136-464: The Kikuyu (also Agĩkũyũ/Gĩkũyũ ) are a Bantu ethnic group native to East Africa Central Kenya . At a population of 8,148,668 as of 2019, they account for 17.13% of the total population of Kenya , making them Kenya's largest ethnic group. Modern ethnicities Diaspora Performing arts Government agencies Television Radio Newspapers The term Kikuyu is the Swahili borrowing of
272-479: A bit offset. Ndia and Gachũgũ are extremely far from Metumi. Gaki on the other hand, as far as my geographical understanding of Gĩkũyũ land is concerned should be much closer to Metumi, yet virtually no names of regiment sets are shared. It should however be noted that Gaki had a strong connection to the Maasai living nearby. The ruling generation names of Maina and Mwangi are also very popular male Gĩkũyũ names. The theory
408-586: A colony in the region, noting the abundant and fertile farmland. Although initially non-hostile, relationships between the Agikuyu and the Europeans soon turned violent: Waiyaki Wa Hinga , a leader of the southern Agikuyu, who ruled Dagoretti who had signed a treaty with Frederick Lugard of the British East Africa Company (BEAC) burned down Lugard's fort in 1890. Waiyaki was captured two years later by
544-538: A consequence, there are notable Kikuyu literature icons such as Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o and Meja Mwangi . Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o's literary works include Caitani Mutharabaini (1981), Matigari (1986) and Murogi wa Kagogo ( Wizard of the Crow (2006)) which is the largest known Kikuyu language novel having been translated into more than thirty languages. Traditional Kikuyu music has existed for generations up to 1888, when colonialism disrupted their life. Before 1888 and well into
680-490: A critical role in the development of the mountain, influencing the topography and ecology amongst other factors. It has a typical equatorial mountain climate which Hedberg described as winter every night and summer every day. Mount Kenya is home to one of the Global Atmosphere Watch 's atmospheric monitoring stations. The year is divided into two distinct wet seasons and two distinct dry seasons which mirror
816-459: A mwanake na a muirĩĩtu. Freely translated it means "In those days the male children were given the names of the riika (initiation set) like Watene, Cuma, Iregi, or Ciira. Girls were on the other hand named after the clans that were named earlier until such a time as it was decided to name the children after the parents of the man and the woman." From this statement it is not clear whether the girls were named ad hoc after any clan, no matter what clan
952-472: A non-profit organization, has been putting up fences in key areas around the country. As of 2021, 250 kilometres (160 miles) out of a planned 450 kilometres (280 miles) have been constructed in the Mt. Kenya area. The fence discharges an electric shock, but is not dangerous to humans or animals. The main ethnic groups living around Mount Kenya are Kikuyu , Ameru , Embu and Maasai . The first three are Bantus while
1088-488: A period of nine calendar years in which no initiation of boys took place ( mũhingo ). Girls, on the other hand, were initiated every year. Several regiments then make up a ruling generation. It was estimated that ruling generations lasted an average of 35 years. The names of the initiation and regiment sets vary within Gĩkũyũ land. The ruling generations are however uniform and provide very important chronological data. On top of that,
1224-439: A person against those bent on diminishing a person vital life force. Such an item with such powers was called gĩthitũ . Thus, the philosophy of the Gĩkũyũ religion and life, in general, was anchored on the understanding that everything in the universe has an inner interlinked force that we do not see. God among the Gĩkũyũ people was understood hence to be the owner and distributor (Mũgai) of this inner life force in all things and He
1360-499: A publication now in the public domain : Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). " Hottentots ". Catholic Encyclopedia . New York: Robert Appleton Company. Mount Kenya Mount Kenya ( Meru : Kĩrĩmaara, Kikuyu : Kĩrĩnyaga , Kamba : Ki nyaaa , Embu : Kirinyaa ) is an extinct volcano in Kenya and the second-highest peak in Africa , after Kilimanjaro . The highest peaks of
1496-576: A result of these interactions. The Bantu migrations, and centuries later the Indian Ocean slave trade, brought Bantu influence to Madagascar , the Malagasy people showing Bantu admixture, and their Malagasy language Bantu loans. Toward the 18th and 19th centuries, the flow of Zanj slaves from Southeast Africa increased with the rise of the Sultanate of Zanzibar . With the arrival of European colonialists,
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#17328517442011632-478: A series of seven hydroelectric power stations and dams. The density of streams is very high, especially on the lower slopes which have never been glaciated. The ice cap which used to cover the mountain during the Pliocene eroded large U-shaped valleys which tend to only have one large stream. Where the original shape of the shield volcano is still preserved, there have been millions of years for streams to erode
1768-833: A significant clustered variation of genetic traits among Bantu language speakers by region, suggesting admixture from prior local populations. Bantu speakers of South Africa (Xhosa, Venda) showed substantial levels of the SAK and Western African Bantu AACs and low levels of the East African Bantu AAC (the latter is also present in Bantu speakers from the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda). The results indicate distinct East African Bantu migration into southern Africa and are consistent with linguistic and archeological evidence of East African Bantu migration from an area west of Lake Victoria and
1904-457: A single female ancestor and a daughter of Mumbi . The clans were not restricted to any particular geographical area, they lived side by side. Some clans had a recognised leader, others did not. However, in either case, real political power was exercised by the ruling council of elders for each clan. Each clan then forwarded the leader of its council to the apex council of elders for the whole community. The overall council of elders representing all
2040-594: A steep pyramidal form. Significant craggy outlying peaks include Terere (4,714 m or 15,466 ft) and Sendeyo (4,704 m or 15,433 ft) which form a pair of twin peaks to the north of the main plug. Together, they form a large parasitic plug. Other notable peaks include The Hat (4,639 m or 15,220 ft), Delamere Peak, Macmillan Peak and Rotundu . The glaciers on Mount Kenya are retreating rapidly. The Mountain Club of Kenya in Nairobi has photographs showing
2176-436: A vast area from West Africa, to Central Africa, Southeast Africa and into Southern Africa. Bantu people also inhabit southern areas of Northeast African states. There are several hundred Bantu languages. Depending on the definition of "language" or "dialect" , it is estimated that there are between 440 and 680 distinct languages. The total number of speakers is in the hundreds of millions, ranging at roughly 350 million in
2312-479: A vast genomic analysis of more than 2,000 samples taken from individuals in 57 populations throughout Sub-Saharan Africa to trace the Bantu expansion. During a wave of expansion that began 4,000 to 5,000 years ago, Bantu-speaking populations – some 310 million people as of 2023 – gradually left their original homeland West-Central Africa and travelled to the eastern and southern regions of the African continent. During
