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PREFACE
PREFACE
It is often said that the longer one knows the native the less one knows, and the less one understands him. This expression is doubtless comforting to persons who have not the patience to systematically study him and his views on life, but it could with convenience be replaced by a saying to the effect that the more one knows of the native the more one realises how much remains to be learnt. The spirit of this is in accordance with the true attitude to all other branches of knowledge, for the mo
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INTRODUCTION
INTRODUCTION
J. G. FRAZER. [ 13 ] 1 Vol. II. pp. 4 et seq. ↑ 2 Apollodorus, The Library , II. 2, 2, with my notes. ↑ PAGE Preface 3 Introduction 7 PART I NATURAL RELIGION [ 14 ] PART II MAGIC PART III MISCELLANEOUS L’Envoi 303 Glossary 305 Index 309 [ 15 ] [ 14 ] PART II MAGIC PART III MISCELLANEOUS L’Envoi 303 Glossary 305 Index 309 [ 15 ] PAGE Kamba Chief, Kitui Frontispiece Typical Muthuri ya Ukuru Facing 37 ( Elder of
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INTRODUCTORY
INTRODUCTORY
The Kikuyu absorbed some Masai blood from time to time, and also intermixed to some extent with the aboriginal Oggiek, but they are mainly Bantu in blood and constitution. The Kamba people, whose ancestors flowed into their present habitat from the south and south-west, are believed to be pure Bantu. We have, therefore, no evidence as to where the ancestors of the Kikuyu or Kamba lived about two thousand years ago, and, further, whether they were affected by Semitic culture in remote times. It i
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CHAPTER I SPIRIT BELIEFS
CHAPTER I SPIRIT BELIEFS
They have quite a clear conception of the ngoma or spirit of the departed, the character of which is said to be similar to that of the person during his or her lifetime. Unlike the people of Kavirondo, they have no fear of treading on a man’s shadow. There are no particular customs connected with suicide, although suicide is certainly not unknown among them. When people hang or stab or drown themselves they are supposed to have been possessed by a malevolent spirit. The general attitude of the p
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CHAPTER II SACRIFICE
CHAPTER II SACRIFICE
The idea of sacrilege is very marked. If, for instance, an impious person cuts a portion of a sacred tree, dire results are believed to ensue, and the elders make the offender pay a ram and a male goat. These are sacrificed at the tree, and the elders apply a strip of the skin to the place where the incision was made in the tree and anoint it with fat and the tatha or stomach contents. The breast of the ram is cut off and hung in the tree, and the remainder of the carcase and the whole of the ca
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CHAPTER III SACRED STONES OR VILLAGE SHRINES IN KIKUYU
CHAPTER III SACRED STONES OR VILLAGE SHRINES IN KIKUYU
The writer recently witnessed the celebration of the morning prayer at a village shrine. The principal wife brought sugar-cane beer and poured some into a [ 72 ] cow horn and some into a small U shaped gourd. The elder, who was head of the village, then poured the beer, first from the horn on to the trees growing between the stones, and then from the gourd. He now uttered a prayer with great solemnity, and called upon the spirits to grant good fortune to the village and also to the visitor. He p
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CHAPTER IV. THE FIRSTFRUITS OF THE HARVEST, ALSO PLANTING CEREMONIAL
CHAPTER IV. THE FIRSTFRUITS OF THE HARVEST, ALSO PLANTING CEREMONIAL
A housewife having gathered into her granary ( ikumba ) all her crops, must not cohabit with her husband the night on which she has completed her harvest. A present of a little of the new grain has to be made to the medicine man who advised the people where to plant. If a woman has had assistance from her neighbours in the harvest-field she makes a feast of all kinds of food; no men are present, as they have nothing to do with it. There is no dancing on such an occasion. The next thing is the th
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CHAPTER V CIRCUMCISION CEREMONIAL
CHAPTER V CIRCUMCISION CEREMONIAL
A few days after circumcision the child returns to sleep on a bed in its mother’s hut, but the father has to kill a sheep before he can return, and the child must drink some of the blood, the father also having to cohabit with the mother upon the occasion. Owing to similarity of name it is possible that the ceremony of Ku-chiaruo ringi might be confused with Ku-chiaruo kungi , which is of widely different significance. This latter is an adoption ceremony, and is said to be similar to a Swahili r
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CHAPTER VI DEATH AND BURIAL CEREMONIAL
CHAPTER VI DEATH AND BURIAL CEREMONIAL
Assuming that the deceased is entitled to burial, the local athuri ya ukuu (highest grade of elders) are summoned, and the corpse is taken out of the hut by the sons and laid on the hide on which the person slept during life. A ram ( ndorume ) is then slaughtered, the fat being cooked in an earthenware pot and some poured on the corpse, the children of the deceased also being smeared with the fat. The ornaments of the deceased are then removed under the supervision of the elders and divided up a
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(a) Thahu and its Connection with Circumcision Rites, etc.
(a) Thahu and its Connection with Circumcision Rites, etc.
