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The Donkey Meetings of Ole Tepesi
During the wet season, donkeys of the Ole Tepesi area have a meeting everyday on the main road in their thousands, The meeting starts at around 5 pm in the evening and ends at 5 pm in the morning.
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My beloved landlord
The best landlord is the one you never get to see. The the second best is the one you see once a year. That way, your problems are postponed for 12 months.
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Message from Jomo Kenyatta, Prime Minister at Kenya's Independence in 1963
This year, 2013, marks 50 years after Kenya’s Independence in 1963. This hub commemorates the Jubilee by highlighting the thoughts of the founding father of the nation on that day.
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A Kikuyu Ancestor's wrath
The ancestor who speaks in this poem was last appeased before the coming of Europeans and western culture in Kikuyu land.
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Rabbits: keeping them healthy on pellets and other foods
Rabbit keeping is fast catching on. This form of animal husbandry is termed “emerging livestock,” in the same class as quails and guinea fowl. Here's how Keep them healthy on foods other than pellets.
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A Biogas lesson from Kitale Kenya: Cattle, goats, sheep - all can give you this renewable resource
The science of making and using biogas from cowdung has been in the public domain for a while. The design and its variations are so simple that anybody can adopt it without spending a fortune. Here I present to you a practical use of the technology even if you have only one cow.
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Who were the ancient Thagichu people in Kenya?
The Thagichu appear in Kikuyu myths as their ancestors. However, variants of this word appears in other Bantu and non Bantu communities. In this hub, I include the Osu of Nigeria - read on.
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Joseph Zuzarte Murumbi - prolific art collector with a Kenyan and Goan cultural Heritage
Joseph Murumbi, Kenya's second Vice President after independence was a freedom fighter and a prolific collector whose legacy is the Murumbi Collection of African art and rare books.
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Simple Nourishing Lunch for Office Workers
Why spend a fortune on lunch everyday when you can have simple nourishing meals that will help you save money in the process? This hub will give you five ideas for simple meals in the office.
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Betrothal ceremonies before a marriage among the Kikuyu of Kenya
Due to the fast pace of modern life and the expenses that would accrue in lengthy ceremonies, what is practiced today is an abridged version of what Kikuyu ancestors considered adequate.
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Principles of Art and Design
Art, just like music and dance is a form of communication. Art is guided by certain principles, which when applied consciously, will enhance the quality of the art project.
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Marriage commitment - Signs that your spouse may not be committed
The legal union between a man and a woman is intended to last a lifetime as a holy matrimony that is sanctioned by god. But this is increasing not the case. In parts of the world today, marriages seem to be like a dating session that has been...
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Bananas in the life of the Kikuyu people
The Kikuyu valued bananas as a food item and recognised several varieties. They seemed to know the nutritional value of bananas and used them as the baby’s first solid food. This large herbaceous plant produces a delicious fruit that is eaten as a ripe fruit. Some varieties are cooked before they...
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The Luo People of Kenya: Legend of Nyar Mgondho
This legend informs us that we should not forget where we came from when we make it in life. Most important is the fact that we never make it without other people's help. We should recognise the input of others and never ever ridicule them.
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Milk value, history and the linguistic trail
Milk is a life giving liquid produced by all female mammals after giving birth to young ones. It is therefore primarily intended to be the first item on the menu of any baby, calf, puppy or whatever else the young is called. The very first issue of milk, called colostrum gives the baby immunity...
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How to Refresh Dry Old Plasticine for a New Art Project
Many sculptors choose to work with plasticine for their models. It is easy to model with tools and bare hands. Plasticine can be used over and over for years.
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Learn the Luo language of Kenya: Vocabulary and Conversation Basics
The Luo of Kenya and Tanzania are a Nilotic speaking people whose main occupation was fishing, coupled with some farming and animal husbandry. Let us learn together the basics of their language.
