Kikuyu culture pdf file

Kikuyu history and cultural relations the kikuyu share common historical roots with the kamba, embu, mbere, tharaka, and meru. Although, among the prominent music of the kikuyu tribe include ketebul, mugithi, kukiyi country and benga. These are respected among the people and they give direction in matters concerning their culture and values. The social and cultural aspects of mental health in. The music and culture of the kikuyu tribe fsu world music.

Today, music and dance are strong components of kikuyu culture. Kikuyu tribe of kenya, language, music, women, people. Genetic grouping and related languages kikuyu or gikuyu. Pdf the creation of gikuyu image and identity researchgate. The attitudes of kikuyu women toward polygyny are varied. The land and people of kenya provided me with much needed details on kikuyu culture and life. The culture of the kikuyu tribe is heavily influenced by music and instruments throughout their daily life. Kikuyu tribe, people, language, culture and traditions. Kikuyu is a vigorous, prostrate, rhizomatous and stoloniferous perennial that spreads readily and forms dense swards ecocrop, 2010. Culture and customs of kenya south african history online. Euphemisms on body effluvia in kikuyu arc journals. On ethnoterrorism, politics and the future of kenya. Unfortunately, no really detailed study of their agesystems has been published. Gikuyu history is publicly enacted so as to provide a sense of community solidarity.

The kikuyu people usually identify their lands by the surrounding mountain ranges in central kenya which they call kirinyaga. The girls also have the responsibility of taking care of a baby brother or sister and also helping the mother out with household chores. Kikuyu dancers wearing traditional costumes sitting under tree, kenya according to a kikuyu proverb, if an owls cry is heard, it is a. The case from muranga distrinct in kenya yoko ishii tokyo metropolitan university abstract this paper studies the reproduction of the kikuyu people and family planning program in kenya. Transformation of kikuyu traditional architecture university staff. Approx 17% of population of kenya is kikuyu people. Many dances and songs, called mambura rituals or divine services, take place during initiation ceremonies. Routledge, writing in the early 1900s noted that all the kikuyu clans in his locality took their male children through a ceremony that reenacted a birth. He was said to have ninefull technically 10 but the number is considered a taboo in kikuyu culture daughters. The kikuyu tribe, also spelled as gikuyu, is the largest ethnic group in kenya, making up about of the countries total population. It is believed that the kikuyu people migrated from lake chad to east africa in ad, settling in the fertile central highlands of kenya and engaging in farming. In every gikuyu traditional homestead, the womans house, nyumba, belonged to a specific married woman for no two married women shared a nyumba. It was also taboo to eat fish and birds like chicken and ducks.

Before 1888 and well into the 1920s, kikuyu music included kibaata, nduumo and muthunguci. The author, a kikuyu himself, was the grandson of a seer and a leader of his own age group. There was actually a tenth daughter but the kikuyu considered it to be bad luck to say the number ten. In kikuyu, each family lives together in what is commonly known as a homestead. Kikuyu culture the largest of kenyas tribes, the kikuyu tribe live in area around mount kenya where, at the dawn the colonial era, they came into violent conflict with the european settlers, to whom large tracts of kikuyu people homeland had been apportioned by the colonial government. Kenya is famous for its 42 cultures, but other than the nomadic maasai and samburu, not many of these are widely known to. They are 22% of kenyas population and are of bantu ethnicity. Kikiyu dice, database for indigenous cultural evolution.

Kenya is famous for its 42 cultures, but other than the nomadic maasai and samburu, not many of these are widely known to the outside world. Jul 17, 2015 the kikuyu are the largest ethnic group in kenya. Africans regard culture as essential to their lives and future development. Kenyattas facing mount kenya, published in 1938 after kenyatta, then in his forties, had studied for three years with bronislaw malinowski. Traditional kikuyu music has existed for generations up to 1888, when the agikuyu people encountered and adopted a new culture from the europeans. Since the middle of the 1980s, the number of children in a kikuyu household has. The kikuyu central association kca, led by james beauttah and joseph kangethe, was a political organisation in colonial kenya formed in 1924 to act on behalf of the gikuyu community by presenting their concerns to the british government. The gikuyu attribute their ultimate origins to sacred intervention by their god ngai who sometimes resides on mount kenya which, for the gikuyu, is a sacred place. Kikuyu songs from my childhood this was originally posted on thoughts and stuff in.

Kikuyu way of interpretation and choice in family planning is an important key. This process of interaction shapes the infant into a human being with a social selfperceptions we have of who we are. Men and women live in different houses, and two married women cannot inhabit one house. Their own name for themselves is gikuyu, or agikuyu. Out of this process of inter action, a child learns its culture and becomes a member of society.