In a few cases smoke is used as a purifying agent and seems to be considered effective in some more trivial ones. 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 mast
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(b) Purification and Blessing
(b) Purification and Blessing
He then produced the dried right black forefoot of a sheep, dipped it in the water, stirred up the contents, and placed the wetted foot in the mouth of the patient, who licked it vigorously and then expectorated the liquid on the ground. This was repeated some twenty or thirty times, the medicine man incessantly recounting all kinds of dangers and evils in a chanting voice with a general refrain, “May you be delivered from all these.” He then took one of the bundles of plants and dipped the lowe
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(c) The Dying Curse
(c) The Dying Curse
If a dying man calls out to a man of his own clan, muhirika , or morika , and makes a request such as, “Give me water,” and the person refuses, the dying man can impose a kirume upon the one who refuses. A man is, generally speaking, only able to lay a kirume upon a person belonging to his own muhirika , or clan, which really means that a kirume will only affect one with a common blood tie. There are, however, two exceptions to this: If a man of one clan marries a woman of another clan (as is th
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CHAPTER VIII SUPERSTITIONS REGARDING CHILDREN AND WOMEN
CHAPTER VIII SUPERSTITIONS REGARDING CHILDREN AND WOMEN
Anyone seeing this ceremony might well mistake it for a propitiatory offering to a river spirit, and the error indeed has occurred. The root idea, however, is that the flowing water may carry away the kind of thahu which results in such an unlucky tendency as that of bearing twins. They can give no explanation as to why twins should be of such ill omen if they happen to be the first children of a married couple or of a domestic animal. They do not appear to believe, as in some countries, that tw
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INTRODUCTORY
INTRODUCTORY
1 “Religion of Semites,” p. 264. ↑ The information relating to Kikuyu smiths was mainly collected from Kimani wa Nyaga, of the Gachiko clan, who is one of the senior smiths in Southern Kikuyu. A smith in Kikuyu is called muturi , plural aturi . The smiths of the Kikuyu tribe are said to have all come originally from a common centre of distribution at Ithanga, on the south-western side of Mount Kenya. This scattering of the smiths throughout the tribe is stated to have occurred many generations
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CHAPTER I THE GUILD OF SMITHS IN KIKUYU AND UKAMBA
CHAPTER I THE GUILD OF SMITHS IN KIKUYU AND UKAMBA
In former times one section smelted the iron and another forged it; imported iron wire is now so cheap that most of the forgings are made from it. If a man wishes to enter the guild, he has to be initiated with some ceremony. He must bring a ram ( ndorume ) which is slaughtered just outside the smithy; the novice is then walked round the anvil. The heart and lungs of the slaughtered animal are held in the smith’s tongs and roasted in his fire, which is fanned by the bellows; the novice eats them
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CHAPTER II THE EVIL EYE
CHAPTER II THE EVIL EYE
No one who is not born with the power can acquire it, and it appears to be looked upon as an unavoidable misfortune. It is said to be the gift of God ( Engai ), and if a death or loss occurs the person to whom it is attributable cannot be sued for compensation before the kiama , or council of elders. In time the people get to know who possesses the power, and if such a person enters a village he is asked in a friendly way to spit ceremonially on all the children to prevent anything untoward occu
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CHAPTER III KIKUYU MAGIC AND MAGICIANS
CHAPTER III KIKUYU MAGIC AND MAGICIANS
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. If this failed, Njau’s father would go to an old woman of the Asi or Dorobo tribe, buy from her an earthenware pot; this he would take, along with a ram, and proceed secretly through the forest near Ngong Mt., to a
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CHAPTER IV MISCELLANEOUS MAGICAL PRACTICES
CHAPTER IV MISCELLANEOUS MAGICAL PRACTICES
An officer, some time ago, shot an elephant in Kitui, and two of the natives who accompanied him came up and asked if they might perform their ceremony, the object of which was to bring him much luck and good sport. He agreed, and a goat was killed and some of the blood collected; one of the men tasted a little of the blood, and then each of them took a little in his mouth and ejected a few drops on the tusks of the dead elephant, the remainder being poured out as a libation. The leader or leade
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INTRODUCTORY
INTRODUCTORY
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. The procedure and rites with regard to circumcision have been dealt with elsewhere, and we no
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CHAPTER I THE CONSTITUTION AND WORKING OF COUNCILS AMONG THE KIKUYU
CHAPTER I THE CONSTITUTION AND WORKING OF COUNCILS AMONG THE KIKUYU
It is now necessary to consider the functions of the various grades. There are two councils, or kiamas : kiama cha kamatimo and kiama cha athamaki . The council whose legal powers are recognised by Government is the kiama cha athamaki . The following table shows how these councils are composed: The members of the kiama cha kamatimo have no judicial power; they attend at a meeting of the council but do not sit with the athamaki ; they are grouped at some little distance, the word, in fact, meanin
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CHAPTER II LAWS OF COMPENSATION FOR MURDER
CHAPTER II LAWS OF COMPENSATION FOR MURDER
