The icy peak was the realm of ngai, the supreme creator, who descended from the heavens to his mountainous throne to survey his newly created lands. The couple had nine daughters who miraculously received nine men to marry them after their fathers prayers. Gikuyu is the adam and mumbi, literally, and the potter is the eve. The myths of the plateau tribes blame its origin on the interference of the trickster figure coyote. The term kikuyu is derived from the swahili form of the word gikuyu. This was the name of a greek god of water and rivers. The tonga are known to be the first bantu people to occupy zimbezi valley at around 1100 ad before spreading to the various countries they occupy today. The kikuyu ethnic group is a bantuspeaking people forming the largest group in kenya. Myth of origin man wanders, knee starts to swell 3 boys from knee boy 1 boy 2 boy 3. Kikuyu yaden africa african clothing african jewelry. In the olden days, any women whon was returned lived with the stench of being a divorced man. Maasai were told to hold the plains and keep livestock, g k y was told to live by agriculture, and dorobo to hunt game the kikuyu proper, the meru and the wakamba rd 3. The main kikuyu myth of origin kenyatta 1938, cagnolo 1933, and gathigira 1933 have all narrated the story of gikuyu and mumbi. A kikuyu man will never care that his son is a chokoraa.
The earliest inhabitants of the country now occupied by the kikuyu of whom any reliable information is obtainable were a people who call themselves the okiek. This couple had a total of nine daughters and they later got married to bring the kikuyu tribe to existence. According to kikuyu creation stories, ngai their god made a man, called gikuyu, and his wife, mumbi, and settled them on mount kenya. According to tales from kikuyu culture customs and traditions, they believed that their traditional god had put in the earth a man and a woman, who were named mumbi and kikuyu. The deepseated origins and widereaching lessons of ancient myths built the foundation for our modern legacies. Due to this negative attribute,a breed of young and irresponsible men have emerged in their backyard,who lack father figure. In cases of inheritance or succession, it is the latter or mothers title that is generally adopted. 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. Ol o d u mar e is the ancient name of the yoruba supreme being.
Kenyattas facing mount kenya, published in 1938 after kenyatta, then in his forties, had studied for three years with bronislaw malinowski. Kikuyu tribe of kenya, language, music, women, people. In addition to kikuyu baby names, at baby name world you will find thousands of other unique and popular male and female baby names and their meaning sorted by origin. As a study by most scholars and ethnologists on the subject of the luo ethnic group, the 21 st century citations are on the same accord with reference to southern sudan as the luo ethnic groups home and point of origin. According to kikuyu mythology, there were nine or nine plus one original clans. In africa, creation story, unlike ordinary epics, was not open to discussion to ordinary people because it touched on gods, men and magic. Origin aboriginal afghan african african american akan alaskan albanian algeria ancient arabic ancient egyptian ancient germanic ancient greek ancient roman ancient scandinavian ancient semitic anglo anglo american anglo british anglo french anglo norman anglo saxon arabic arabic french aramaic argentina arican hausa.
Nov, 2008 the gikuyu myth of origin like other myths of origin relates a garden of eden scenario where god comes into the picture. In creation of man, ngai put a special attention to man than the rest of creation. Wanjir, wamb i, njeri, wanjik, nyamb ra, wairim, waith ra, wangar, andwang g k y had to sacrifice to god mwenenyaga or ngai to get husbands for the daughters. One of the most popular african myths and legends is the one that has long been told about the yoruba tribe of nigeria, where people are expected to return to the clan in the form of a newborn baby, and who a child is can be determined by its resemblance to the original person. In kamba culture, the family is central to the life of the community. If your wife is a career woman then from today know that someone in her office has a thing with her. Ornamental name derived from swedish al alder and berg mountain. The couple had nine daughters who later married and. The nucleus of the people called kikuyu today came from the land of ancient egypt, during the reign of pharaoh akhenaten. This is a list of surnames in which the origin is old norse. There is no worse crime than murder and the spirits of the kikuyu people know how to make murderers pay.
The main kikuyu myth of origin god made g k y and m mbi andplaced him near mount kenya at a place called m k rwewagathanga g k y and m mbi had 9 daughters but no sons. Mami wata is the term most used to refer to mermaid entity in african culture. The kikuyu do not have a tradition of a migration from egypt. The ngoma only rests when the murderer turns himself in to the police. The daughters married and had their own families, retaining a domineering role in kikuyu society. Kikuyu is spoken in the area between nyeri and nairobi. Concerns and fears the kenyan creation myth bibliography archetypes the tribe seemed to be concerned with their population diminishing. It took others more than one hundred years to join their kin. Kikuyu creation myth gikuyu centre for cultural studies. Explore the mythologies of europe, the americas, asia, africa, and the middle east.