2448-484: A vital inner force and a connection bond to Him by the mere fact that he created that thing and gave it that inner force that makes it be and be manifested physically. To the Agĩkũyũ, God had this life force within himself hence He was the ultimate owner and ruler of everything in the universe. The latter was the ultimate conception of God among the Gĩkũyũ people hence the name Mũgai/Ngai. To the Gĩkũyũ people, those who possessed
2584-402: Is Kĩrĩnyaga which literally means 'the one with the ostrich'. The ostrich has dark feathers and a white tail– when the bird bends its head to the ground with its tail in the air, its body forms a triangular shape with a white peak, closely resembling the snow capped mountain of Kĩrĩnyaga. The name Kĩrĩnyaga therefore figuratively means 'the one with white tails', referring to the glaciers among
2720-535: Is Ngai or Mwene Njeru ).The Embu name for Mount Kenya is 'Ki nyaga' which means similar to the Kikuyu 'the one with the ostrich'. The mountain is sacred, and they build their houses with the doors facing toward it. The Embu people are closely related to the Ameru and Mbeere people. The Mbeere and Akamba are the settlers of the southeast side of the mountain. The Ameru occupy the east, north, and north-western slopes of
2856-458: Is a stratovolcano that was active in the Plio-Pleistocene . The original crater was probably over 6,000 m (19,700 ft) high; and potentially up to 7,000 m (23,000 ft) high, making the prehistoric Mount Kenya higher than present-day Kilimanjaro . Since it became extinct there have been two major periods of glaciation , which are shown by two main rings of moraines below
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#17328517442012992-407: Is also that Waciira is also derived from ciira (case), which is also a very popular masculine name among the Agĩkũyũ. This would call into question, when it was exactly that children started being named after the parents of one's parents. Had that system, of naming one's children after one's parents been there from the beginning, there would be very few male names in circulation. This is however not
3128-672: Is also the most systematically defined list so far. Most of the most popular male names in Gĩkũyũ land were names of riikas (initiation sets). Here is Mũriũki's list of the names of regiment sets in Metumi (Mũrang'a): Kiariĩ (1665–1673), Cege (1678–1678), Kamau (1704–1712), Kĩmani (1717–1725), Karanja (1730–1738), Kĩnũthia (1743–1751), Njũgũna (1756–1764), Kĩnyanjui (1769–1777), Ng'ang'a (1781–1789), Njoroge (1794–1802), Wainaina (1807–1815), Kang'ethe (1820–1828), Mbũgua (1859–1867), Njenga or Mbĩra Itimũ (1872–1880), Mũtũng'ũ or Mbũrũ (1885–1893). H.E. Lambert, who dealt with
3264-632: Is considered by some the gravest crisis of Britain's African colonies The capture of rebel leader Dedan Kimathi on 21 October 1956 signalled the ultimate defeat of the Mau Mau Uprising , and essentially ended the military campaign although the state of emergency would last until 1959. The conflict arguably set the stage for Kenyan independence in December 1963. Since the proclamation of the Republic of Kenya , after colonial rule in Kenya came to an end in 1963,
3400-467: Is known as the giant rosette, which is exhibited by giant senecio, giant lobelia, and giant thistle ( Carduus ), which use bud leaves to protect their buds from freezing. Giant rosette senecios form single-aged stands that drive community structure over decades. Many plant species in the Afro-alpine zone of Mount Kenya are giant versions of lowland (or temperate) relatives. However, nearer the nival zone
3536-407: Is more intact because it is less accessible and better protected. When the trees can no longer grow the vegetation changes into heathland and chaparral , at around 3,000 m (9,800 ft). Heathland is found in the wetter areas, on the west side of Mount Kenya, and is dominated by giant heathers . Chaparral is found in drier areas and grasses are more common. and bushfires still occur. As
3672-479: Is much wetter than the north, so species more dependent on moisture can grow. Some species, such as African alpine bamboo , are limited to certain aspects of the mountain because of the amount of moisture. The climate of Mount Kenya changes considerably with altitude, forming belts of community types. Around the base of the mountain is fertile farmland. The people living around the mountain have cultivated this cool, relatively moist area for centuries. Mount Kenya
3808-427: Is no formation of new ice. It is predicted to be less than 30 years before there will no longer be ice on Mount Kenya. Glacial retreat and disappearance can be caused by changes in temperature trends, or by a change in precipitation trends. The glacier names are (clockwise from the north): The total area covered by glaciers on the mountain was recorded as about 0.7 km ( 1 ⁄ 4 sq mi) in
3944-471: Is no native term for the people who speak Bantu languages because they are not an ethnic group . People speaking Bantu languages refer to their languages by ethnic endonyms, which did not have an indigenous concept prior to European contact for the larger ethnolinguistic phylum named by 19th-century European linguists. Bleek's coinage was inspired by the anthropological observation of groups self-identifying as "people" or "the true people". That is, idiomatically
4080-426: Is on Mount Kenya. In one legend Ngai made the mountain his resting place while on an inspection tour of earth . Ngai then took the first man, Gikuyu, to the top to point out the beauty of the land he was giving him. The cardinal points in this Traditional Gĩkũyũ Religion Philosophy were squarely based on the general Bantu peoples thought as follows: The Gĩkũyũ held a belief in the interconnection of everything in
4216-489: Is referred to as mũhingo , with initiation taking place at the start of the fifth year and going on annually for the next nine calendar years. This was the system adopted in Metumi Murang'a . The regiment or army sets also get special names, some of which seem to have ended up as popular male names. In Gaki Nyeri the system was inversed with initiation taking place annually for four calendar years, which would be followed by
Kikuyu people - Misplaced Pages Continue
4352-421: Is restricted to small isolated bunches in the north because of low rainfall. The bamboo is natural, and does not require forest disturbance. Tracks are common through the bamboo. Bamboo suppresses other vegetation, so it is uncommon to find trees or other plants here. Above the bamboo is the timberline forest. The trees here are often smaller than the trees in the forests lower down the mountain. The forest here
4488-402: Is surrounded by forests. The vegetation in the forests depend on rainfall, and the species present differ greatly between the northern and southern slopes. As time has passed the trees on the edge of the forest have been logged and the farmland has encroached further up the fertile slopes of the mountain. Above the forest is a belt of African alpine bamboo . This zone is almost continuous but
4624-854: Is typical for their vegetation band. The highest peaks are Batian (5,199 m or 17,057 ft), Nelion (5,188 m or 17,021 ft) and Pt Lenana (4,985 m or 16,355 ft). Batian and Nelion are within 250 m (270 yd) of each other, separated by the Gate of the Mists gap of 5,144 m (16,877 ft). Other peaks around the central plug include Pt Piggot (4,957 m or 16,263 ft), Pt Dutton (4,885 m or 16,027 ft), Pt John (4,883 m or 16,020 ft), Pt John Minor (4,875 m or 15,994 ft), Krapf Rognon (4,800 m or 15,748 ft), Pt Peter (4,757 m or 15,607 ft), Pt Slade (4,750 m or 15,584 ft) and Midget Peak (4,700 m or 15,420 ft). All of these have
4760-854: The Baganda people of Uganda (5.5 million as of 2014), the Shona of Zimbabwe (17.6 million as of 2020), the Zulu of South Africa (14.2 million as of 2016 ), the Luba of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (28.8 million as of 2010 ), the Sukuma of Tanzania (10.2 million as of 2016 ), the Kikuyu of Kenya (8.1 million as of 2019 ), the Xhosa people of Southern Africa (9.6 million as of 2011), batswana of Southern Africa (8.2 Million as of 2020) and
