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According to Kikuyu mythology, all of creation began at the summit of Mount Keny a.

There are also displays of traditional medicine, healing and divination family In this culture, both men and women agree that males are supposed to be the hea d of the household and make most decisions in a wide range of domains, as well a s control all major resources, deciding on its distribution and disposal. Women are viewed as having control in areas like which subsistence crops to plant and disciplining small and school age daughters. The Kikuyu man is referred to as a mthuuri (someone who can discern evil from good) and the Kikuyu woman is called a mtumia (someone who retains family secrets and practices). Traditionally, Kikuyu society is polygamous so that means any man could have as many wives as he coul d afford. The family lived in a homestead with several huts for different family members. The husbands hut was called thingira, and that was where the husband would call his children in for instruction on family norms and traditions and he would also ca ll his wives for serious family discussions. Each wife had her own hut where she and her children slept. After boys were circumcised (at puberty) they moved out of their mothers hut into the young mens hut. farming Activity The Kikuyus chief economic activity is cultivation (farming). The Kikuyu rely hea vily on agriculture. They grow bananas, sugarcane, arum lily, yams, beans, mille t, maize, black beans and a variety of other vegetables. This is done both on sm all scale and large scale. Cash crops and horticultural produce is their main fa rming activity. They grow coffee tea, maize, beans, bananas, sugarcane, yams, mi llet, and a variety of other vegetables. They also raise cattle, sheep, and goat s. They use the hides from the cattle to make bedding, sandals, and carrying str aps and they raise the goats and sheep to use for religious sacrifices and purif ication. Though they are customarily agricultural people and have a reputation a s hard-working people, a lot of them are now involved in business. A good number of very successful rich businessmen and women are from the Kikuyu tribe. The fa ct that the first president was a Kikuyu probably gave them a boost as they were able to acquire property in the now lucrative business centre. Kikuyu are farmers at the the foothills of Mount Kenya, with the most intensive ly farmed areas of the country. They are heavily agricultural, growing sugarcane , bananas, yams, arum lily, maize, beans, millet, black beans and a variety of v egetables. They also raise cattle which provide hides for sandals, bedding, and carrying straps. Sheep and goats are used for religious sacrifices and purificat ion. Culture Colonization eroded many traditional practices and values, although the language has survived and continues to evolve. Many Kikuyu have moved from their traditi onal homeland to the cities and around the world to look for opportunities. They have also moved to other parts of the country and the world due to intermarriag e, business opportunities, study, and generally seeking better prospects in life . Those living in rural areas tend to continue to practice farming. Discipline however was observed and no man was supposed to touch a lady sexuall y. The young men only enjoyed the dance and they had the chance to mingle with t he beautiful young ladies who would eventually become their suitorsThe grandmoth ers had a critical role of checking if any man unwound the inner garment of the young ladies. This garment was called mthuru. The grandmothers tied it safely to protect any promiscuity in young women. Women who engaged in sex before marriage , affairs, or got pregnant could only be married as a second wife and were commo nly referred to as Gchokio. Therefore the Kikuyu customs valued the chastity of unm arried women and protected young women against abuse. When the man wants to marry the woman, he first proposes to the woman. If she a grees, he then sets a meeting with elders of his tribe. Elders are usually memb ers of the extended family who are in their 60 s and above. He then sends this

