Kikuyu people

Kikuyu people are the largest ethnic group in Kenya. In 2025, this group made up about 17 percent of the population of Kenya and was over nine million people. Kikuyus mainly live in the highland area of south central Kenya near Mount Kenya, which they call Kirinyaga, or the "Mountain of Whiteness." Smaller populations of Kikuyus live in Uganda and Tanzania.

The Kikuyu people speak Gikuyu Bantu, which is a growing language and predominately spoken in the area between Mount Kenya and Nairobi. Most Kikuyu people, especially the ones who reside in urban areas, also speak Swahili and often English as well.

The Kikuyu culture believes strongly in education. They have a reputation of being industrious, agricultural people. Two well-known Kikuyu people include Jomo Kenyatta and professor Wangari Maathai. Kenyatta was the first president of Kenya. He helped develop Kenya as an independent, capitalist nation. Maathai, an environmental activist, author, and Africa's first Nobel Peace Prize winner, was also of Kikuyu descent.

Brief History

Kikuyu people consider a man named Gikuyu to be the founder of their tribe. The belief is that Ngai, the creator and giver of all things, took Gikuyu to Mount Kenya and told him to build his home on the fertile land there. Ngai also gave him a wife, Mumbi. Gikuyu and Mumbi had ten daughters, but the Kikuyu people say they had "full nine" daughters because they consider ten to be an unlucky, unspeakable number. Gikuyu wished for a son, and so Ngai gave him nine sons-in-law, one for each daughter. These nine marriages went on to represent the clans within the Kikuyu people. The nine or ten clans were considered equal, but each had different attributes. For example, members of one of the clans were known as warriors, those of another had a reputation for being good negotiators, while a third clan's members were known for being excellent spies and leaders. All clans within the Kikuyu people were expected to be hospitable to each other.

Kikuyu people took advantage of their fertile land around Mount Kenya and the central highlands to raise sugar cane, bananas, yams, beans, maize, and other vegetables, as well as to grow coffee and tea. Kikuyus also raised cattle, sheep, and goats. Traditionally, Kikuyu girls worked on the farms, took care of younger siblings, and helped with household chores. The Kikuyu boys took care of the animals.

When the British came to Nairobi, Africa, they took much of the Kikuyus' fertile land. This infuriated the Indigenous people and led to a revolt in the 1950s that is called the Mau Mau rebellion. The Kikuyu people violently fought against the British. Thousands of people were killed, but the rebellion led to Kikuyu's independence in 1962. In 1963, Kenya became an independent nation.

Some of the traditions of the Kikuyu people changed when Kenya became independent. For example, their traditional form of leadership, the Council of Elders, was adapted to follow the structure of the new Kenyan government.

Overview

Kikuyu people believe that the male creator and giver of all things, Ngai, was responsible for the development of all human groups, including the Kikuyu community. They credited him for giving the Kikuyu people all the things they needed, including fertile land, rain, and animals. They thought Ngai lived in the sky and was invisible, although occasionally would appear as a cloud over Mount Helen or, on rare occasions, visit the earth to inspect it. When Ngai visited the earth, he would reward or punish people for their behaviors. Kikuyu people believed that thunder was the sound of Ngai's footsteps and that lightning was Ngai clearing his path to move between sacred places on earth.

Kikuyu people believe Kirinyaga, or Mount Helen, to be a sacred place for both Ngai and their entire community. They called Mount Helen the "Home of God." The Kikuyu people always face Mount Helen when praying. They build their houses with their main doors facing the mountain and bury the dead with their heads facing the mountain.

In the early nineteenth century, European missionaries arrived in Africa to try to convert the Kikuyu people to Christianity. By the mid-2020s, over 90 percent of Kikuyu people considered themselves to be Christians, although many still hold on to some of their early Kikuyu traditions.

When women marry, they move in with their husbands' clans. They value large families and consider the ideal number of children to be two boys and two girls. They name their first two children after their husband's grandparents. After the baby is born, the mother screams four times if it is a boy and five times if it is a girl. The father then cuts four sugar canes if a boy has been delivered or five sugar canes if a girl has been delivered. The new mother stays in seclusion for four days if she has given birth to a boy and five days if she has given birth to a girl. After seclusion is over, the mother shaves her head to symbolize the end of the pregnancy and the start of something new. It also shows that the child is now a part of the Kikuyu community and has been scattered about like the mother's hair, and indicates the mother is ready for another pregnancy.

Kikuyu people drink tea with most meals. A favorite meal is ugali, which is a corn porridge that is often eaten with meats and stews. Kikuyu people dance at all celebrations and participate in several traditional dances to mark many celebratory occasions, like the birth of a baby or a wedding. They also dance when they make sacrifices or need rain. They perform the traditional warrior dance to scare away evil spirits.

Art is important to the Kikuyu people, and they take pride in the statues they carve out of stone, as well as the beaded jewelry and sarongs they make by hand. Sarongs are a single piece of cloth that can be worn wrapped around the waist or under the armpits. They can be made in many different colors and prints. Kikuyu artists sell some of their statues, jewelry, and sarongs internationally. Despite the influence of Europeans and the Western world, many of these traditions remain intact in Kikuyu culture in the twenty-first century.

Bibliography

"African Tribes." Africa Guide, www.africaguide.com/culture/tribes.htm. Accessed 2 Jan. 2025.

Bottingnole, Silvana. Kikuyu Traditional Culture and Christianity. Heinemann Educational Books Ltd., 1984.

Finke, Jens. "Kikuyu - Society (Mbari ya Mumbi)." Blue Gecko, www.bluegecko.org/kenya/tribes/kikuyu/society.htm. Accessed 2 Jan. 2025.

Hobley, Charles William. Bantu Beliefs and Magic: With Reference to the Kikuyu and Kamba Tribes of Kenyan Colony. HF&G Witherby, 1922.

“Kenya.” The World Factbook, www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/kenya/. Accessed 2 Jan. 2025.

Mbiti, John. Africa Religions and Philosophy. Heinemann, 1990.