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How to mark hundreds of exam papers quickly and efficiently
Marking 40 scripts with essay type questions may take you three hours at the very least. Marking more than 100 scripts could be draining both mentally and physically. This is aggravated by the fact that the teacher still has to prepare for classes and actually teach besides marking continuous...
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How the Ankh symbol of ancient Egypt has survived in modern languages
Impossible as it may first sound, the Ankh in the name Tutankhamen has survived in languages spoken today. One of these languages is English. The other languages are in Africa. Maybe by probing further, we may find more languages with vestiges of the ‘Ankh.’
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Extinction: the story of the Dodo
We say ‘as dead as a Dodo because we hunted the Dodo to extinction three centuries ago. If we are not careful, there will a long list of extinct animals in less than 20 years to come - no elephants, lions or rhinos except replicas in museums. Imagine that!
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Kikuyu Language: the Lord's prayer and other christian terms
The Kikuyu people are predominantly Christian. This makes the Lord's Prayer very important in the lives of every member. Most have committed it to memory. It is translated here using the commonest version.
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Kenya - birdwatcher's paradise: The African Purple Gallinule and Saddle billed Stork
There are a total of 1133 bird species recorded in Kenya. Out of this number, 7 are endemic to Kenya and 6 have been introduced from outside. Only one species is known to have become extinct. In this hub, we shall look at the African Purple Gallinule -Porphyrio alba madagascariensis, and...
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How to make Mahamri: recipe for great snacks for your tea or coffee
Mahamri are made by the people of Eastern Africa to take with their tea or coffee. You do not need any special skills to make them. This hub will take you step by step on how to make these tasty snacks. The instructions are simple and the ingredients are all near you. Besides, you can improvise...
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Language and the cradle of humankind: linquistic evidence of constant intermingling for many centuries
Is it possible that some words in European, Bantu and Nilotic languages have an ancient history that is thousands of years old. This hub will show you how that is possible, with a few examples.
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Use green Leaves as an Alternative to Toilet Paper
Before colonisation by the British, the Kikuyu used a certain plant with feathery leaves and a great scent the way we use toilet paper today. They called it maigoya. Its scientific name is Plectrunthus barbatus.
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The Kikuyu language online: Future tenses
In kikuyu, a sentence can inform you whether something will happen later today or tomorrow and into the future by only a slight modification of the verb. The past has four tense forms to mean 1. A moment ago, 2. early today, 3. Yesterday and 4. Day before yesterday - Example: ria (eat) 1. Waria 2....
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Francis Hall: born in India, built a Fort at Mbiri, now Murang'a town in Kenya
Francis Hall was born at Sangor, India in October 1860. Around this time, traders, missionaries and slave trade abolitionists were beginning to pay attention to East Africa. About 20 years earlier, Ludwig Krapf had made contacts with the Kamba and ventured in the interior as far as present day...
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Kikuyu Language: Numbers and Counting
The simple numbers in Kikuyu are as follows: 1. Ĩmwe 2. Igĩrĩ 3. Ithatũ 4. Inya 5. Ithano 6. Ithathatũ 7. Mũgwanja 8. Inyanya 9. Kenda 10. Ikũmi But there is more to numbers than this. Each of the words above changes slightly depending on the noun class.
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Akhenaten’s Grandmother and the Kikuyu
Akhenaten was the Pharaoh credited with starting Monotheism in 18th Dynasty Egypt. Here, we shall be more concerned with his grandmother called Mutemwiya (spelled as Mutemwaya by some writers).
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Traditional Uses of Cattle in Africa
The cow has always been very important to Africans. Here are some of the ways it is used in Africa.
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Chief Kinyanjui wa Gathirimu of the Kikuyu
Kinyanjui belonged to the initiation age set called ‘Njenga.’ Kinyanjui had been banished from his home area in Githunguri for some transgression which caused him to relocate to Southern Kikuyu. Muriuki gives his origin as Kandara. It is not clear at which point he joined Waiyaki’s company as...
