Kikuyu people

“ The Kikuyu young men frankly ape the customs and ornaments of their powerful neighbours. Even the British Government treats them very gingerly indeed, and allows these economically useless savages a latitude the more agricultural tribes do not enjoy. Yet I submit that any people whose property is in immense herds can more easily be brought to terms than those who have nothing so valuable to lose.
As a matter of fact the white man and the Masai have never had it out. ”

“ From Mombasa on the east coast they had made their way on the railroad to Nairobi. This small but important settlement, which was the administrative center of Kenya Colony, marked their last touch with civilization.
Procuring bearers and guides, they had thence set out afoot into the Kikuyu country. Day had followed day without striking incident. The Kikuyus are a peaceful people, above the average of African intelligence, inhabiting a magnificent country abounding in streams, uplands and forest. It is one of the most healthful and fertile of regions. ”

“ It is interesting to show how these questions may frequently affect the colonist. It is well known that the Kikuyu people form the bulk of the labour supply of the upland colonists in British East Africa, and complaints are often received from employers of its capricious nature. ”

“ We were about to enter the practically unknown country of the Kikuyu tribe, a people whose reputation was such that only the most daring of the white traders would even venture to set foot over the boundary, and then only at the greatest risk of their lives and goods. ”

“ Mr C. Dundas, writing on this subject, says with regard to the Kikuyu people: “The fear of thahu is always present, a man may be subject to it without knowing the cause. When anyone goes on a journey [143] he cannot tell whether he may not have contracted thahu in strange houses and villages, and therefore when he returns he will kill a goat for purification before he enters his village. ”

“ Unfortunately, however, I have to mourn his loss, for he died at Nairobi in 1911. Such a man is difficult to replace; his speciality was Kikuyu political organisation and customs, and, although a coast native, he was deeply esteemed by all the people of Southern Kikuyu. ”

“ Among the Kikuyu there is a council, or kiama, of old women in every district; they collect goats periodically and present them to the elders of ukuru, or priestly class. They occasionally fine troublesome women, and the fine, usually a goat, has to be obtained by the culprit either by extra work or by begging one from her father. The men fear the women’s kiama, as it is believed that the members of it have the power to bewitch people. ”

“ Unlike the Masai, the Wa Kikuyu have a fairly good idea of agriculture, and grow crops of m'tama (a kind of native grain from which flour is made) , sugar-cane, sweet potatoes, and tobacco.
The Wa Kikuyu have the reputation of being a very cowardly and treacherous people, and they have undoubtedly committed some very cruel deeds. A friend of mine, Captain Haslem, with whom I lived for a few months at Tsavo, was barbarously murdered by some members of this tribe. ”

“ It was most pleasant to hear with what comprehension and sympathy the officers of the East Africa Protectorate speak about their work; and how they regard themselves as the guardians of native interests and native rights against those who only care about exploiting the country and its people. No one can travel even for a little while among the Kikuyu tribes without acquiring a liking for these light-hearted, tractable, if brutish 38 children, or without feeling that they are capable of being instructed and raised from their present degradation. ”

“ In the old days, when the Kikuyu used to fight the Masai, Njau’s father, who was a great magician, was a specialist at making medicine to enable his people to check the Masai invasions, and when they came, to ensure victory for the Kikuyu. The knowledge of this art is said to have come down from his ancestors.
This magic is called mwita, and its most important instrument is a kiheto, or small piece of iron obtained from a smith. A small clay pot is made in which the kiheto is placed and some medicine called njeku, and this is brought to the path by which the Masai usually came to attack. ”

“ The first story is that given me by Karuri, the chief who was my first friend among these interesting people, who was certainly one of the most intelligent natives I have ever come in contact with. His account was that the original inhabitants of the country, a tribe called the Asi, were hunters who took no interest in agriculture, and that the Kikuyu were a tribe who came into the country, and purchased tracts of land from the Asi for purposes of cultivation. ”

“ An animal so possessed is easily recognised by its peculiar behaviour; it goes about shaking its head, and tears stream from its eyes. This spirit may be of the same nature as the evil demons of Semitic mythology. The Kikuyu declare that it can be driven out by getting the possessed animal to sniff the smoke of a fire made of the dry fruit of the tree known as Kigelia musa. They believe that the high god Engai can control the actions of the ngoma, and they sometimes go to a sacred fig tree, mugumu, and beseech Engai to protect the people from evil spirits. ”

“ The Kikuyu were formerly only allowed to eat the following wild animals and birds before being circumcised: partridges (ngware) , pigeon (ndutwa) , and hyrax (mi-kami) . Many will not eat wild game throughout their lives, and people follow the custom they have been brought up to observe; those that eat it probably had Asi or Dorobo ancestors. ”

“ The same belief occurs in Ukamba, and the nzama, or council of elders, can inflict a curse upon a man for disregard of its orders; if he is still recalcitrant it is said to be potent enough to kill him and all the people of his village in a short time. The elders impose this curse, called kutuu, by all clapping their hands together. The effect of the curse can be averted if the man obeys and the elders forgive him; as in Kikuyu, however, he has to pay a fee of a goat, and the elders assemble and ceremonially spit on the culprit to neutralise the curse. ”

“ The Kikuyu are also firm believers in a future life, though possibly from a somewhat materialistic point of view. Their belief is that their “heaven” is situated under the earth, while the abode of Ngoma is above it, and that when they die their spirit goes to the world below, where they will lead a similar life to that which they have left on earth, possessing the same herds of sheep, cattle, and goats as they then had, and being joined again by their wives as they die. ”