4896-888: The Congo rainforest by about 1500 BC and the southern savannas by 500 BC, while the eastward dispersal reached the Great Lakes by 1000 BC, expanding further from there as the rich environment supported dense populations. Possible movements by small groups to the southeast from the Great Lakes region could have been more rapid, with initial settlements widely dispersed near the coast and near rivers, because of comparatively harsh farming conditions in areas farther from water. Recent archeological and linguistic evidence about population movements suggests that pioneering groups would have had reached parts of modern KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa sometime prior to
5032-667: The Indian Ocean slave trade . The Swahili culture that emerged from these exchanges evinces many Arab and Islamic influences not seen in traditional Bantu culture, as do the many Afro-Arab members of the Bantu Swahili people . With its original speech community centered on the coastal parts of Zanzibar, Kenya, and Tanzania – a seaboard referred to as the Swahili Coast – the Bantu Swahili language contains many Arabic loanwords as
5168-676: The Kingdom of Matamba the Kuba Kingdom , the Lunda Empire , the Luba Empire , Barotse Empire , Kazembe Kingdom , Mbunda Kingdom , Yeke Kingdom , Kasanje Kingdom , Empire of Kitara, Butooro , Bunyoro , Buganda , Busoga , Rwanda , Burundi , Ankole , the Kingdom of Mpororo , the Kingdom of Igara , the Kingdom of Kooki , the Kingdom of Karagwe , Swahili city states , the Mutapa Empire ,
5304-521: The National Party governments adopted that usage officially, while the growing African nationalist movement and its liberal allies turned to the term "African" instead, so that "Bantu" became identified with the policies of apartheid . By the 1970s this so discredited "Bantu" as an ethnic-racial designation that the apartheid government switched to the term "Black" in its official racial categorizations, restricting it to Bantu-speaking Africans , at about
5440-494: The Pedi of South Africa (7 million as of 2018). Abantu is the Xhosa and Zulu word for people. It is the plural of the word 'umuntu', meaning 'person', and is based on the stem '--ntu', plus the plural prefix 'aba'. In linguistics, the word Bantu , for the language families and its speakers, is an artificial term based on the reconstructed Proto-Bantu term for "people" or "humans" . It
5576-648: The Tana , the largest river in Kenya, and the Ewaso Nyiro North. The Mount Kenya ecosystem provides water directly for over 2 million people. The rivers on Mount Kenya have been named after the villages on the slopes of the mountain that they flow close to. The Thuchi River is the district boundary between Tharaka Nithi and Embu. Mount Kenya is a major water tower for the Tana river which in 1988 supplied 80% of Kenya 's electricity using
Kikuyu people - Misplaced Pages Continue
5712-570: The Zulu Kingdom , the Ndebele Kingdom , Mthethwa Empire , Tswana city states , Mapungubwe , Kingdom of Eswatini , the Kingdom of Butua , Maravi , Danamombe , Khami , Naletale , Kingdom of Zimbabwe and the Rozwi Empire . On the coastal section of East Africa, a mixed Bantu community developed through contact with Muslim Arab and Persian traders, Zanzibar being an important part of
5848-587: The autonym Gĩkũyũ ( Gikuyu pronunciation: [ɣèkòjóꜜ] ) The Kikuyu belong to the Northeastern Bantu branch. Their language is most closely related to that of the Embu and Mbeere . Geographically, they are concentrated in the vicinity of Mount Kenya . The exact place that the Northeast Bantu speakers migrated from after the initial Bantu expansion is uncertain. Some authorities suggest that
5984-412: The riikas extensively, has the following list of regiment sets from Gichũgũ and Ndia. (It should be remembered that this names were unlike ruling generations not uniform in Gĩkũyũ land. It should also be noted that Ndia and Gachũgũ followed a system where initiation took place every annually for four years and then a period of nine calendar years followed where no initiation of boys took place. This period
6120-690: The 1920s, Kikuyu music included Kibaata, Nduumo and Muthunguci. Cultural loss increased as urbanization and modernization impacted on indigenous knowledge, including the ability to play the mũtũrĩrũ – an oblique bark flute. Today, music and dance are strong components of Kikuyu culture. There is a vigorous Kikuyu recording industry, for both secular and gospel music, in their pentatonic scale and western music styles such as "Mathwiti Maigi Ngai!". Bantu peoples The Bantu peoples are an indigenous ethnolinguistic grouping of approximately 400 distinct native African ethnic groups who speak Bantu languages . The languages are native to countries spread over
6256-419: The 1980s, far less than that recorded by the first observations, made in the 1890s. Although Mount Kenya is on the equator the freezing nightly temperatures result in periglacial landforms. There is permafrost a few centimetres (inches) below the surface. Patterned ground is present at 3,400 m (11,155 ft) to the west of Mugi Hill. These mounds grow because the repeated freezing and thawing of
6392-412: The 3rd century AD along the coast and the modern Northern Cape by AD 500. Cattle terminology in use amongst the relatively few modern Bantu pastoralist groups suggests that the acquisition of cattle may have been from Central Sudanic , Kuliak and Cushitic -speaking neighbors. Linguistic evidence also indicates that the customs of milking cattle were also directly modeled from Cushitic cultures in
6528-795: The 9th and 15th centuries, Bantu-speaking states began to emerge in the Great Lakes region and in the savanna south of the Central African rainforests. The Monomotapa kings built the Great Zimbabwe complex, a civilisation ancestral to the Shona people. Comparable sites in Southern Africa include Bumbusi in Zimbabwe and Manyikeni in Mozambique. From the 12th century onward, the processes of state formation amongst Bantu peoples increased in frequency. This
6664-520: The Agikuyu now form an integral part of the Kenyan nation. They continue to play their part as citizens of Kenya, helping to build their country. However, some Kenyans resent their incorrectly perceived superior economic status and political power and unity, a resentment sometimes vented through political violence, as happened in 1992, 1997 and 2007 Kenyan elections. According to a Y-Chromosome DNA study by Wood et al. (2005), around 73% of Gĩkũyũs belong to
6800-648: The Agikuyu often resulted in defeat for the latter, thanks to their inferior weaponry. The Agikuyu, having been unsuccessful in their conflicts with the European settlers and the colonial government, turned to political means as a method of resolving their grievances. Kenya served as a base for the British in the First World War as part of their effort to capture the German colonies to the south, which were initially frustrated. At
6936-448: The Agĩkũyũ were in a constant state of territorial expansion. Economically, the Agĩkũyũ were great farmers and shrewd businesspeople. Besides farming and business, the Agĩkũyũ were involved in small scale industries with professions such as bridge building, string making, wire drawing, and iron chain making. The Agĩkũyũ had a great sense of justice ( kĩhooto ). The Agĩkũyũ nation was divided into nine clans. Each clan traced its lineage to
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#17328517442017072-562: The Bantu expansion, Bantu-speaking peoples extirpated and displaced many earlier inhabitants, with only a few modern peoples such as Pygmy groups in Central Africa, the Hadza people in northern Tanzania, and various Khoisan populations across southern Africa remaining in existence into the era of European contact. Archaeological evidence attests to their presence in areas subsequently occupied by Bantu speakers. Researchers have demonstrated that
