both the
Kikuyu and the Kamba. They believe Ngai is the creator and giver of all
things. They thought Ngai lived in the sky. Yet they also thought of Ngai
as living on Mt. Kenya. When the cloud was on the mountain, Ngai was
said to live there. This name of God is used in tehe Kikuyu Bible and
Christian worship and confessions. A common blessing is "Ni Ngai
arogocwo" May God bless you.

As with peoples all over the world, high places were holy places. For their
neighbours the Maasai, similarly the mountain (hill) of Ol Doinyo Sapuk
(the Black Hill) and the hills of Ngong were holy places, as well as the
peaks of the Mau Escarpment in the Rift Valley.

Their traditional religion is monotheistic and has many stories that can be
related to Biblical stories. Their traditional religion involved sacrifices
when things were not going well, which were offered under a mugumo
tree, generally on a high place. Even today, the mugumo tree holds this
place of honour as a sign of the sacred. In times of trouble, or in an
annual special service, a family or village leader would take his family to
the "high place" and pray for this family, ask forgiveness of sins and
request help in drought or other need.

The primary religion today is Christianity, but some stil lfollow traditional
beliefs. However, many today are focused on materialism. Kikuyu exhibit
a strong commitment to material gain and lifestyle. The Kikuyu have
adopted much of the material allure of the modern secular society.

Christianity:
Christianity has been embraced widely. When a Kikuyu makes a decision
to accept Christ, it is a very sincere and is a very significant event. They
recognize a difference between being a church member and a "saved"
person. In a legacy from the East African Revival, the term "saved"
represents a personal experience with God through Jesus Christ.
Evangelical Christians also use the term "born-again" for this.

Christianity has been active among the Kikuyu for over a hundred years.
Many Kikuyus are active as missionaries to other peoples and evangelists
among their own people, as well as theological teachers and
denominational leaders.

In Ph.D. research from Michigan State University, it was determined that
those who had accepted Christianity early tend to have more material
possessions today. Primarily this seems to be because of the lack of
multiple wives, and the lack of wasting time and energy on many things
that would be important to a non-spiritual person.

Historically, many of those who were killed in the Mau Mau were Kikuyu
Christians. They refused to take the Mau Mau oath, because they had
taken an oath to Jesus. Because of this, many Kikuyu Christians were
killed during the Emergency. Most of the people killed in the Mau Mau
Emergency were Kikuyus. Less than fifty Europeans were killed in the
period of Mau Mau.

One of the great influences was the East African Revival Movement, which
emphasized confession and forgiveness. This strongly influenced a lot of
Kikuyu Christians. Though currently Christianity is still practiced, for some
it has become a cultural form.

There are many Kikuyus who put a lot of emphasis on materialism and a
church membership that may be a little more superficial. Many wealthy
urban Kikuyu, thus, resemble modern "secular" Americans, who are also
called "pagan" and are in some cases labeling themselves as "neo-
pagans," who have rejected the Christian faith of their ancestors.

Kikuyu would be considered an evangelized tribe, with 60-70% claiming to
be Christian. Various research sources report that evangelical Christians
comprise about 25-30% of the Kikuyu tribe.

Kikuyu Bible 032

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A STANDARD SWAHILI
ENGLISH DICTIONARY

A STANDARD ENGLISH
SWAHILI DICTIONARY

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