Much of their history has been passed on from generation to generation in the form of songs and stories. The country of kenya is composed of a melting pot of different tribes and religious groups making kenya a very diverse nation. First, it is believed the kikuyus came from central africa, where all the bantus once lived. They are kenyas most popular and the largest ethnic tribe, making up 22 percent of the countrys population the kikuyus, also known as gikuyu or agikuyu, have been known since the colonial times as a tribe that wields a lot of political and economic influence in kenya kikuyus speak the kikuyu language, and most of them live around the fertile central highlands and mount kenya where they. San antonio expressnews dubbed the hub of the hills, fredericksburg, texas has reigned as the hallmark of german hill country culture, historical and quaint, for generations. Education is held very highly in kikuyu culture, and it is very important that children. The agikuyu can be traced from the bahrelgaza where they originally migrated and spread to other parts of the continent.

The capability of kikuyu grass to grow under saline conditions was tested during 6 months, under various irrigation treatments tap water control, 80. In other societies, especially among the kikuyu, young men of warrior age were often the first schoolgoers and the first wage laborers. Mythically, the nation of the agikuyu came from two original parents who were created by god, namely gikuyu and mumbi. Traditional kikuyu religion involved ngai one god who was said to live in the sky and resided in mt. All kikuyu clans are headed by women and according the myth of origin, gikuyu and mumbi had only daughters and gikuyu had to sacrifice to god ngai in order to get men to marry his daughters. Kikuyu gikuyu kikuyu is a bantu language spoken mainly in the central province of kenya between nyeri and nairobi.

Shaw represents leakey as a fairminded colonial administrator. Mar 06, 2017 twa twa teachings for married couples special couples dinner. Gikuyu boys continue to be circumcised, a practice widespread in africa and many other parts of the world as well. The kikuyu tribe live in large round hutlike houses referred to as nyumba, having only one entrance. Gikuyu is a language of the bantu family spoken primarily by the kikuyu people agikuyu of kenya. There are two theories explaining where the kikuyu came from. The social and cultural aspects of mental health in african societies p i c t u r e. Culture embodies their philosophy, worldview, behavior patterns, arts, and institutions. As the previous chapter indicated, young kikuyu were recruited by chiefs and formed a paraadministrative and military organization essential to early colonial change. Dec 29, 2017 who are the kikuyu the kikuyu are the largest single ethnic tribe in kenya, making up 22% of the countrys population. Although some of the kikuyu culture has eroded, the kikuyu language is still predominantly spoken, especially in the urban areas where a majority of people speak english and swahili. The girls are raised to work in the farm and the boys usually work with the animals.

Kikuyu, bantuspeaking people who live in the highland area of southcentral kenya, near mount kenya. Mother tongue of kikuyu people is bantu kikuyu language. The third son applied fire to stones and metals and became a blacksmith. The start of an armadillo race in fredericksburg at the 300 millionth birthday party for the animals in photo. On the southern kikuyu before 1903, canadian journal of african studies, volume 23, issue 3, 1990, pp. When a kikuyu child was old enough to receive religious instructions, the cartilage of his ears was pierced and three sticks called ndugira were. The books in this series intend to capture the comprehensiveness of african culture and customs, dwelling on such important aspects as religion. Kikuyu simple english wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Paying a dowry bride price is still an important aspect of their culture. A qualitative examination of traditional sex roles in maai mahiu, kenya by abbey a. In the kikuyu culture boys and girls are raised very differently.

Inroduction kikuyu community is the largest tribe among the 42 tribes found in kenya. Popular kikuyu musicians include young mbugua, joseph kamaru, dk, wanganangu, hm, rugweti wa njeri, dmathew, peter. Age grades traditionally there was a circumcision ceremony for boys and girls by age grades of about fiveyear periods. Kikuyu tribe of kenya, language, music, women, people, houses. For the purpose of the present paper, the researchers purposively decided to. Migrating from the north, the thagicu settled in the mount kenya region sometime between the twelfth and fourteenth centuries.