“ The reality of this aspect of Kikuyu life and thought may easily be under-estimated, but it is important that all who wish to gain a deep insight into native affairs should understand it and give the phenomenon its true value. To give the question a practical application, it may safely be said that no Kikuyu native who becomes thahu during the course of his employment by a white master, will rest until he has been freed of his curse or ill luck, and he will probably desert with wages due to him in order to get rid of it; he cannot afford to wait, the risk is too great. ”

“ According to the natural organisation of the Kikuyu tribe every youth, as he grows up, gradually passes through the various grades of tribal life. He commences as a kihe, an uncircumcised boy, and after circumcision becomes a mwanake, and finally a muthuri. He has to be initiated, step by step, into each grade according to the ritual of the tribe, and payment has to be made for entry into each stage. ”

“ A large clearing had been selected for the occasion—the Kikuyu, like many other savage tribes, always choosing an open space for their ceremonies, or discussions of importance, as they were thus enabled to detect any would-be eavesdroppers before they could get near enough to overhear anything or to attempt any treachery. Nearly all native villages, I found, have a large space set apart in the neighbourhood for the holding of their shauris, dances, &c. ”

“ In this way, they could add to their reputation as wizards, for wizards the Kikuyus believed them to be.
“The next number is going to be one of those Hawaiian things,” he whispered to Frank, as the strains of a familiar Sousa march drew near their conclusion. “Let’s announce to Chief Ruku-Ru that we are about to summon out of the air a piece of music for the especial benefit of the wonderful Kikuyu dancers of whom we have heard so much.” ”

“ When I first come out to East Africa on my own business I fit out a safari and travel to Kenya to buy ivory. I do no harm to Masai, but they attack my camp, they kill a young German man with me, my very great friend; they kill most of my men—and see! They try to kill me" (pulls up shirt and shows long scar over ribs on left side) , "and they kill my dogs. Only when they see Kikuyu coming down in large war party do they leaf off stabbing and go away with most of my trade goods. The Kikuyu carry me up to their village and save my life—I haf always been good friend to Kikuyu since.—You ask them! ”

“ This is a case for the medicine man, who has to be called in to perform a lustration ceremony to purify them; the offending son is not affected. Sprigs of the mahoroa, muchatha, and mitei bushes are bound up together and dipped in water, and the water is sprinkled over the couple, a little being also sprinkled at the gate of the village. This only applies to those circumcised Kikuyu fashion. It is curious to note that practically the same custom is observed by the A-Kamba.
(60) If a Kikuyu native kills a man belonging to another tribe he is not thahu ”

“ The accounts given of the origin of the Kikuyu tribe vary considerably, and the nigger’s 297talent for fiction, and his readiness to oblige any one—particularly a white man—who asks for a legend, make it extremely difficult to distinguish where truth ends and fiction begins ”

“ The A’kikuyu know when they are beaten, and a few hours after a life-and-death struggle with one, in which they had been vanquished, they will come into one’s camp and talk over it with a primitive frankness which I think delightful. Of course, should matters go the other way, they would just as cheerfully dance over your dismembered corpse, and should a favourable opportunity arise they would not hesitate to attempt any underhand trick ”

“ Living, as I did, in close touch with the everyday life of the natives, I became well acquainted with their manners and habits of living, and I also managed to learn a good deal of their genealogy. I found that the Kikuyu tribe was divided into a number of clans, or mahirriga, each of which bore a distinctive heraldic sign on their shields. The origin of these clans was wrapped in mystery, none of 260the natives with whom I discussed the question being able to tell me how they originally came into existence, or what was their real purpose. ”

“ The women to be seen in the streets of Nairobi are mostly of the Kikuyu tribe. They are pretty much of a pattern. Their heads are shaven, either completely or to leave only ornamental tufts; and are generally bound with a fine wire fillet so tightly that the strands seem to sink into the flesh. A piece of cotton cloth, dyed dark umber red, is belted around the waist, and sometimes, but not always, another is thrown about the shoulder. They go in for more hardware than do the men. ”

“ It appears that when certain medicine is made in the village the owner has only to pull out a few tail hairs from a beast and it will always return to his village.
Occasionally in a Kikuyu village the vertebra of an ox may be seen transfixed on the stick which surmounts a grain hut. This is a charm to keep butterflies away from the village, as it is believed that these insects carry sickness to the goats and sheep.
Fear of old Women.—Old women in Kikuyu are much feared, particularly those who are blind, toothless, and decrepit; they are often believed to possess magic power. ”

“ Several of the clans in Kikuyu are alleged to possess specimens of this bead, each one being in charge of a particular elder; they are said to be reddish in colour and rather long in shape.1 Endeavours have been made to get a specimen for examination, but it has not been possible to locate one; the elders state that they have not seen one used for some years. A chuma cha mchugu must not be kept in a house, but is hidden away in the bush—in this particular it is like the kithathi. ”

“ Again, their manner of circumcising the young men is exactly the same as that practised by the Masai, which differs from the custom of any other race, as I shall show later on. The name for God, Ngai, is the same in both peoples, and they both have a similar custom of retiring to a so-called “sacred grove” in the bush, where they slaughter a sheep, which is afterwards roasted and eaten in honour of their god.
These points, to my mind, all go to show a connexion between the Kikuyu and the Masai, rather than, as some inquirers argue, between the Kikuyu and the Wakamba. ”

“ The explanation just given may or may not be the final interpretation, but the fact remains that it is considered a vital necessity that the ceremonies necessary to close the trouble caused in a tribe by a murder should be carried out according to the law of the tribe, and only by the observance of the proper ritual can the avenging spirit be appeased.
In South Kikuyu there are only two persons qualified to perform these ceremonies: Gachii wa Kihara and Juguna wa Kihara, both sons of a great elder and chief named Kihara, of the Anjiru clan, upon whom those duties devolved. ”