Each clan traced its descent back to a specific female ancestor. Discover how, despite geographical implausibilities, many myths from across the oceans share themes. Contents ix fon, 110 fulani, 111 garo achik, 111 gilbert islands, 112 gnostic, 1 gond, 114 greek, 116 guarani, 120 haida, 121 hawaiian, 123 hebrew, 124. Notes on the origin and history of the kikuyu and dorobo tribes.
People would come to him to learn the future, to be healed, or to be freed from ill omens. Hence, this is an android application based on this language and the best part it is free without. Kikuyu, meru, gumba and chuka myths of origin owlcation. At a population of 8,148,668 as of 2019, they account for 17. This was also an epithet of her granddaughter, the moon goddess artemis. It is believed by the kikuyu people that during the creation of this planet as the earth had trembled, a mysterious dense cloud had stood covering the whole land, it was believed to be mugaingai who is also believed to be the divider of the universe had descended into this planet. The origin of death is a common theme in native american mythology. How kikuyu, a bantu settlement could come from gikuyu is not only probable, but fallacious. At first he thought it was a boil, but the swelling grew bigger and heavier by the day, until the old man could barely walk. As different kikuyu settled in different areas, a clan structure emerged.
One man named mugikuyu mundu helped to put an end to colonialism, but not before a radical kikuyu group led a fight against the british troops stationed in kenya. While in bantu mythology the universe and the animals are eternal, so that there are no creation myths about their origin. Kikuyus believed it was their traditional god who started the kikuyu tribe by putting on earth a man and woman named kikuyu and mumbi. But it should be remembered the creation story in any community is the parting point between man and ngai. Dec 24, 2016 gikuyu and kikuyu are two different ethnic groups with different origin entirely. It is a story that was told to every kikuyu child in the past as part of the tribes history. A new cultural centre devoted to the kikuyu, kenyas largest offers a unique experience of this tradition rich culture existing in a modern world. From greek acheloios, which is of unknown meaning, possibly of semitic origin. The kikuyu people usually identify their lands by the surrounding mountain ranges in central kenya which they call kirinyaga. 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. The origin of the name has been difficult to decipher through etymologies, but yoruba mythology and conception of this being describe the supreme being as almighty, the first being, and the creator of the world.
The kikuyu also agikuyugikuyu are a bantu ethnic group inhabiting central kenya. Farmers, the kikuyu live on family farms, growing millet, sorghum, beans, peas and. According to evidence from power handing over ceremony described below, it took less than thirty 30 years for the first group to get to mount kenya region. They are closely related in language and culture to the kikuyu, the embu, the mbeere and the meru, and to some extent relate closely to the digo and the giriama of the kenyan coast. The book traces the gikuyu community from the time of creation, when ngai god created the first man gikuyu, and his wife mumbi. They saw the tender plants and flowers force their way. Kikuyu groups were always organizing to try and get rid of the english. Kikuyu, 161 kiowa, 162 kodiak, 163 kokowarra, 164 kono, 165 kootenay kutanai, ktunaxa, 166. Today, most kikuyus are christians, however, like the maasai and kamba tribes, kikuyus traditionally worshipped a single god, ngai, who was known as the provider and lived at the top of the mountain. These stories are adapted with permission from ulli beier editor, the origin of life and death. The kikuyu people speak their mother tongue, the kikuyu language which they have a great love for. Here we get into some kikuyu mythology that i found on the website of magical kenya. The plains tribes ascribe it to the result of unfavorable chance.
This is a list of surnames in which the origin is old english. Phoebe f english, greek mythology latinized, biblical, biblical latin latinized form of the greek name phoibe, which meant bright, pure from greek phoibos. Mythology creation story like all other bantu, communities, the akamba have a story of origin that differs greatly from that of the kikuyu. The origin of mankind, according to luo creation myth 3 years ago 26698 views by dickens kasami an advocate at the high court of kenya, donald rabala, has shared illustrations of what he believes to be the origin of mankind, according to the luo creation myth. Luo introduction, location, language, folklore, religion.
The book is a study of kenyattas own tribe, the kikuyu. 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. Learn what makes these stories so important, distinctive, and able to withstand the test of time. One day, seven men, five women, a leopard, and a dog crawled out of a hole made by a massive worm. The first african chief justice of indepence kenya is a kamba tribe man the kamba people, in all but one case, did not violently resist the taking of their cattle. Old norse was the north germanic language spoken by the peoples of ancient scandinavia. Two clans, the acera and agaciku, are thought to have formed through contact with neighboring kamba. The kikuyu traditionally believe that a man, gikuyu, was the founder of the tribe.
