Kikuyu
When the British came to Kenya they were looking for people to convert and land to take over and cultivate. On the coast everyone was Muslim and there already was a government in place. This didn’t fit their needs. As the British moved into Ukambani (Akamba tribal lands) and Tsavo all they found were dry lands and inhospitable lions which eat missionaries. Also not good. When the Brits got to the Kenya highlands they found happiness. The land is good, there were plenty of people living there, and best of all, it was cool with plenty of rain, a little like England. The land was also ideal for trade crops like tea and coffee so the British soldiers and missionaries took over the area. The main tribe was Kikuyu so they were the first to be converted and the first to have their land taken. Not surprisingly the Kikuyu were also the people to object to having their land stolen and native culture destroyed. They did this in the Mau Mau revolt where 100,000 Kenyans (virtually all Kikuyu) and 1000 British died. Soon afterwards the country became independent with the country named after Mt. Kenya, the Kikuyu holy site. The Mau Mau leaders were the obvious people to run the government and Jomo Kenyatta was elected president. With the capitol, Nairobi, in the middle of Kikuyuland the Kikuyu have been relatively well off compared to the other tribes. I don’t know if it’s the history or the native culture but Kikuyu are the most education oriented tribe in the country. After the Indians and the whites they are the most business oriented tribe in Kenya. Put these together and you have a tribe which dominates.
The Kikuyu (also known as Gikuyu) are the dominant tribe in Kenya. While less than a quarter of the people are Kikuyu they have a huge impact on the country. The president is Kikuyu, along with two-thirds of the cabinet, and a good chunk of the government. On the other side the biggest criminal organization, Mungiki, will not allow anyone but Kikuyu into their ranks. They also dominate in other ways- the noble prize winner Wangari Mathai is Kikuyu, as well as the greatest Kenyan writer Ngugi wa Thiong’o, who now writes books in Kikuyu.
My experience is that they love two things: farming and business. Generally it’s not good to generalize about a group of people but it seems pretty accurate in this case. The basic strategy is to get as good an education as possible, use that to get as good a job as possible, and then start a business. Once that business is started you put all your time and energy into it and do the barest minimum in your job. This is done by virtually everyone: College professors, doctors, politicians. Doctors will get a job at a hospital then start their own clinic and put all their spare hours into the clinic. Every teacher I have talked to said they wanted to study medicine (in order to be paid well) or business. They only qualified to study education so now they either have their own business or have dreams and plans of starting their own. A regular conversation in the staffroom is what kind of business is best to invest in. It’s the most entrepreneurial society I have ever heard of.
The other thing Kikuyu love is farming. No matter how wealthy or poor they are they always want a shamba (farm, garden). Virtually everyone who lives in the towns or cities has a farm somewhere, usually in their ancestral lands. Kiswahili has two words for house- nyumba, and nyambani- one is the place you live and the other is your home. In town is the house but the real home is on the farm. If you ask directions in town people might know what’s on their street. If you ask the same person directions in their rural home they can tell you the names, characteristics, and personal stories of all their neighbors for miles around. All celebrations and burials are held on the shamba and most people prefer spending time in the shamba to the city. The nice thing about all of this is that families are far more connected. No matter what job you have or where you go the whole family comes back to the same shamba. This way you stay connected to your whole extended family for your whole life. There is also something nice about the idea that this place has been in your family for several generations and will be for another few generations. It creates a people with roots. Also, there is something wholesome with being involved in agriculture, raising the foods you will eat, drinking the milk from your cow, and raising the goat that you will slaughter.
There is a dark side to all this. Kenya was for decades the most fertile country in the world. For every woman there were something like 7 or 8 kids. The Kikuyu were especially big into kids. Most of the adults I talk to will tell me about their 8 brothers and 6 sisters or something like that. The traditional method of inheritance is the sisters get married and join their husband’s family, they get no inheritance, and the sons divide up the land between themselves. Shambas that used to be 20-30 acres are now down to 1 -2. Not enough land to support a family and anyway everyone wants the biggest shamba they can get. The result is that Kikuyu have spread all over the whole country in search of land. The pastoralists don’t make much money off their land and the Kikuyu people are the richest. The result is huge numbers of people have sold off their traditional lands to Kikuyu and are now dispossessed. I would guess a lot of local businessman have also lost out to incoming Kikuyu who have more money and are better at business. A lot of people are pretty pissed off at the Kikuyu. This was the reason for the brutal tribal wars of 1992. The Maasai started slaughtering the Kikuyu who had bought their lands and the Kikuyu did friendly things like poisoning their food. All over the rift valley there was bloodshed. There is still a fair amount of dislike and distrust of the Kikuyu. The government is sometimes called the Mt. Kenya mafia, because it is dominated by what are seen as corrupt Kikuyu. People are more peaceable now but sooner or later I think another tribal war will start up. If it does I won’t see it. Everyone is Kikuyu for hundreds of miles around.