7208-460: The Hair of the N'jenge , and many more. When the European missionaries arrived in the Agikuyu country in 1888, they learned the Kikuyu language and started writing it using a modified Roman alphabet. The Kikuyu responded strongly to missionaries and European education. They had greater access to education and opportunities for involvement in the new money economy and political changes in their country. As
7344-526: The Kamba people who speak a language similar to Gĩkũyũ. As a result, the Gĩkũyũ people that retain much of the original Gĩkũyũ heritage reside around Kirinyaga and Murang'a regions of Kenya. The Murang'a district is considered by many to be the cradle of the Gĩkũyũ people. Until 1888, the Agikuyu literature was purely expressed in folklore . Famous stories include The Maiden Who Was Sacrificed By Her Kin , The Lost Sister , The Four Young Warriors , The Girl who Cut
7480-462: The Kenya African Union (KAU). It was a nationalist organisation that demanded access to white-owned land. KAU acted as a constituency association for the first black member of Kenya's legislative council, Eliud Mathu , who had been nominated in 1944 by the governor after consulting with the local Bantu/Nilotic elite. The KAU remained dominated by the Kikuyu ethnic group. In 1947 Jomo Kenyatta ,
7616-614: The Khoisan of the Kalahari are remnants of a huge ancestral population that may have been the most populous group on the planet prior to the Bantu expansion. Biochemist Stephan Schuster of Nanyang Technological University in Singapore and colleagues found that the Khoisan population began a drastic decline when the Bantu farmers spread through Africa 4,000 years ago. Before the Bantu expansion had been definitively traced starting from their origins in
7752-426: The Kikuyu arrived in their present Mount Kenya area of habitation from earlier settlements further to the north and east, while others argue that the Kikuyu, along with their closely related Eastern Bantu neighbours the Embu , Meru , Mbeere , and Kamba moved into Kenya from points further north. From archaeological evidence, their arrival at the northern side of Mt. Kenya dates to around the 3rd century, as part of
7888-417: The Kikuyu nation, most of whom had been pushed off their land by the encroaching European settlers, and lived as itinerant farmers. To protect their interests, the settlers banned the production of coffee, introduced a hut tax , and landless workers were granted less and less land in exchange for their labour. A massive exodus to the cities ensued as their ability to provide a living from the land dwindled. In
8024-480: The Maasai are Nilotes. The mountain is as an important aspect of their cultures. They arrived in the Mount Kenya area in the last several hundreds of years. The Kikuyu people live on the southern and western sides of the mountain. They are agriculturalists , and make use of the highly fertile volcanic soil on the lower slopes. They believe that God, Ngai or Mwene Nyaga , lived on Mount Kenya when he came down from
8160-771: The Masinga Reservoir. The rivers in the northern part of the mountain, such as the Burguret, Naru Moru, Nanyuki, Likii, and Sirimon flow into the Ewaso Nyiro. The rivers to the southwest, such as the Keringa and Nairobi flow into the Sagana and then into the Tana. The remaining rivers to the south and east, such as the Kathitâ (Largest River in Meru), Mutonga, Nithi, Thuchi, and Nyamindi, flow directly into
8296-684: The Niger-Kordofan cluster, 36% from Cushitic, 8% from Nilo-Saharan, 6% from Sandawe, and 1% or less from each of the other clusters According to Salas et al. (2002), other Gĩkũyũs largely carry the L1a clade, which is one of the African mtDNA Haplogroups. Gĩkũyũs speak the Gĩkũyũ language as their native tongue, which is a member of the Bantu language family . Additionally, many speak Swahili and English as lingua franca,
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#17328517442018432-410: The Second World War (1939–45) Kenya became an important military base. For the Agikuyu soldiers who took part in the war as part of the King's African Rifles (KAR), the war stimulated African nationalism and shattered their conceptions of Europeans. Meanwhile, on the political front, in 1944 Thuku founded and was first chairman of the multi-ethnic Kenya African Study Union (KASU). In 1946 KASU became
8568-421: The Tana. Mount Kenya has several altitudinal ecological zones, from the savanna surrounding the mountain to the nival zone by the glaciers. Each zone has a dominant species of vegetation. Many of the species found higher up the mountain are endemic, either to Mount Kenya or East Africa. There are also differences within the zones, depending on the side of the mountain and the aspect of the slope. The southeast
8704-436: The Zanzibar Sultanate came into direct trade conflict and competition with Portuguese and other Europeans along the Swahili Coast, leading eventually to the fall of the Sultanate and the end of slave trading on the Swahili Coast in the mid-20th century. In the 1920s, relatively liberal South Africans, missionaries, and the native African intelligentsia began to use the term "Bantu" in preference to "Native". After World War II ,
8840-441: The alpine zone, and other sightings are remembered in names such as Simba Tarn (simba means lion in Swahili ). Several bird species live in the Afro-alpine zone, including sunbirds , alpine chats and starlings and the raptors, augur buzzard , lammergeier and Verreaux's eagle , the latter of which specializes in hunting hyraxes. Birds are important in this ecosystem as pollinators. The climate of Mount Kenya has played
8976-479: The altitude increases the temperature fluctuations become extreme and the air becomes thinner and drier. This region is known as the Afro-alpine zone. The environment here is isolated, with the only similar area nearby being the Aberdares , which are 80 km (50 mi) away. Many of the species here are endemic, with adaptations to the cold and fluctuating temperatures. Typical plants here include giant groundsels (senecios) and giant lobelias. The region where
9112-555: The area. Cattle terminology in southern African Bantu languages differs from that found among more northerly Bantu-speaking peoples. One recent suggestion is that Cushitic speakers had moved south earlier and interacted with the most northerly of Khoisan speakers who acquired cattle from them and that the earliest arriving Bantu speakers, in turn, got their initial cattle from Cushitic-influenced Khwe-speaking people. Under this hypothesis, larger later Bantu-speaking immigration subsequently displaced or assimilated that southernmost extension of
9248-460: The arrival of the British, Arabs involved in slave trading and their caravans passed at the southern edges of the Agĩkũyũ nation. Slavery as an institution did not exist amongst the Agĩkũyũ, nor did they make raids for the capture of slaves. The Arabs who tried to venture into Agĩkũyũ land met instant death. Relying on a combination of land purchases, blood-brotherhood (partnerships), intermarriage with other people, and their adoption and absorption,
9384-405: The ban on female circumcision, and support for Thuku. The KCA sent Kenyatta to England in 1924 and again in 1931 to air their grievances against the colonial government and its policies. By the 1930s, approximately 30,000 white settlers lived in Agikuyu country and gained a political voice because of their contribution to the market economy . The area was already home to over a million members of
