Book

Facing Mount Kenya: the tribal life of the Gikuyu

Secker and WarburgLondon • Published In 1953 • Pages:

By: Kenyatta, Jomo.

Abstract
This book was first published in 1938. The author, a Kikuyu himself, was the grandson of a seer and a leader of his own age group. He was the General Secretary of the Kikuyu Central Association and the founder of the first Kikuyu journal, 'Mui gwithania', and acted as the spokesman of his people in dealing with the British government on tribal land matters. Kenyatta studied anthropology under Professor Malinowski. His strong feelings against European encroachments upon his native land and institutions are forcefully expressed in this book. Later, he participated actively in the Mau Mau movement which led to his capture and imprisonment. 'Facing Mount Kenya' is a description of tribal life with special emphasis on the interdependence of various social, economic, and religious institutions in giving the Kikuyu society its organic unity. The disintegrative influence of European missionary and political efforts upon tribal life is trenchantly commented upon. This source is particularly useful for the understanding of the Kikuyu kinship system, land tenure, handicrafts, the education of the young, initiation rites, age groups, political and legal organizations, and finally religious and magical practices. The presentation is sometimes marred by the misapplication of European terminology to native institutions.
Subjects
Mythology
Real property
Inheritance
Marriage
Family
Kin relationships
Kin groups
Community structure
Disasters
Revelation and divination
External relations
Division of labor by gender
Tillage
Mutual aid
Metallurgy
Techniques of socialization
Transmission of cultural norms
Infant care
Body alterations
General sex restrictions
culture
Gikuyu
HRAF PubDate
2010
Region
Africa
Sub Region
Eastern Africa
Document Type
Book
Evaluation
Creator Type
Anthropologist
Document Rating
5: Excellent Primary Data
Analyst
Robert Lee ; 1958
Field Date
no date
Coverage Date
1920-1938
Coverage Place
Kenya
Notes
by Jomo Kenyatta ; with an introduction by B. Malinowski
LCSH
Kikuyu (African people)