The Kikuyu (also known as Gikuyu) are the dominant tribe in Kenya. While less than a quarter of the people are Kikuyu they have a huge impact on the country. The president is Kikuyu, along with two-thirds of the cabinet, and a good chunk of the government. On the other side the biggest criminal organization, Mungiki, will not allow anyone but Kikuyu into their ranks. They also dominate in other ways- the noble prize winner Wangari Mathai is Kikuyu, as well as the greatest Kenyan writer Ngugi wa Thiong’o, who now writes books in Kikuyu.
My experience is that they love two things: farming and business. Generally it’s not good to generalize about a group of people but it seems pretty accurate in this case. The basic strategy is to get as good an education as possible, use that to get as good a job as possible, and then start a business. Once that business is started you put all your time and energy into it and do the barest minimum in your job. This is done by virtually everyone: College professors, doctors, politicians. Doctors will get a job at a hospital then start their own clinic and put all their spare hours into the clinic. Every teacher I have talked to said they wanted to study medicine (in order to be paid well) or business. They only qualified to study education so now they either have their own business or have dreams and plans of starting their own. A regular conversation in the staffroom is what kind of business is best to invest in. It’s the most entrepreneurial society I have ever heard of.
The other thing Kikuyu love is farming. No matter how wealthy or poor they are they always want a shamba (farm, garden). Virtually everyone who lives in the towns or cities has a farm somewhere, usually in their ancestral lands. Kiswahili has two words for house- nyumba, and nyambani- one is the place you live and the other is your home. In town is the house but the real home is on the farm. If you ask directions in town people might know what’s on their street. If you ask the same person directions in their rural home they can tell you the names, characteristics, and personal stories of all their neighbors for miles around. All celebrations and burials are held on the shamba and most people prefer spending time in the shamba to the city. The nice thing about all of this is that families are far more connected. No matter what job you have or where you go the whole family comes back to the same shamba. This way you stay connected to your whole extended family for your whole life. There is also something nice about the idea that this place has been in your family for several generations and will be for another few generations. It creates a people with roots. Also, there is something wholesome with being involved in agriculture, raising the foods you will eat, drinking the milk from your cow, and raising the goat that you will slaughter.
There is a dark side to all this. Kenya was for decades the most fertile country in the world. For every woman there were something like 7 or 8 kids. The Kikuyu were especially big into kids. Most of the adults I talk to will tell me about their 8 brothers and 6 sisters or something like that. The traditional method of inheritance is the sisters get married and join their husband’s family, they get no inheritance, and the sons divide up the land between themselves. Shambas that used to be 20-30 acres are now down to 1 -2. Not enough land to support a family and anyway everyone wants the biggest shamba they can get. The result is that Kikuyu have spread all over the whole country in search of land. The pastoralists don’t make much money off their land and the Kikuyu people are the richest. The result is huge numbers of people have sold off their traditional lands to Kikuyu and are now dispossessed. I would guess a lot of local businessman have also lost out to incoming Kikuyu who have more money and are better at business. A lot of people are pretty pissed off at the Kikuyu. This was the reason for the brutal tribal wars of 1992. The Maasai started slaughtering the Kikuyu who had bought their lands and the Kikuyu did friendly things like poisoning their food. All over the rift valley there was bloodshed. There is still a fair amount of dislike and distrust of the Kikuyu. The government is sometimes called the Mt. Kenya mafia, because it is dominated by what are seen as corrupt Kikuyu. People are more peaceable now but sooner or later I think another tribal war will start up. If it does I won’t see it. Everyone is Kikuyu for hundreds of miles around.
posted by Ross at 6:07 AM
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