9520-494: The base to the peak. The lower slopes are covered by different types of forest. Many alpine species are endemic to Mount Kenya, such as the giant lobelias and senecios and a local subspecies of rock hyrax . An area of 715 km (276 sq mi) around the centre of the mountain was designated a National Park and listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997. The park receives over 16,000 visitors per year. Mount Kenya National Park, established in 1949, protects
9656-417: The benefit of all earlier literature on the subject as well as doing extensive field work in the areas of Gaki (Nyeri), Metumi (Mũrang'a) and Kabete (Kĩambu). On top of the ruling generations, he also gives names of the regiments or army sets from 1659 [within a margin of error] and the names of annual initiation sets beginning 1864. The list from Metumi (Mũrang'a) is most complete and differentiated. Mũriũki's
9792-734: The capital Nairobi . Mount Kenya is the source of the name of the Republic of Kenya. Mount Kenya is a volcano created approximately 3 million years after the opening of the East African Rift . Before glaciation, it was 7,000 m (23,000 ft) high. It was covered by an ice cap for thousands of years. This has resulted in very eroded slopes and numerous valleys radiating from the peak. There are currently 11 small glaciers , which are shrinking rapidly, and may disappear by 2050. The forested slopes are an important source of water for much of Kenya. There are several vegetation bands from
9928-512: The case, as there are very many Gĩkũyũ male names. One theory is that the female names are much less, with the names of the full-nine daughters of Mũmbi being most prevalent. Gakaara wa Wanjaũ supports this view when he writes in his book, Mĩhĩrĩga ya Aagĩkũyũ , Hingo ĩyo ciana cia arũme ciatuagwo marĩĩtwa ma mariika ta Watene, Cuma, Iregi kana Ciira. Nao airĩĩtu magatuuo marĩĩtwa ma mĩhĩrĩga tauria hagwetetwo nah au kabere, o nginya hingo iria maundu maatabariirwo thuuthaini ati ciana ituagwo aciari
10064-431: The centre of the mountain which have an Alpine appearance due to their craggy nature. Typically of Alpine terrain, the highest peaks and gendarmes occur at the intersection of ridges. The central peaks only have a few mosses , lichens , and small alpine plants growing in rock crevices. Further away from the central peaks, the volcanic plugs are covered in volcanic ash and soils. The vegetation growing on these peaks
10200-504: The clans was then led by a headman or the nation's spokesman. The Gĩkũyũ were – and still are – monotheists believing in an omnipotent Creator whom they refer to as Ngai . All of the Gĩkũyũ, Embu, and Kamba use this name. Ngai was also known as Mũrungu by the Meru and Embu tribes, or Mũlungu (a variant of a word referring to the Creator). The title Mwathani or Mwathi (the greatest ruler) comes from
10336-510: The colonial government was short-lived. He was exiled to Kismayu the following year, and it was not until 1924 that the Kikuyu Central Association (KCA) was formed to carry on with Thuku's campaign. From 1924, the Kikuyu Central Association (KCA), with Jomo Kenyatta as its Secretary General focused on unifying the Kikuyu into one geographic polity, but its project was undermined by controversies over ritual tribute, land allocation,
10472-401: The colonial government. When disputes with white settlers and the Agikuyu became violent (usually over land issues), the settlers would employ Maasai tribesmen together with some colonial troops to carry out their fighting for them. The Maasai had historically negative relations with the Agikuyu, and thus were willing to take up arms against them. The various conflicts between the settlers and
10608-515: The common paternal haplogroup E1b1a . The remainder carry other clades : 19% E1b1b with E-M293 contributing 11%, 2% A , and 2% B . In terms of maternal lineages, Gĩkũyũs closely cluster with other Northeast Bantu speaking groups like the Kamba . Most belong to various Africa-centered mtDNA macro-haplogroup L lineages such as L0f , L3x , L4g and L5 per Castrì et al. (2009). Kikuyu were estimated by Tishkoff et al. to have 43% ancestry from
10744-608: The company and buried alive in revenge. Following severe financial difficulties of the British East Africa Company, the British government on 1 July 1895 established direct Crown rule through the East African Protectorate , subsequently opening in 1902 the fertile highlands to European emigrants. The Agikuyu, upset at the waves of emigrants, enforced a policy of killing any of their own that collaborated with
10880-435: The earliest recorded lists by McGregor reads (list taken from a history of unchanged) Manjiri , Mandũti , Chiera , Masai , Mathathi , Ndemi , Iregi , Maina , Mwangi , Mũirũngũ . According to Hobley (a historian) each initiation generation, riika , extended over two years. The ruling generation at the arrival of the Europeans was called Maina . It is said that Maina handed over to Mwangi in 1898. Hobley asserts that
11016-440: The ecosystem. Some smaller mammals, such as the groove-toothed rat , can live here by burrowing into the giant senecios and using their thick stem of dead leaves as insulation. The Mount Kenya mole-rat Tachyoryctes rex occurs at high altitudes, living in visible mounds. Leopards are resident in the alpine zone. Other mammal species are only occasional visitors. Remains of elephants, monkeys, and bongo have been found high in
11152-536: The elder daughter (Wanjirũ according to Leakey) of the original Gĩkũyũ of Gĩkũyũ and Mũmbi fame. After he was deposed, it was decided that the government should be democratic, which is how the Ituĩka came to be. This legend of course calls into question exactly when it was that the matrilineal rule set in. The last Ituĩka ceremony, where the riika of Maina handed over power to the Mwangi generation, took place in 1898–9. The next one
11288-452: The eldest in the community would perform the rites. Children in the community had a link to God through their parents and that chain would move upwards to parent parents, ancestors, first created parents until it reaches God Himself. The Gĩkũyũ people believed the departed spirits of the ancestors can be reborn again in this world when children are being born, hence the rites performed during the child naming ceremonies. The Gĩkũyũ people believed
11424-688: The fierce debate among linguists about the word "Bantu", Seidensticker (2024) indicates that there has been a "profound conceptual trend in which a "purely technical [term] without any non-linguistic connotations was transformed into a designation referring indiscriminately to language, culture, society, and race"." Bantu languages derive from the Proto-Bantu reconstructed language, estimated to have been spoken about 4,000 to 3,000 years ago in West / Central Africa (the area of modern-day Cameroon). They were supposedly spread across Central, East and Southern Africa in
11560-721: The following sets were grouped under Maina – Kĩnũthia , Karanja , Njũgũna , Kĩnyanjui , Gathuru and Ng'ang'a . Professor Mũriũki however puts these sets much earlier, namely Karanja and Kĩnũthia belong to the Ciira ruling generation which ruled from the year 1722 to 1756, give or take 25 years, according to Mũriũki . Njũgũna , Kĩnyanjui , Ng'ang'a belong to the Mathathi ruling generation that ruled from 1757 to 1791, give or take 20 years, according to Mũriũki. Professor Mũriũki's list must be given precedence in this area as he conducted extensive research in this area starting 1969, and had
11696-447: The former president of the moderate Kikuyu Central Association, became president of the more aggressive KAU to demand a greater political voice for the native inhabitants. The failure of the KAU to attain any significant reforms or redress of grievances from the colonial authorities shifted the political initiative to younger and more militant figures within the African trade union movement, among