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Kikuyu People: Secrets of an ancient migration from Egypt to Mount Kenya
The nucleus of the people called Kikuyu today came from the land of Ancient Egypt, during the reign of Pharaoh Akhenaten. They used the Ethiopia route to get to Mount Kenya. According to evidence from power handing over ceremony described below, it took less than thirty (30) years for the first...
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Kikuyu People and the traditional ceremony of the second birth
Before the rite of circumcision, Kikuyu boys went through a ceremony of second birth.
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Kikuyu people and the goat as legal tender
The goat was a very important animal to the Kikuyu people of Kenya. In pre-colonial times, most people had only sheep and goats to meet all tribal obligations that required payment. It was the rich man who had cows. The goat was the ‘legal tender.’ When one required the services of the...
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The Kikuyu language online: Past tenses
The Kikuyu language is one of the most archaic of the Bantu group. It is spoken by about 20% of the Kenya population, mainly in Central Province and the Rift Valley.
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Stonehenge: a linguistic link with Kikuyu and the Thim Lich Ohinga stone structures in Kenya
The technology to transport and arrange the stones of the Stonehenge monument was from Africa, in Ancient Egypt.
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How to clean a fresh water aquarium efficiently
More than half of those with an aquarium hate the cleaning process. That is why after much enthusiasm at the beginning, it is usual to see an aquarium that has turned green (if the light is too much) or brown (if the lighting is poor) with the fish causing a small storm whenever they swim close to...
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How to make a Glass Fish Tank: DIY basics
If you have always wanted to have a fish tank, here’s how to make your own. The larger the tank, the better for the fish. But you need to start with a manageable size until you have sufficient experience to maintain a large one. Making a small or large tank isn’t that much different though. The...
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Chief Waiyaki wa Hinga of the Kikuyu
Little is known about Chief Waiyaki wa Hinga who saw the transition from self government of the Kikuyu to colonial domination first by the Imperial British East African Company followed by the crown of the British Empire.
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African Oral Literature: Kikuyu story of The Dancer from another Village
This folk-tale was one of the many that were told to Kikuyu children and young adults by the fireside as they waited for supper. I have retold it as faithfully as I could. I have however given the characters and the village my own names and inserted some relevant proverbs.
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Wangu wa Makeri: the first Woman Kikuyu Chief in Colonial Kenya
Wangu wa Makeri was the first Kikuyu female leader in living memory. This post will bring fresh insight in the life of Wangu wa Makeri, the first ever woman Chief in Colonial Kenya. A grand child of the legendary leader agreed to a candid interview.
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Chief Wangombe wa Ihura
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.
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Wangare Maathai the Nobel Laureate: A comparative look at an environmentalist and a female Pharaoh of the 18th Dynasty -
Wangare Maathai recognized the value of trees and took action. Through her Green belt movement, actions and utterances, she has caused millions of trees to be planted all over the world. Read on to see what she shares with Hatshepsut of the 18th dynasty of Ancient Egypt. The world is greener...
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The Akamba (Kamba) people of Kenya
The Akamba language has some of the most archaic word roots in the Bantu family. Its strong relationship with Kikuyu is not in doubt since the two languages are intelligible.
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Kikuyu People: Traditional Foods
The Kikuyu diet was mainly from agricultural produce. They kept cattle and goats, but mainly for ritual purposes and as a currency for the purchase of goods and the payment of dowry. Like in the Maasai community, the Kikuyu were forbiden from eating wild animals. It was also taboo to eat fish and...
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Chief Karuri wa Gakure of the Kikuyu
Chief Karũri wa Gakure was born in Gathigiyo, in the district of Iyigo. His father was from the Angare clan while his mother was actually called Wangare. In 1915, Chief Karuri fell gravely ill and requested to be baptisedby the Reverend Perlo and On 16th May 1916, the great Paramount Chief Karuri...
