Writing about the influence of folklore cannot juxtaposed to anything. Folklore is a wide and rich area that can be studied to the highest level of academic standards. This is so because before the modern way of preserving knowledge, folklore played the role. Hence any attempt to study or think about folklore is like trying to comprehend the entire human race’s knowledge in its widest sense.

In many traditions and societies world over, heritage is stored in folklore. Understanding folklore then brings one closer to understanding norms, beliefs and customs that govern any given society. Without purporting to be conclusive, this article delves into the topic with a special emphasis on Kikuyu folklore. Kikuyu is a tribe found in Kenya’s central highlands. It is the majority tribe in Kenya within East Africa and the dialect is easily learned by those who are non-Kikuyus within the country.

For those reading this article and may not be aware, it is important to mention that the first attempt to understand the Kikuyu folklore was narrated by the first president of Kenya, Mzee Jomo Kenyatta in a book he wrote titled Mount Kenya. This article does not review the book but just mentions it for those who may find it interesting to want to study the culture of the Kikuyu people. Besides, there are sites in the internet that have materials that have some aspect of Kikuyu folklore. They include Kikuyu stories, Kanyoni ka nja amongst many others.

Here though, the concern is to understand what influence folklore has on any given culture and society. In other words to understand the topic is to try and answer the question: what is (was) the purpose of folklore?

Folklore has been defined as a combination of songs, stories, sayings, proverbs and all the narratives that are used by society with a given aim. The aim could be to foster identity, passing a certain message, instilling morals and mores, propagating beliefs and even entertainment. Being folk means that it is passed on from generation to another through word of mouth.

In the Kikuyu tradition, the story of the origin of Agikuyu society was a form of folklore preserved in form of a story. This story acted as religious foundation and a form of a bond that bound the society together. The story was never written but passed on from generation to generation through word of mouth. For the benefit of the reader, this is the brief outline of the story:

Long time ago Mwene Nyaga (Owner of all ostriches in the world) also called Ngai (the Divider) made a man and a woman. The man was called Gikuyu (from which Kikuyu tribe derives its name) and the woman was called Mumbi (the creator). The couple bore nine daughters but did not have a son. The nine daughters are Airimu/Agathigia/Aichakamuyu, Aithera, Anjiru, Aambui, Aanjeri/ Aacera, Aangari, Aanjiku, Aangui/Aithiegeni, Aichakamuyu and Ambura/Ethaga. From these nine daughters came the famous feminine Kikuyu names: Wairimu/ Gathigia/Wamuyu, Waithera, Wanjiru, Wambui, Wanjeri/Wacera, Wangari, Nyambura, Waangui/Waithiegeni and Wanjiku. Further these became the nine clans of the Kikuyu tribe in Kenya. Mwene Nyaga placed the man and woman at Mukuru wa Nyagathanga which is a place in Muranga within central Province is today one of the tourist sites. The story has it that Mwene Nyaga lived in Mount Kenya, the highest pick in the Central Province in Kenya. Mount Kenya is the second highest mountain in East Africa. Therefore, Kikuyu community prays and offers their sacrifices facing this mountain.

What influence does this folklore have in the Kikuyu culture and society? In one story several themes have been covered. To begin within this story explains why the Kikuyu community is a matriarchal society. Clans are named after the women and women are therefore the central pillars of the community. When a Kikuyu marriage breaks for instance, the wife automatically takes the children. As a result, before modern influence into the family, the Kikuyu society revolved around the woman figure. This is not saying that the man had no role, but it is more common to find that the woman becomes the center bolt that holds the society together. Further on, this folklore explains the origin of the naming system in Kikuyu society. If a lady says that she is Wanjiku, it is likely that she comes from the Anjiku clan or somewhere along clan genealogy there was a connection with the Anjiku clan through intermarriage.

In this story, religion is introduced. The story introduces the Kikuyu society as one that believes in one deity who resides in the highest point in their land. Significance of this is that it suggests that their creator is not far away from them and that whatever they do, the owner of all the wild ostriches sits by watching. By extension, the story became the most important story that explains the origin of the society and how it should behave. Norms were developed with reverence to the existence of a being who watches the actions of each person.

As a result of this story, the Kikuyu community defines its identity and its core beliefs. When the missionaries came, they found it easier to penetrate the Kikuyu due to the similarities of the new religion and what the Kikuyu believed in. But more to that, the Kikuyu were more cohesive thanks to the story that they all belonged to the same parents. 

Today the tenets of this story can be used to explain the existence of groups like Mungiki that the government is opposed to. The biggest war of the Mungiki is that the Kikuyu society has deviated from the tenets of this story and hence they are the ones that attempt to bring them back to their original beliefs. Those around the world that followed the press coverage of the suppression of this group in Kenya may not have understood what the problem was.