11832-482: The glaciers have recently retreated from is nival zone . It is the area that plants have not yet been able to colonise. The flora found on Mount Kenya varies with altitude, aspect, and exposure. As the altitude increases, the plants have to be more specialised, with adaptations to strong sunlight with ultraviolet , lower mean temperatures, and freezing night temperatures. Plants in the Afro-alpine zone have overcome these difficulties in several ways. One adaptation
11968-554: The glaciers. The lowest moraine is found at around 3,300 m (10,800 ft). Today the glaciers reach no lower than 4,650 m (15,260 ft). After studying the moraines, Gregory put forward the theory that at one time the whole summit of the mountain was covered with an ice cap , and it was this that eroded the peaks to how they are today. The lower slopes of the mountain have never been glaciated. They are now mainly cultivated and forested. They are distinguished by steep-sided V-shaped valleys with many tributaries. Higher up
12104-438: The greatest life force, those closest to God were the first parents created by God because God directly gave them the vital living force. These first parents were so respected to be treated almost like God himself. These were followed by the ancestors of the people who inherited life force from the first parents, then followed by the immediate dead and finally the eldest in the community. Hence when people wanted to offer sacrifices,
12240-418: The ground draws in more water. There are blockfields present around 4,000 m (13,123 ft) where the ground has cracked to form hexagons. Solifluction occurs when the night temperatures freeze the soil before it thaws again in the morning. This daily expansion and contraction of the soil prevent the establishment of vegetation. Mount Kenya is the main water catchment area for two large rivers in Kenya;
12376-517: The hillside. This area is therefore characterised by frequent deep fluvial V-shaped valleys. The gradual transition from glaciated to the fluvial valley can be clearly observed. Rivers that start on Mount Kenya are the tributaries of two large Kenyan rivers: the Tana and the Ewaso Ng'iro rivers. A lot of Mount Kenyan rivers flow into the Sagana which itself is a tributary of the Tana, which joins at
12512-469: The incorporation of Khoekhoe ancestry into several of the Southeast Bantu populations ~1500 to 1000 years ago. Bantu-speaking migrants would have also interacted with some Afro-Asiatic outlier groups in the southeast (mainly Cushitic ), as well as Nilotic and Central Sudanic speaking groups. According to the early-split scenario as hypothesized in the 1990s, the southward dispersal had reached
12648-818: The initiation sets were a way of documenting events within the Gĩkũyũ nation, so, for example, were the occurrence of smallpox and syphilis recorded. Girls' initiation sets were also accorded special names, although there has been little research in this area. Mũriũki only unearths three sets, whose names are, Rũharo [1894], Kibiri/Ndũrĩrĩ [1895], Kagica [1896], Ndutu/Nuthi [1897]. All these names are taken from Metumi (Mũrang'a) and Kabete Kĩambu . Mathew Njoroge Kabetũ's list reads, Tene , Kĩyĩ , Aagu , Ciĩra , Mathathi , Ndemi , Iregi , Maina ( Ngotho ), Mwangi . Gakaara wa Wanjaũ's list reads Tene , Nema Thĩ , Kariraũ , Aagu , Tiru , Cuma , Ciira , Ndemi , Mathathi , Iregi , Maina , Mwangi , Irũngũ , Mwangi wa Mandũti . The last two generations came after 1900. One of
12784-404: The initiation. For example, Wainaina refers to those who shivered during circumcision. Kũinaina (to shake or to shiver). There was a very important ceremony known as Ituĩka in which the old guard would hand over the reins of government to the next generation. This was to avoid dictatorship. Kenyatta related how once, in the land of the Agĩkũyũ, there ruled a despotic King called Gĩkũyũ, grandson of
12920-638: The land, capturing British supplies, and remaining undefeated. He eventually surrendered in Zambia eleven days after the Armistice was signed in 1918. To chase von Lettow-Vorbeck, the British deployed Indian Army troops from India and then needed large numbers of porters to overcome the formidable logistics of transporting supplies far into the interior by foot. The Carrier Corps was formed and ultimately mobilised over 400,000 Africans, contributing to their long-term politicisation. The experiences gained by Africans in
13056-496: The larger group known as Thagicu. By the 6th century, there was a community of Agikuyu newly established at Gatung'ang'a in Nyeri . The Agikuyu established themselves in their current homeland of Mt. Kenya region by the 13th century. Before the establishment of East Africa Protectorate in 1895, the Agĩkũyũ preserved geographic and political power from almost all external influence for many generations; they had never been subdued. Before
13192-489: The local and national economies, preserving an area of great scenic beauty, conserving the biodiversity within the park, and preserving the water catchment for the surrounding area. Kenya's government has announced a project to discourage animals from straying into small holdings surrounding the Park and devastating crops, which will see the Park enclosed by an electric fence with five electrified strands. Kenya's Rhino Ark Trust,
13328-544: The mid-2010s (roughly 30% of the population of Africa , or roughly 5% of the total world population ). About 60 million speakers (2015), divided into some 200 ethnic or tribal groups, are found in the Democratic Republic of the Congo alone. The larger of the individual Bantu groups have populations of several million, e.g.the large majority of West Africa, notably the most populous African nation Nigeria , Rwanda , Tanzania , Uganda , Kenya , Burundi (25 million),
13464-473: The mountain and described what they considered to be the crater . In 1893 Gregory's expedition reached the Lewis Glacier at 5,000 m (16,400 ft). He confirmed that the volcano was extinct and that there were glaciers present. The first thorough survey by Europeans was not undertaken until 1966. The peaks of Mount Kenya are almost all of volcanic origin. The majority of the peaks are located near
13600-436: The mountain are Batian (5,199 metres (17,057 feet)), Nelion (5,188 m (17,021 ft)) and Point Lenana (4,985 m (16,355 ft)). Mount Kenya is located in the former Eastern and Central provinces of Kenya; its peak is now the intersection of Meru , Embu , Kirinyaga , Nyeri and Tharaka Nithi counties, about 16.5 kilometres (10.3 miles) south of the equator , around 150 km (90 mi) north-northeast of
13736-447: The mountain at the beginning of time. The Maasai name for Mount Kenya is Ol Donyo Keri , which means 'mountain of stripes', referring to the dark shades as observed from the surrounding plains. At least one Maasai prayer refers to Mount Kenya: God bless our children, let them be like the olive tree of Morintat, let them grow and expand, let them be like Ngong Hills like Mt. Kenya, like Mt. Kilimanjaro and multiply in number. Mount Kenya
13872-421: The mountain at the time of the first recorded ascent in 1899, and again more recently; the retreat of the glaciers is very evident. Descriptions of ascents of several of the peaks advise the use of crampons, but this is true only in some cases and at higher elevations. Every year there is less new snow accumulating in winter than melting in summer, even on the Lewis Glacier (the largest of them) in winter, so there
14008-413: The mountain most of the precipitation falls as snow. Combined, these water sources feed 11 glaciers . The current climate on Mount Kenya is wet, but drier than it has been in the past. The temperatures span a wide range, which diminishes with altitude. In the lower alpine zone temperature usually do not go below 12 °C (54 °F). Snow and rain are common from March to December, but especially in
