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A part of the Stonehenge monument  |  Source Updated Jan 2013 Stonehenge and the Kikuyu word ‘Kihingo’ I have always believed that the East African region is the cradle of mankind. When I first heard about the Genome project and its findings, my long held beliefs were confirmed beyond doubt. The human genome project took about 20 years to research and is probably the most important accomplishment in the understanding of human DNA and human migration. Most important of all, it links all human beings from every corner of the earth to East Africa - whether you are white, yellow, black or in between shades, your ancestors came from East Africa. For information on the Gnome project, go to - http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/human-genome-project-tenth-anniversary/ and - http://www-03.ibm.com/press/us/en/pressrelease/35877.wss When Richard Leakey said that - “Every living human being today can trace their ancestry to the area very close to where they are drilling for oil. All l...

Introduction to the Kikuyu People The Kikuyu, the largest ethnic group in Kenya were traditionally agriculturalists, practicing mixed farming. They kept cattle, sheep and goats but in small numbers than the Maasai who are a classic case of pastoralists. That Kikuyu language is third most widely used language. The first Swahili followed by English, which is the official language. There is however very little literature in the Kikuyu language. The word Gĩkũyũ has three meanings; the name of the ethnic group, the language they speak the name of the patriarch who initiated the group. When referring to the community, Gĩkũyũ is singular and Agĩkũyũ is for several persons. The word Gĩkũyũ was transformed to Kikuyu by the British colonialists and is now more widely used when a text is written in English. The Kikuyu belong to the Highland Bantu linguistic group which includes the Kuria, Embu, Tharaka, Meru, Kamba, Gusii and Kuria of Kenya. Other Highland Bantu groups reside in Tanzania. These i...

   Wangari Maathai - A Kikuyu Nobel laureate -  wikimedia commons The daughters of Mumbi According to the Myth of Origin, God made  Gĩkũyũ  and placed him near Mount Kenya at a place called  Mũkũrwe wa Gathanga  God saw that he was lonely and gave him a wife,  Mũmbi.  Gĩkũyũ and Mũmbi were blessed with nine daughters, but no sons. The daughters’ names, arranged from the eldest to the youngest were as follows: Wanjirũ, Wambũi, Njeri, Wanjikũ, Nyambũra, Wairimũ, Waithĩra, Wangarĩ,  and the last one was  Wangũi.  These are the founders of the nine clans of the Kikuyu. The nine clans are listed bbelow,besides the name of the founder: Wanjirũ  -Anjirũ Wambũi  - Ambũi Njeri  - Aceera Wanjikũ  - Anjiku Nyambura  - Ambura or Ethaga Wairimũ  - Airimũ or Agathigia or Aicakamũyũ Waithĩ ra  - Athirandũ Wangarĩ - Angarĩ or Aithe-Kahuno Wangũi  - Angũi or Aithiegeni There was a tenth daughter who accor...

                The Kikuyu faced Mt Kenya during prayers in the belief that God reseded there  -  image from Wikipedia commons Who was Wang'ombe wa Ihura of the Kikuyu? Chief Wangombe was the son of a Kikuyu man and a Maasai woman. He was born in Tetu, at Kamakwa, near present-day Nyeri Town. His father and therefore the whole family, belonged to the Ambui clan of Thiukui  Mbari . Mbari is a cluster of homesteads whose members of several generations can trace their origins to a single clan member. His father was a trader by the name of Ihura Karugu. He went frequently into Maasai country to trade for foodstuffs, especially during famines and cattle epidemics when the Maasai needed grain most. In one of Ihura’s business trips , in the company of the young Wangombe, he was dispatched by the Laikipiak Maasai. The young boy escaped and went to live with his relatives among the same people who had caused the demise of his father. Af...