The first natural belief of the greek people was that man had sprung from the earth. Looking around them, the astonished people became terrified, but adu ogyinaethe first man on the surfaceseemed to understand the world and its wonders. They were also concerned with their reputation because they disowned their 10th daughter for what they considered to be unacceptable. The origin of cattle is a myth that not only explains why the maasai love their cattle, but also justifies the subjugation of the ndorobo who now must hunt to survive, and also gather honey for the maasai. According to this myth, the first man, gikuyu walked with god, ngai, mwene nyaga, murungu, mugai, or any number of other names given to him. He had a wife named mumbi, who gave birth to nine plus one daughters. In greek mythology phoibe was a titan associated with the moon. To the kikuyu they were known as the asi, to the masai as ii torobo,t and to the.
The gikuyu and mumbi is the most popular myth of origin of the kikuyu. Kikuyu simple english wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The old man kept pestering his wife thus until one day, overwhelmed with fatigue, she collapsed and died. Each list of kikuyu names can be sorted by kikuyu baby girl names or kikuyu baby boy names.
In the beginning, mulungu created a man and a woman. The kikuyu tribe is a bantu tribe that neighbors the embu, mbeere and meru tribes around mount kenya. The kenyan creation myth by mackenzie mackay on prezi. The luo people and their roots best occasional gifts. They used the ethiopia route to get to mount kenya. The origin of mankind, according to luo creation myth. What is eminent is the fact that the tribe that holds the traditional head of the kikuyu bantu is the abaluya. Their own name for themselves is gikuyu, or agikuyu. Locally the bible is also known as ibuku riria itheru ria ngai. They are kenyas most popular and the largest ethnic tribe, making up 22 percent of the countrys population.
To intimidate the kamba people into subjugation, government officials seized 2,500 kamba cattle and grazed them outside of the reserve. Many ethnologists and historians are quick to prove the pointed fact towards the luo peoples origin atienoodhiambo, 1999. Their myth of origin is a sort of adam and eve affair. Kikuyu, also called gikuyu or agikuyu, bantuspeaking people who live in the highland area of southcentral kenya, near mount kenya. The gikuyu myth of origin like other myths of origin relates a garden of eden scenario where god comes into the picture. The womens cattle is another myth that reinforces stereotypes and justifies the inferior economic position of women in maasai society. Old english was the west germanic language spoken by the anglosaxons who inhabited ancient england. A critical feminist lens was used to understand and gently challenge issues of stagnancy related to sex roles and expectations for men and women. According to akan mythology, all humans lived deep within the earth. This shows that myth is not just a product of human imagination but a direct expression of reality.
It is said that the spirit of the victim hangs around as a ghost and pursues the murderer. Looking around them, the astonished people became terrified, but adu ogyinaethe first man. He is the son of a mundo ltugo, usually translated as medicine man, and his account of his fathers activities adds to our knowledge of kikuyu notions of magic and religion. The medicine man was a powerful person in traditional kikuyu society. Origin and development of the concept of gods in indian religion article pdf available december 2015 with 4,625 reads how we measure reads. Kenyatta 1938, cagnolo 1933, and gathigira 1933 have all narrated the story of gikuyu and mumbi. Dont expect a kikuyu woman to love you when she knows there is another man with characteristics superior to yours. In the pre colonial past where a cluster of chiefs resided in a particular locality, say south of the luweya river among the kapunda banda, seniority among the chiefs was arrived by observing in whose mphara or public meeting place the initiation ceremony rites for girls or the nkhole was held. Kikuyu tribe of kenya, language, music, women, people, houses. Latinized form of greek akantha, which meant thorn, prickle. Before marriage, a man must pay a bride price known as dowry, made in the form of cattle, sheep and goats, to the family of the bride. Origin of man just as there were several theories concerning the origin of the world, so there were various accounts of the creation of man. Divorce is very rare with the kikuyus in spite of all the problems that women endure. Remarriage is even more rare even agter the death of one spouse.
The morning after his wife died the old man woke up with a large swelling on one knee. This study provides a qualitative examination of sex roles from the perspective of kikuyu women in rural maai mahiu, kenya. Kenyas many ethnic groups have a well developed and sophisticated folklore which embodies their history, traditions, mores, worldview and wisdom. The primary apparatus of the medicine man consisted of a series of gourds, the most important of which was the mwano, or divination gourd. It states that god created a man and a woman and placed them near mount kenya. English and kiswahili same as swahili, kikuyu is considered to be the third due to its popularity all over the country. The kikuyu live on the highlands in the mount kenya region, just like the meru, chuka and embumbeere who share with them similar culture and way of life. All of creation began at the summit of mount kenya. In a rural kamba community, the man, who becomes the head of the family, undertakes an economic activity such as trading, hunting or cattle herding. Kambas are concentrated in the lowlands of southeast kenya from the vicinity of mount kenya to the coast the first group of kamba people settled in the presentday mbooni.