14144-405: The mountain symbolically represent a crown on God's habitation. Kikuyu used to build their houses with doors facing the mountain. The Kikuyu name for Mount Kenya is Kirima Kĩrĩ Nyaga (Mt. Kirinyaga), which literally translates to the mountain that has the "Nyaga" – Ostriches. The mountain, therefore, is locally accepted as 'God's Resting Place' or 'Where God Lives'. The Kikuyu name for Mt. Kenya
14280-411: The mountain, in the area that is now moorland, the valleys become U-shaped and shallower with flatter bottoms. These were created by glaciation. When Mount Kenya was active there was some satellite activity. The northeastern side of the mountain has many old volcanic plugs and craters. The largest of these, Ithanguni, even had its own ice cap when the main peaks were covered in ice. This can be seen by
14416-414: The mountain. They are generally agricultural and also keep livestock and occupy what is among the most fertile land in Kenya. The Meru god Murungu was from the skies. Their name for Mt. Kenya is Kirimaara , which means 'mountain with white features'. The Maasai are semi-nomadic people, who use the land to the north of the mountain to graze their cattle. They believe that their ancestors came down from
14552-635: The outbreak of war in August 1914, the governors of British East Africa (as the Protectorate was generally known) and German East Africa agreed to a truce in an attempt to keep the young colonies out of direct hostilities. However, Lt. Col Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck took command of the German military forces, determined to tie down as many British resources as possible. Completely cut off from Germany , von Lettow conducted an effective guerrilla warfare campaign, living off
14688-442: The parents belonged to. Naming them after the specific clan that the parents belonged to would have severely restricted naming options. This would strangely mean that the female names are the oldest in Gĩkũyũ land, further confirming its matrilineal descent. As far as male names are concerned, there is of course the chicken and the egg question, of when a name specifically appeared but some names are tied to events that happened during
14824-465: The peaks of the mountain. Translated to the Kamba language, kĩrĩnyaga, would be ki nyaa . This is the name that Ludwig Krapf was given when he sighted the mountain from Kitui (in Kamba county). He recorded it as Kenya. It became the name of not only the mountain but also the country. The Embu people live to the south-east of Mount Kenya, and believe that the mountain is God's home (the Embu word for God
14960-419: The people, their families, their farm produce, their cattle and their land. This person was hence thought to be closer to God than anybody else living in that nation. The said person also had to demonstrate and practice the highest levels of truth ( maa ) and justice ( kihooto ), just like the supreme God of the Gĩkũyũ people would do. The Agĩkũyũ had four seasons and two harvests in one year. Further, time
15096-542: The plants decrease in size again. The majority of animals live lower down on the slopes of Mount Kenya. Here there is more vegetation and the climate is less extreme. Various species of monkeys, several antelopes, tree hyrax, porcupines, and some larger animals such as elephants and buffalo all live in the forest. Predators found here include hyenas and leopards, and occasionally lions. There are fewer mammals found at high altitudes on Mount Kenya. The Mount Kenya hyrax and common duiker can live here, and are important to
15232-983: The range of Cushitic speakers. Based on dental evidence, Irish (2016) concluded: Proto-Bantu peoples may have originated in the western region of the Sahara , amid the Kiffian period at Gobero , and may have migrated southward, from the Sahara into various parts of West Africa (e.g., Benin , Cameroon , Ghana , Nigeria , Togo ), as a result of desertification of the Green Sahara in 7000 BCE. From Nigeria and Cameroon, agricultural Proto-Bantu peoples began to migrate , and amid migration, diverged into East Bantu peoples (e.g., Democratic Republic of Congo ) and West Bantu peoples (e.g., Congo, Gabon ) between 2500 BCE and 1200 BCE. Irish (2016) also views Igbo people and Yoruba people as being possibly back-migrated Bantu peoples. Between
15368-1941: The reflexes of * bantʊ in the numerous languages often have connotations of personal character traits as encompassed under the values system of ubuntu , also known as hunhu in Chishona or botho in Sesotho , rather than just referring to all human beings. The root in Proto-Bantu is reconstructed as *-ntʊ́ . Versions of the word Bantu (that is, the root plus the class 2 noun class prefix *ba- ) occur in all Bantu languages: for example, as bantu in Kikongo , Kituba , Tshiluba and Kiluba ; watu in Swahili ; ŵanthu in Tumbuka ; anthu in Chichewa ; batu in Lingala ; bato in Duala ; abanto in Gusii ; andũ in Kamba and Kikuyu ; abantu in Kirundi , Lusoga , Zulu , Xhosa , Runyoro and Luganda ; wandru in Shingazidja ; abantru in Mpondo and Ndebele ; bãthfu in Phuthi ; bantfu in Swati and Bhaca ; banhu in kisukuma ; banu in Lala ; vanhu in Shona and Tsonga ; batho in Sesotho , Tswana and Sepedi ; antu in Meru ; andu in Embu ; vandu in some Luhya dialects; vhathu in Venda and bhandu in Nyakyusa . Within
15504-566: The region between Cameroon and Nigeria, two main scenarios of the Bantu expansion were hypothesized: an early expansion to Central Africa and a single origin of the dispersal radiating from there, or an early separation into an eastward and a southward wave of dispersal, with one wave moving across the Congo Basin toward East Africa, and another moving south along the African coast and the Congo River system toward Angola. Genetic analysis shows
15640-428: The region surrounding the mountain. Currently, the national park is within the forest reserve which encircles it. In April 1978 the area was designated a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve . The national park and the forest reserve, combined, became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997. The Government of Kenya had four reasons for creating a national park on and around Mount Kenya. These were the importance of tourism for
15776-485: The resources necessary for life: land, rain, plants, and animals. Ngai cannot be seen but is manifested in the sun, moon, stars, comets and meteors, thunder and lightning, rain, rainbows, and in the great fig trees (Mugumo). These trees served as places of worship and sacrifice and marked the spot at Mũkũrwe Wa Nyagathanga where Gĩkũyũ and Mũmbi – the ancestors of the Gĩkũyũ in the oral legend – first settled. Ngai has human characteristics, and although some say that he lives in
15912-520: The same time that the Black Consciousness Movement led by Steve Biko and others were defining "Black" to mean all non-European South Africans (Bantus, Khoisan, Coloureds and Indians ). In modern South Africa, the word's connection to apartheid has become so discredited that it is only used in its original linguistic meaning. Examples of South African usages of "Bantu" include: [REDACTED] This article incorporates text from
16048-433: The sky or in the clouds, Gĩkũyũ lore also says that Ngai comes to earth from time to time to inspect it, bestow blessings, and mete out punishment. When he comes, Ngai rests on Mount Kenya (Kīrīnyaga) and Kilimambogo (kĩrĩma kĩa njahĩ). Thunder is interpreted to be the movement of Ngai and lightning is the weapon used by Ngai to clear the way when moving from one sacred place to another. Some people believe that Ngai's abode