A new cultural centre devoted to the kikuyu, kenyas largest offers a unique experience of this tradition rich culture existing in a modern world. The kikuyu community has a lot of myths stories and legends about their origin and their creator. Beginning with the first meeting of the two tribes about 1750, the masai inflicted great damage on the kikuyu while both were resident on the plains near mount kenya. 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. Each volume then proceeds to examine the various aspects of culture and customs. Kikuyu history says that the kikuyu god, ngai, took gikuyu to the top of kirinyaga and told him to stay and build his home there. The kikuyu language has almost become kenyas third language of choice. The first major work on kikuyu culture in kikuyu language by a distinguished. Kiama kia magegania sammy irungu so today i was bent on clearing some work from a quiet a walk around kikuyu you know how you ignore spectacular things right in fro mukimo wa njahi so this is mashed ripe bananas and njahi. The kikuyu diet was mainly from agricultural produce. There is a vigorous kikuyu recording industry, for both popular and gospel music, in their pentatonic scale and western music styles. He was the general secretary of the kikuyu central association and the founder of the first kikuyu journal, mui gwithania, and acted as the spokesman of his people in dealing with the british government on tribal land matters. I am a member of the kikuyu tribe and even though this is great work, some of the facts are about the kenyan people and not necessarily about our culture.

Kikuyu people and the traditional ceremony of the second. Kenya with the presence of a cloud touching the mountain. All of these groups date back to a prototype population known as the thagicu. Clearly the rate of polygyny in kikuyu society is lower than other ethnic groups in kenya. According to prins, these two nyika tribes both use the same word riika as the kikuyu in defining the ageregiments. I would like to express passionate gratitude to the university of nairobi, school of the arts and design for providing a conducive learning atmosphere also to mr. Three out of the four presidents that have ruled kenya since after independence were all from kikuyu. Seth cable field methods fall 2010 ling 404 1 some basic facts about the kikuyu language 1. The tentative history of relations between the bantu kikuyu and the nilohamitic masai established in this paper suggests that both these theories err. A tribe having core values, a beautiful culture and mysterious beliefs are thrilling enough to keep you interested. They kept cattle and goats, but mainly for ritual purposes and as a currency for the purchase of goods and the payment of dowry. For the purpose of the present paper, the researchers purposively decided to use 10 out of the many effluvia. Please read, facing mount kenya by jomo kenyatta, it will give you all you want to know about the gikuyu people.

Music and dance are strong components of kikuyu culture. As we fulfill this aim, the study will also find out word formation processes that are involved in euphemized taboo words in kikuyu. It is palatable, resistant to heavy grazing and mostly used for pasture. Pdf the book examines the gikuyu people of kenya, their.

Polygynous families in the gishiru village represented 5 out of 60 households, and the. Currently, the modern kikuyu culture has the recreated kikuyu culture songs and music which are enhanced as per current music taste and standards. From the traditional music and cultures of kenya, a multimedia encyclopaedia dedicated to all kenyan tribes, including music and dance, history, culture, society, religion and beliefs, rituals and daily life, fables, legends, riddles and proverbs. In a polygamous homestead the number of nyumba corresponded to the number of wives unless the widowed mother of the man was also housed in the homestead. R o x a n n e v a n w i n s e n c o m m o n w e a l t h p h o t o g r a p h i c a w a r ds only 15 per cent of countries in the region have mental health programmes for the elderly. In the late 20th century the kikuyu numbered more than 4,400,000 and formed the largest ethnic group in kenya, approximately 20 percent of the total population. The music prepared by the kikuyu tribe is believed to be extinct now.

The kikuyu tribe has over the years, produced very influential and notable personalities in kenya. Like in the maasai community, the kikuyu were forbiden from eating wild animals. He was said to have ninefull technically 10 but the number is considered a taboo in kikuyu culture. Synopsis this is a small collection of kikuyu folk tales which i have heard personally from different narrators of the kikuyu tribe. Submitted to the graduate degree program in psychology and research in education and the graduate faculty of the university of kansas in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the. A read is counted each time someone views a publication summary such as the title, abstract, and list of authors, clicks on a figure, or views or downloads the fulltext. The kikuyu wikipedia website was a great place to start this research project. The book is a study of kenyattas own tribe, the kikuyu. One of its greatest grievances was the expropriation of the most productive land by british settlers from african farmers. Twa twa teachings for married couples special couples dinner. In his description of the old kikuyu 0 culture, jomo kenyatta reserved a wide section to an analysis of traditional rituals and beliefs. Kikuyu central association and the establishment of gikuyu.

A histoey of the kxiotyej to 1904 godfrey muriuki thesis. Kikuyu is spoken in the area between nyeri and nairobi. Three main elements provide the framework for social. Lawren historians of east africa have generally contented themselves with the simple statement that many of the bantu tribes of kenya and tanzania have borrowed certain cultural features from more aggressive nilohamitic tribes like the nandi and the masai. Kikuyu, also called gikuyu or agikuyu, bantuspeaking people who live in the highland area of southcentral kenya, near mount kenya.