The next payment is nine male sheep to the athuri ya ukuu , nine more sheep being given to the father of the deceased, and nine ewes, nyarume , to the maternal uncle of the deceased, or mamawe , as he is called. The father of the murderer and the father of the deceased then each bring a male sheep, and the trunk of a banana plant is procured, placed on the ground, and the murderer and his relations seat themselves on one side of it, and the relatives of the other party on the opposite side; four
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CHAPTER III CEREMONIAL OATHS
CHAPTER III CEREMONIAL OATHS
KAMBA ELDER WITH KITHITO . After the ceremony, the kithito was carried away and a sheep was killed near by and the tatha , or stomach contents, were sprinkled on the ground at the spot where the kithito had been. This was said to be done to cure the ground from the evil effects of the kithito . The Oath of the Sacred Bead ( Chuma cha mchugu ) in Kikuyu. —This oath or ordeal belongs to the same class as those described in the writer’s work, “Ethnology of A-Kamba” (Camb. Press), pp. 139–143, viz.,
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CHAPTER IV WAR AND PEACE
CHAPTER IV WAR AND PEACE
On the whole it would appear that the Kikuyu were no mean fighting tribe; they certainly inflicted very severe lessons on the Masai, and they gave us no little trouble in the early days. One can, however, scarcely imagine them to have been warlike judging from their present character, but the generation of warriors before our time have passed into elders, and the present warrior class has never known war; this class is also rapidly disappearing, and the young native now marries long before the t
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Sundry Beliefs
Sundry Beliefs
Women eat separately inside the huts and out of sight of the men, but can drink water or beer in the presence of men. Small children naturally feed with their mothers, but once the boys are circumcised they no longer eat with women. A curious custom was recently noticed during a journey among the Kikuyu. The desiccated carcase of a cow or ox was noticed in the branches of a tree by the roadside, a little distance from a village, and it appears that if cattle are lodged at the village of a friend
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CHAPTER VI LEGENDS
CHAPTER VI LEGENDS
When the man reached his friends he returned the spear and said to the owner, “You have caused me a great deal of trouble to recover your spear, and if you want some of this fire which you see going away into smoke, you will have to climb up the smoke and get it back for me.” The owner of the spear tried and tried to climb the smoke but could not do it, and the elders [ 265 ] then came and intervened and said, “We will make the following arrangement: fire shall be for the use of all, and because
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CHAPTER VII DANCES
CHAPTER VII DANCES
This custom is still practised, for in Kyambu district a few years ago the elders for some reason wished to prevent a Kivata dance, and they resorted to the old rite. Kivata is danced when the mawele grain is reaped. The dancers wear no clothes whatsoever; they are ornamented with a large inverted crown of ostrich feathers which is slung from the forehead to the back of the head. Strings of beads and bells are hung about the body, and plumes of colobus monkey fur are tied below the knees. In man
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CHAPTER VIII WOMEN AS A FACTOR IN TRIBAL ORGANISATION
CHAPTER VIII WOMEN AS A FACTOR IN TRIBAL ORGANISATION
It may be of some interest to review the class of work which is the special duty of the women. Their primary duty may be said to be the raising of food, be it in the form of grain, beans, bananas, sweet potatoes, etc. They sow, they tend the fields during the growth of the crop, and then reap the grain, thresh it, store it, crush it in wooden mortars, and grind it into meal. In most tribes the clearing of the bush and the heavy work of breaking up new ground devolves on the men, and in Kavirondo
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CHAPTER IX SOME GENERAL REMARKS
CHAPTER IX SOME GENERAL REMARKS
It is therefore maintained that the study of these questions is not merely academic but one of the greatest practical value to the administrator, the missionary, and the colonist, as well as the student. 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. Upon investigati
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CHAPTER X EAST AFRICA AFTER THE WAR
CHAPTER X EAST AFRICA AFTER THE WAR
The might of the Government has been demonstrated [ 288 ] during the war to an unheard of extent, and to some extent Government has unconsciously traded on this impression, for it has boldly imposed restrictions on the black, and a degree of taxation which it would have hesitated to do before the war. There are two schools of thought in existence regarding the governance of the black races in East Africa. (1) This school claims to be progressive, and favours the abolition of tribal control by it
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L’ENVOI
L’ENVOI
[ 304 ] There are Spirits that walk by night with their heads behind their backs— There are Spirits that fade from sight in the gloom of the forest tracks; There are ghosts of the babes that died in the kraal long moons ago, Ghosts of cripples that glide with shambling pace and slow, Ghosts of the new-made bride and of many a girl we know. Yestereen, when the sun sank low in the western sky, And silently, one by one, the hovering bats flew by, Ziwa, pride of my heart, my youngest and best-loved
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GLOSSARY
GLOSSARY
Ichua (Kikuyu): A sacrificial fire. Imu , singular; aiimu , plural (Kamba): Ancestral spirits. Ithembo , singular; mathembo , plural (Kamba) : Sacred place where sacrifices are carried out. Ira (Kikuyu): White diatomaceous earth which is also used in ceremonial as a purifying agent. Itwika (Kikuyu): A periodic ceremony which marks the termination of a generation or age in the tribe—it corresponds in some ways to the Masai Eunoto ceremony. [ 306 ] Kikuyu : The missionaries now often spell it Giku
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