16184-593: The sky. They believe that the mountain is Ngai's throne on earth. It is the place where Gĩkũyũ, the father of the tribe, used to meet with God. Thus according to the Kikuyu records, Gĩkũyũ is the first person on Earth to ascend the mountain. 'Mwene Nyaga' in the Kikuyu language can also translate as the "Owner of the Ostriches" or "Owner of the white patches (of snow)" where 'Mwene' translates to 'owner', and 'Nyaga' to Ostriches or white patches. The snow (in Kikuyu: Ira) caps of
16320-402: The smoothed summit of the peak. Circular hills with steep sides are also frequent in this area, which are probably the remains of small plugged vents . However, as the remaining mountain is roughly symmetrical , most of the activity must have occurred at the central plug. The rocks that form Mount Kenya are mainly basalts , rhomb porphyrites , phonolites , kenytes and trachytes . Kenyte
16456-519: The so-called Bantu expansion , comparatively rapid dissemination taking roughly two millennia and dozens of human generations during the 1st millennium BC and the 1st millennium AD. Scientists from the Institut Pasteur and the CNRS, together with a broad international consortium, retraced the migratory routes of the Bantu populations, which were previously a source of debate. The scientists used data from
16592-562: The squatters on the settler estates in the Rift Valley and in KAU branches in Nairobi and the Kikuyu districts of central province. By 1952, under Field Marshal Dedan Kimathi , the Kenya Land and Freedom Army (Mau Mau) launched an all-out revolt against the colonial government, the settlers and their Kenyan allies. By this time, the Mau Mau were fighting for complete independence of Kenya. The war
16728-593: The two official languages of Kenya. The Gĩkũyũ are closely related to some Bantu communities due to intermarriages prior to colonization. These communities are the Embu, Meru, and Akamba people who also live around Mt. Kenya. Members of the Gĩkũyũ family from the greater Kiambu (commonly referred to as the Kabete) and Nyeri districts are closely related to the Maasai people also due to intermarriage prior to colonization. The Gĩkũyũ people between Thika and Mbeere are closely related to
16864-448: The universe. To the Gĩkũyũ people, everything we see has an inner spiritual force and the most sacred though unspoken ontology was being is force. This spiritual vital force originated from God, who had the power to create or destroy that life force. To the Gĩkũyũ people, God was the supreme being in the universe and the giver (Mũgai/Ngai) of this life force to everything that exists. Gĩkũyũ people also believed that everything God created had
17000-491: The vital life force or soul of a person can be increased or diminished, thereby affecting the person's health. They also believed that some people possessed power to manipulate the inner force in all things. These people who increased the well-being of a person spirit were called medicine-men (Mũgo) while those who diminished the person's life force were called witchdoctors (Mũrogi). They also believed that ordinary items can have their spiritual powers increased such that they protect
17136-555: The war, coupled with the creation of the white-dominated Kenya Crown Colony, gave rise to considerable political activity in the 1920s which culminated in Archdeacon Owen's "Piny Owacho" (Voice of the People) movement and the "Young Kikuyu Association" (renamed the "East African Association") started in 1921 by Harry Thuku (1895–1970), which gave a sense of nationalism to many Kikuyu and advocated civil disobedience. Thuku's campaign against
17272-453: The wet and dry seasons in the Kenyan lowlands. As Mount Kenya ranges in height from 1,374 to 5,199 m (4,508 to 17,057 ft), the climate varies considerably over the mountain and has different zones of influence. The lower, southeastern slopes are the wettest as the predominant weather system comes from the Indian ocean. This rainfall supports dense montane forests on these slopes. High on
17408-477: The word gwatha meaning to rule or reign with authority, was and is still used. All sacrifices to Ngai were performed under a sycamore tree (Mũkũyũ) and if one was not available, a fig tree (Mũgumo) would be used. The olive tree (Mũtamaiyũ) was a sacred tree for women. Ngai or Mwene-Nyaga is the Supreme Creator and giver of all things. He created the first Gĩkũyũ communities, and provided them with all
17544-465: Was first introduced into modern academia (as Bâ-ntu ) by Wilhelm Bleek in 1857 or 1858 and popularised in his Comparative Grammar of 1862. The name was said to be coined to represent the word for "people" in loosely reconstructed Proto-Bantu, from the plural noun class prefix *ba- categorizing "people", and the root *ntʊ̀ - "some (entity), any" (e.g. Xhosa umntu "person" abantu "people", Zulu umuntu "person", abantu "people"). There
17680-539: Was first reported by Gregory in 1900 following his study of the geology of Mount Kenya. The geology of the Mount Kenya area was first described scientifically by Joseph Thomson in 1883. He saw the mountain from the nearby Laikipia Plateau and wrote that it was an extinct volcano with the plug exposed. However, as he had only seen the mountain from a distance his description was not widely believed in Europe, particularly after 1887 when Teleki and von Höhnel ascended
17816-461: Was recorded through the initiation by circumcision . Each initiation group was given a special name. According to Professor Godfrey Mũriũki, the individual initiation sets are then grouped into a regiment every nine calendar years. Before a regiment or army was set, there was a period in which no initiation of boys took place. This period lasted a total of four and a half calendar years (nine seasons in Gĩkũyũ land, each season referred to as imera ) and
17952-418: Was referred to as mũhingo .) Karanja (1759–1762), Kĩnũthia (1772–1775), Ndũrĩrĩ (1785–1788), Mũgacho (1798–1801), Njoroge (1811–1814), Kang'ethe (1824–1827), Gitaũ (1837–1840), Manyaki (1850–1853), Kiambũthi (1863–1866), Watuke (1876–1879), Ngũgĩ (1889–1892), Wakanene (1902–1905). The remarkable thing in this list in comparison to the Metumi one is how some of the same names are used, if
18088-433: Was supposed to be held in 1925–1928 [Kenyatta] but was thwarted by the colonial imperialist government and one by one Gĩkũyũ institutions crumbled. The ruling generations, the rĩĩka system can be traced back to the year 1500 AD or thereabouts. These were: The last Ituĩka ceremony where the rĩĩka of Maina handed over power to the Mwangi generation, took place in 1898–1899. The next one was supposed to be held in 1925–1928 but
18224-449: Was the result of several factors such as a denser population (which led to more specialized divisions of labor, including military power while making emigration more difficult); technological developments in economic activity; and new techniques in the political-spiritual ritualisation of royalty as the source of national strength and health. Examples of such Bantu states include: the Kingdom of Kongo , Anziku Kingdom , Kingdom of Ndongo ,
18360-546: Was thwarted by the colonial government. The traditional symbols of power among the Agikuyu nation is the Muthĩgi (Stick) which signifies power to lead and the Itimũ (Spear) signifying power to call people to war. The traditional way of life of Agikuyu was disrupted when they came into contact with the British around 1888. British explorers had visited the region prior the " Scramble for Africa ", and now various individuals moved to establish
18496-438: Was worshiped and praised to either increase the life force of all things (farm produce, cattle, children) the Gĩkũyũ people possessed and minimize events that led to catastrophes that would diminish the life force of the people or lead to death. The leader of the Gĩkũyũ people was the person who was thought to possess the greatest life force among the people or the person who had demonstrated the greatest life force in taking care of
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