Akhenaten’s Grandmother, Queen Mutemwiya and the Kikuyu Word "Mũtumia"
Queen Mutemwiya K. R. Lepsius, Mutemwiya, line by Emmanuel Kariuki, CC0 1.0 Akhenaten, Grandchild of Queen Mutemwiya Akhenaten was the Pharaoh who is credited with starting Monotheism in 18 th Dynasty Egypt. Here, we shall be more concerned with his grandmother called Queen Mutemwiya (spelled as Mutemwaya by some writers). Before we discuss Mutemwiya, two trees need to mentioned. These are the Sycamore and the Olive. The Sycamore, Ficus sycamora is a sacred tree to both the ancient Egyptians and the Kikuyu. It is stated by writers on the Kikuyu that the originator of the tribe was called Gĩkũyũ which translates as “the Big Fig Tree” in Kikuyu language. The Olive, Olea chrisofila, was the ‘female’ among sacred trees to both the Kikuyu and the Ancient Egyptians. That said, we shall come back to the significance of these trees shortly. To bring Queen Mutemwiya into perspective, let us look at her more famous relatives. Below is a brief chronology ...