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Kikuyu Traditional Music instruments
The Kikuyu were agriculturalists, an occupation that is not known for great music. However, after the harvests and other farm labour, they participated in dances which were mainly choral in nature with hardly any accompaniment except for the jingles on the legs to maintain a rhythm. A few...
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Kalenjin Names for Boys and Girls
This article explains how the Kalenjin cultural name their children, and what those names mean.
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Kikuyu names for Girls and their meaning
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...
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Kikuyu Names for Boys and Their Meaning
The Kikuyu people of Kenya have a very specific way of naming children. The first born-son is always given the same name as his paternal grandfather. The old man is usually very eager to be named and may start insinuating that 'he wants to be born' if the couple lingers too long.
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Kisii and Meru people of Kenya and Mentuhotep II of Ancient Egypt
The Kisii, also called Gusii are a highland Bantu agriculturalist community like the Kikuyu. The proto Kisii entered western Kenya from Uganda to the foothills of Mount Elgon.
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Where did Akhenaten Go?
Akhenaten was first called Amenhotep IV, which means he subscribed or paid homage to Amun, the National God at the time, just like his father before him. Now, Amun was a God of war. Recall that Menes, or Mena, the Pharaoh who unified Northern and Southern (Upper) Egypt was allied the Amun. It is...
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Kikuyu People - Ancient Scripts and Symbols similar to Egyptian hieroglyphs
Writing falls into two major categories: 1.When there is no painted or drawn design. 2. When there is a design that has been painted or drawn. This post will look at the ways that the Kikuyu kept their records.
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Falsification of African history - Diop and others
Many black scholars have documented this falsification since the 1800’s. Cheikh Anta Diop is a modern scholar of comparative studies between Egypt and black Africans. John Henrik Clarke, in a review of one of Cheikh Anta Diop’s book online states that, “In the chapter called, ‘Birth of the...
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Kikuyu Language Online: Phonology
Gĩkũyũ is written with seven vowels. Two of the additional vowels are i-tilde (ĩ) and u-tilde (ũ). These are: a (low /central), e (ɛ Mid-low/Front), i (high/front), ĩ (e Mid-high/Front), o (ɔ Mid-low /Back), u (High/Back), ũ (o Mid-high/Back). Kikuyu and Italian seem to share the same...
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Kikuyu People - the trees and shrubs around them
All names for trees in Kikuyu start with Mũ, the prefix for nouns that have a spirit such as a person - Mũndũ. Trees therefore belong to the first class of nouns just like humans and should be accorded due respect. The list below is by no means exhaustive. It is compiled with the help of...
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Kikuyu People of Kenya - Beauty Marks hair styling and scarification for men and women
Scarification is the process of making patterns on the skin by scarring. It was an important form of ornamentation to the Kikuyu.
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Kikuyu, Meru, Gumba and Chuka Myths of Origin
The Kikuyu claim that their father was called Gikuyu and his wife was called Mumbi. The entire Kikuyu community refers to itself as the 'House of Mumbi.'
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the Kikuyu and Luo languages of Kenya: some similarities between them
The Kikuyu are classified as Bantu while the Luo are Nilotes. There are major differences between them, but this post will dwell on the similarites. Surprisingly they are quite a number, which makes one wonder if perhaps there might be a better classification of languages than the one in existence.
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Akhenaten and the Kikuyu People of Kenya - more than meets the eye
Did something that could caused misery and tears happen in the month of Mesore in ancient Egypt? I think so. After Akhenaten’s departure from Egypt, his name was hacked from the monuments and the Phar
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Kikuyu Language Online: Vocabulary and Conversation Practice
Here, you will get a brief background of the Kikuyu people before progressing to the language, its structure, and vocabulary. There are simple dialogues to aid you in conversation practice.
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Akhenaten and the Kikuyu People of Kenya
Akhenaten the monotheistic Pharaoh of the 18th Dynasty had some influence in Kikuyu culture, language and religion. The evidence is not very obvious but once you see it, it stands out like a white elephant.