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Tribe Profile - Kikuyu |
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| AGING
& DYING
Old age was determined
by inability to work at age of
seventy or eighty. Old people became advisors
of the community and also acted
as judges. Old people are taken care of by their families.
In case of death they are also
buried by the members of the family.
In traditional times however,
the dead not buried.
The
dead bodies
were thrown in the bush for the wild animals to eat
them. This
practice died out in the early 50's
| HEALTH
ISSUES
The sick
were taken care of by the family.
They used roots of various
plants as medicine.
There was no medical
help during traditional times.
Boys are trained by their
fathers about herbs, and roots
that can be used to cure different
diseases during the parents
lifetimes. The skill of medicine
is only known by those
concerned but not by every body.
Aids is a
disease that has killed many people. The
government has tired to educate
the masses on this disease and how to prevent it.
Generally, people do
not fear aids.
They think that it is
just speculation.
However due to the number
of deaths,
the majority now respond
to the use of condoms and are
much more careful in unsafe
sex life.
Anybody suspected
of
suffering from aids is
normally segregated. They are only confined to their relatives or taken to the hospital
just to die there..
If the parents
die, the extended family
take care of the children.
A serious complain against
the killer disease,
aids needs to be undertaken
to the village sand a lot of
awareness given.
The language of the local
people should by far be used
so that the facts of the seriousness
of Aids can be understood.
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| DYING
Death in the Kikuyu community
is done by the whole community.
Usually the community
gather in the home of the deceased,
(until the day of the burial
) and make arrangements of the
burial.
During the wake, people
sing, pray and console the bereaved
family.
People in the community
contribute towards the burial
expenses.
The women arrange for
the food and contribute money
and the labor .
The people are usually
buried within 2 weeks, and just
like weddings, the whole community
turns out for the burial. The
average burial has between 1,000
- 10,000 people attending.
A few has over 50,000
People are usually buried either
on their farms or at the local
cemetery.
Inheritance
Inheritance was for men .
women were not considered
for this even if the woman was
divorced there was no inheritance
for her.
Inheritance matters had
to be determined by the clan.
The rules however have
changed now.
Some people generally
have a will but majority still
do not leave a will, especially
in polygamous marriages.
This is because the will
would divide the family.
It is the wish of the
husband that his
estate is taken care
of and divided to the members
of his family by the clan.
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| Traditional
belief of god, origin of man, death
and the after life
The God of the
agikuyu (Kikuyu) lived on Mount Kenya
.
generally this is known as
Mount Kirinyaga (Kenya)
and the god
was called mwene
nyaga. or
Ngai. (Mwene nyaga means :- Owner
of the Mountain). The agikuyu believed
in a monotheistic god who created
everything and that he lived in Mount
Kenya. Hence when Christianity came
to the Kikuyu people, they didn't
change the name of the god, but continued
to call him by the same name (Ngai
to this day. Those who accepted Christianity
however stopped their former practices
of worship, which were mainly sacrifices
and rituals.)
The agikuyu did
not believe in the after life, but
they believed in the living dead.
The
spirits of the living dead
would
come and torment the living
if they are not appeased. They
had to be
kept happy by traditional
beer that
was prepared and
regularly
poured at the three stones
where
cooking is done. The belief was that the
spirit of the
dead
is able to partake of this beer and be happy
not
to bring
misfortune to the living.
Witchcraft
is still feared and people protect
themselves by wearing
charms especially on the waist
to prevent them
from being affected.
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| SOCIETY
Problems in the
modern families
Drinking (alcoholism)
physical abuse is finishing the society
in my tribe.
People are so poor and therefore,
have little to do. They spend most
of their time in local bars drinking
native beer, called ( chagaa ( local
gin), - (100% proof gin)
most of them die because of
this.
The brew is put in containers that are not clean and this has swept villages
in some places. As a result of drinking,
physical abuse to the wife and children
result.
Husbands do not
take responsibility at home.
When they come drank, they
do not want anybody to say anything
or ask anything.
If the husband is asked for
food or clothes, the wife and
the children are severely beaten.
Lack of education and a vicious
circles the result.
Early marriages should also be discouraged.
Marriage counseling should be established.
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| Taboos,
crime and
punishment
To
refuse food is to refuse hospitality
of the giver and that is
taken that they are rude.
The thing to do is
to eat a little food and leave
the rest, but not to refuse everything.
Alternatively, one can ask
for a beverage instead.
For example, tea.
In case of
men, a visitor to a home
had to remove the hat on his
head as a sign of respect when he
arrives after greetings, he would
then wear it again.
Old people had to be given
respect by the young people.
Young people were expected
to
obey and assist the elderly.
There was capital punishment for murder.
Anybody who killed another
was generally burned using
dry banana leaves.
The
leafs would be tied on him
and set ablaze and the man would be
released.
As he ran, he would burn to
death.
After he died he would be thrown
into the bush to be food for the wild
animals
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| PERSONAL
STORIES
| No
photo at this time
Personal story |
David
Muhota over 40yrs old and
has lived in a village all his
life. He is now in the United
States as a student taking theology.
He has a wife and grown children. |
| No photo at
this time
Personal story |
Elizabeth Kariko
is an adult who has lived in the
village for 20 yrs. She
is also living in the states.
It is my grand father's brother
who narrated the customs of our
tribe and also passed on to me
the skill of recognizing various
tress for medicinal purposes.
He also educated me on our family
tree (ancestors) . |
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| ETHNIC
FOOD
Maize (white corn) and beans are
the stable food of the kikuyu. The
corn and beans are boiled and then
re fried with meat. Also the corn
is ground into flour and cooked like
a "heavy" porridge. It is
then eaten with fresh green vegetables.
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