THE KIKUYU
The
Kikuyu today are the most prominent people of all in
According
to historical legend, the Kikuyu trace their origin from the family of Gikuyu
and Mumbi who gave birth to nine girls and that their god “Ngai” sent nine boys
who married the nine girls thus giving birth to the nine clans of the Kikuyu
society on which the political foundation of the Kikuyu is built.
Politically,
the Kikuyu like any other stateless societies belonged to a family and each
family was a local territorial group which formed the clan or “Mbari”. Each Mbari was led by a council of elders and
the head of which was called “Muramati” who wasn’t necessarily a chief nor was
his position hereditary but he was simply the most distinguished man. Each Mbari belonged to one of the nine clans
of the Kikuyu and it was led by a council of elders whose duties included: Settling
disputes within the clan or Mbari, maintaining
law and order in the whole clan, organising the clan as a whole in order to
keep the traditions and the legends of the clan,
Above
the clan or Mbari councils of elders was the great clan council
of Mbari four elders (Kiama) whose functions included: organising the whole
Kikuyu society, settling important matters which involved either individual
Mbari’s or could
not be solved by the clan councils and defending the whole Kikuyu society
against external aggression.
Therefore whenever
any important matters arose, a meeting involving heads of clans was called and
this was locally known as “Athamki” which usually would settle issues
pertaining to the whole society and although their meetings did not have
written rules of procedure, they were guided by oral tradition under which all
elders participated. This is a clear
testimony that the Kikuyu society was democratically organized and indeed had a
mechanism of maintaining law and order.
Apart
from the clan or the Mbari councils of elders, the Kikuyu society was
also assisted by age-set system “Mariika” and each “riika” consisted of those
who had been circumcised at the same time who would be organized and put in
groups where they would be trained to become warriors which not only included
boys but also girls many of whom had to undergo cliterdom as a sign of
womanhood. These age-sets helped the
youth to learn their duties as members of society, maintain their traditional
culture but most importantly defended their societies.
Militarily,
the Kikuyu like any other decentralised society did not have a regular or
standing army and therefore in time of war or crisis, each Mbari or clan council of elders had a duty of
Organising the age sets especially the boys who would be formed into an army,
put under a commander to face the enemy either externally or internally. After the war, the youth would be free to return
to their home area and continue with their normal life as they used to before
going to war.
The
youths with military skills carried out raids against their neighbours
especially the Masai.
Raids
against the Masai are said to have attracted many Kikuyu youths. They earned
them respect and considerable wealth. During war or raidings periods, the Kikuyu appointed
talented youths to lead or command the Kikuyu warriors, which earned them fame.
Their
largest political unit was a joint family called Ambari, headed by a
council of elders under a leader called Muramati.
The
Kikuyu joint families (Mbaris) were located in Kenya Mountain Ridges
where each ridge accommodated a joint family.
The
councils of elders ensured that law and order were maintained with the help of
traditional mechanisms already set up by the ancestors.
They
were in charge of ensuring that customs and norms of the society were
respected. The elders also acted as judges in the Kikuyu society and advised on
all the major undertakings of the joint family.
The
joint family was composed of several homesteads whose heads claimed to have
sprung from a common ancestor who bound them together. Each Mbari or joint
family was independent. However, the neighbouring Mbaris could meet together
for certain aspects of common purpose. Areas of common interest could be,
initiation ceremonies such as circumcision, cultivation and many others.
There
was the aspect of the age-set group system. This provided a link between
age-groups, and each group was assigned a duty to accomplish. During initiation
periods, age mates could come together for the cerebrations, which created a
sense of unity and belongingness.
After
passing through certain grades and requirements, age-mates achieved the rank of
senior elders. This resulted into generation sets of the juniors and seniors.
The senior generation sets held political
power for a certain period when it handed over to a successor generation upon
which a ceremony was held.
The
society was egalitarian in nature, which emphasized political equality for all.
This does not however mean that, prominence did not emerge in society.
They had no standing army and all able-bodied men
were always called upon in time of need to render their military services for
protection of society.
Economic organisation
Economically,
the Kikuyu were mainly agriculturalists although they carried out some little
pastrolism and trade, they reared mostly goats, some few sheep and cattle. They cultivated maize, beans, peas, pumpkins
and some little cotton.
By
the mid 19th Century, the Kikuyu were exchanging their agricultural products
with the Masai for milk and magic and also exchanged their products with the
Akamba for imported goods like ornaments, cloths, porcelain among others.
Very
few Kikuyu participated in Long Distance Trade though they used to raid the Masai for slaves
whom they sold to the Akamba. Generally,
there was no central control of the Kikuyu economy and each family depended on
its strength and climatical conditions of the region.
They
predominantly practiced sedentary agriculture. They grew crops like yams,
sorghum, maize, beans, pumpkins and many others. Men prepared the land and the
women did the sowing.
They
practiced bee keeping and keeping animals on small scale. They reared sheep,
goats and cattle. They kept more goats than cattle.
They
gathered items, did hunting, collected honey and sugar cane for preparing local
beer.
They
carried out internal and external trade in the several markets they had. They
sold food items to the Masai and
iron tools and implements to the Kamba. From within Kikuyu land, they traded in
pottery, farm produce and baskets. They also exchanged their food items for
goods like iron objects, salt and pots. By the mid 19th Century, the
Kikuyu had started trading with the Kamba and few coastal long distance
traders. However, they were not famous for long distance trade. Thus, the
organisation of the Kikuyu provided some degree of tranquility, peace and
stability.
Social aspect
Socially,
among the Kikuyu, the father was the head of the family and these families had
a common ancestor called the Mbari or the clan where each member of the Kikuyu
society traced his or her origin.
Women
had no say in the council of elders because they could not be allowed to sit
and discuss on matters concerning society because these were majorly a concern
of men especially of ages 40 and above.
Religion
was of great importance among the Kikuyu for they believed that their
fore-parents that is Gikuyu and Mumbi were created by God or Ngai who was
commonly believed to be living around Mt. Kirinyaga (Kenya) and that is why whenever the Kikuyu
were praying, they faced Mt. Kenya where Ngai lived which generally gave them
some superficial unity because they believed in a common source of origin.
There
was high respect for age and the elders got this because they were regarded as
custodians of knowledge and focus of guidance. The elders passed laws for the
society, led prayers, administered justice as well as acting as mediums to
their god Ngai.
They
practiced female and male circumcision as a requirement for one to be initiated
into adulthood. Marriage as a sign of success was stressed based on matrilineal
descent and using cattle or land. They believed in kingship ties whether real
or imagined. This created a strong sense of association among them.
There
was religion, which was deeply entrenched among them. They believed in the
supreme God called Ngai who blessed all ceremonies and rituals among the
Kikuyu. They also believed in the living dead as well as the spirits of the
ancestors. They were believed to provide guidance to the members of the clan and families. They
practiced superstition and believed that epidemics and plague were handwork of
evil spirits and witchcraft.
They had
customary laws like those who prohibited women to eat meat and were required to
eat vegetables and meat was for men. The smallest unit of the Kikuyu was a
family where the man was the head of the group.