delegation to the girls family. Before they go, they send word that they want t o visit on a certain date. Usually, this is done between 1-3 months. The entou rage is usually a group of 8-15 members. When the elders go to the girl s home , they are met by the girl s family who also have by this time called their grou p of elders. They usually bring small gifts of dry foods, for example rice, w heat, sugar, tea ,cooking oil, etc. This is a common practice when one visits a ny family, and so this is not part of the dowry. The negotiations are not don e that day, so the elders then say that they just wanted to come and visit and they will be back. After a time is set, usually in a few weeks, the elders retu rn. The negotiations then start. The talking is done only by the elders. It is taboo for the young man to speak, and in doing so, he could seriously jeopard ize the negotiations. The rule of thumb in negotiating the dowry used to be:, wh at ever the father of the bride paid for his mother, that is what he would reque st for a bride price. Things have changed much since then. The bride price now is determined by several factors. How much education the girl has received If she has a career Social Class Young men today are having a hard time because There are no rules and some peopl e have become very greedy. The dowry is still negotiated in terms of cows, goats , and honey. Once the price has been determined, it is now converted into cash. The elders leave a down payment and a day is then set for the wedding. Dowry negotiations are usually done over several weeks or months. When the bride pri ce is finally paid up, there is a ceremony done. This in the olden days signifi ed a marriage . The family of the bride usually kill a goat and they give the f ront legs to the husband. This signified that he was now the husband of the wom an and that he , and not her father bears the full responsibility for her. This practice is still done even today. The Marriage Ceremony The whole community usually gets involved. The women team up and organize the m enu, and they contribute the food. The young men and women team up and raise fu nds for the wedding. This is done through a "pre wedding party" There is usual ly no engagement rings or "official" engagement ceremony. The young men arran ge for transportation and refreshments. The man is usually responsible for the bride s dress, and the younger children who will be in the wedding party. The bride chooses her bride s maids and she usually chooses from both sides and incl udes her friends. Kikuyu weddings are usually huge. It is not uncommon to find the bridal party of 20+. Eve before the wedding: The night before the wedding, The young man brings people from his village to vi sit his future in laws. They usually come not just to visit, but to help with t he wedding, usually cooking, etc. they usually arrive around dusk, and they com e in a "train" of cars. As they get close to the house, they all start hooting their cars and they dont stop until they are allowed in the bride s homestead. When the hooting starts, the village women from the bride rush to the gate and b lock it. The negotiations then begin. This time, it is done in form of music a nd songThe groom and his team drive back (about 1/2 mile) and they return . The women then ask for blankets, sugar, tea, soda pop and other small items. The idea behind is: Our "daughter" used to cook tea for us, we dont know who can re place her. All this is done through song and dance, and the young man usually b rings a woman who would be the main negotiators in the song saga. This can go on for about an hour. The young man is then let in . The items that are reque sted are then shared out among the villagers. The women then join in the festiv ities and the all night cooking. The day of the wedding The Wedding is an all day (and night ) affair. The day starts when the groom and his "train " of cars go to the girl s home to pick her up. They then go to a c hurch and after the ceremony , they go to the field or hall where the reception will be held. Since the whole community get involved it is not uncommon to hav e 5000(yes- five thousand) guests. The more a family is known, the more people

attend the wedding. After church (which lasts about 2 hours) they go for a phot o shoot. They go to the reception after that where the whole community is fed. The food is served by the girls on the bride s side. The people in the commun ity then bring gifts to the couple. The father s bride buys the bed. The rest of the furniture is given as gifts by friends, and the community in general. By the end of the day, the couple usually has their whole house furnished and they usually dont need to buy anything. The reception lasts for a few hours and is f illed with speeches and "advice " on how to relate to each other and the communi ty. The young man is given advice on responsibility, while the young bride is a dvised on "feeding her husband" and given "tools " ( with demonstration). Thing s like a weeding hoe, a basket, among other items are officially presented to the bride. After this very long reception, the couple take a break and prepare for the eve ning party. This is usually held under great secrecy so as to limit the number who will attend. It is usually held in a hotel far from the village. The truth is , somehow, everyone finds out. Beer is served and the young man pays for it all. The couple show up around 10pm or 11pm. They would open the evening part y with a dance and then the exhausted couple exit. They dont go for a "honey" m oon, they just go to their new home. The party goes on till 4-6am the next day . People usually dont cerebrate anniversaries. The unfortunate thing is that, the man almost never takes his new wife on dates anymore. The young wife is often left at home while the man stays out with his "buddies". This creates a lot o f tension in the marriage. Dress However, traditionally, the Kikuyu would wear what we call shukas. These are lar ge square pieces of cloth done in red and blue. These they would fling over thei r bodies and tie around the neck or over the shoulder. If you have seen pictures of Maasai in traditional dress, you would have a faitly good idea about the Kik uyu traditional dress. In addition to the shuka, they would have variuos necklaces with elaborate beadw ork designs. Their earrings would also hang down. Earholes were large, which was believed to be a sign of beauty. The ear lobe would hang all the way down to th e shoulder. This was quite some time ago though. In my family, on my mother s si de, my great grandmother has that type of decoration, and on my father s side, m y grandmother. So the phase out happened about sixty years ago. Most Kikuyus tod ay have Western type earholes...the tiny hole. PS: These dressing styles are for the men as well as the women. Bare-breastednes s was hardly there among the Kikuyu older women. Also, headdresses differed acco rding to status. Chiefs had large headdresses done in animal skin. In rural Kenya, which includes the Kikuyu highlands, traditional dressing in shu kas is almost never seen, except among some Maasai.

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