The Mungiki group attempted to galvanize support using folklore. Their activities included praying facing Mount Kenya and shunning anything that is foreign. The group however degenerated into human rights violations and became an avenue for extorting money from members of society and easily turned into gangs hired to kill others hence the reason why government banned it. This shows that folklore can have both positive and negative influence upon society and culture of a people. It can be used as a tool for mobilization and a tool for oppression and suppression. It can also be used as an ideology with varying motives.

Another common story among the Kikuyu folklore is the “Wangu wa Makeri Story”. This story is narrated that once upon a time there lived a woman who was called Wangu wa Makeri. She ruled the village as a chief and the women liked her because she could assist them whenever they were in trouble with their husbands. Wangu became famous and powerful. The story is told that she became so powerful that she could sit on men as chairs. She liked it so much that she got rid of all her three legged stools (called Njun’gwa) and sat on men who would have to adopt a four legged posture where their hands would act like front legs. This angered the men.

Disillusioned by the unbecoming behavior of their chief, men called a meeting and resolved that the situation had to stop. To do this, all the men decided that all the women in the village had to get pregnant including the chief herself. They accomplished their mission. From that time onwards, men decided that no woman would become a chief anymore since they would sit on men just like Wangu wa Makeri did.

Among stories that grandmothers never miss to tell their grandchildren, this is one of them. What was its purpose? In this story, gender roles are introduced and defined. On the one hand, the women are shown as incapable of ruling men. This is shown through the harsh ruling tactics and the fact that men get them pregnant hence incapacitating them. In other words, even if they rule, men will still over-power them.

The effect of this story has been to create a scenario where the woman voice is dissipated and relegated to the sphere of non influence. Right from the young age, the story continues to shape the social mentality that if the woman is given a chance to lead, then she will be ineffective and the men will always have the final word, never mind that Kikuyu society is matriarchal as we noted earlier.

In modern time, partly due to this tale, the first African Woman Peace Laurent died without being accorded the recognition she deserved in her Central Province despite being a world celebrated icon. Thus, unconsciously and without admitting it, men feared and oppressed the late Professor Wangari Maathai despite her world class accomplishments. It is due to such folklore that the Kenyan society had to include affirmative clause within its recently promulgated new supreme law so that women leadership could be demystified and instead celebrated and encouraged. In this story we see the power of oppression veiled within folklore.

Apart from stories, Kikuyu folklore consisted of sayings, riddles  and proverbs. Some of the sayings are:

(Ndathie uu ndathie uu? Answer {njira cia ategi}  (riddle))

I go this way I go that way? Answer {the hunter’s path}

(Kirema arume ni kigariure) Saying

What defeats men has been turned many times (saying)

(Cia korire Wacu mugunda) saying

They got Wacu at the farm (saying)

The sampled sayings and riddles provided a lot of information coded within a short sentence or in a form of a question. It is important to appreciate the use of the sayings or proverbs depended upon who were the target and the circumstances within which the saying was said. Let us analyze the examples quoted above:

The riddle was in most cases posed by older members of society (mostly grandparents and parents) to the young ones. The purpose of this riddle was to introduce a means of Kikuyu livelihood which is hunting. The other aspect was to introduce the amount of work that the hunters had to put in, that is, their hunting path was not definite and neither was it assured. The hunter had to use many paths to get to his kill.

The influence of this riddle among the young Kikuyu was to instill into them a sense of entrepreneurship. From an early age, the child grows knowing that nothing comes easy. For the family to feed, the hunter must put in extra effort and time and use many routes in order to make a kill. No wonder, Kikuyu as a community in Kenya is very enterprising. Kikuyu tribesmen are known to engage in all manner of enterprises if only to provide a means of livelihood. The influence of such saying can be attributed to such a fact.

The other example is that “what defeats men has been turned many times”. This saying often comes up when discussing issues and where there are many challenges to it. It is commonly used among the older members of society. What the saying portrays is that men are the custodian of tough issues and decisions within the society. Thus before giving up on any challenge men would have analyzed it from all angles. If a solution won’t be found, it would be because they searched and searched and reached the end.

This saying introduces a governance structure within the Kikuyu society. There is a council of elders known as “Kiama Gia Athuri” or the council of elders. This is a council whose membership is through a process. One has to fulfill some conditions that distinguish him from the others. When the council sits, it must come up with a solution. Before major decisions affecting families or societies were taken, before the youth were sent to war or during a religious function, the council would have been consulted. Thus, when discussing issues the saying was used, as a way of affirming that nothing would be too difficult to solve.

As a result, such a saying boosted the morale of the society and enabled it to confront whatever challenges it encountered. The Mau Mau struggle for independence that led to the defeat of the colonial masters in Kenya may have derived its inspiration from such a saying. The conviction that nothing would defeat men, could explain the endurance the fighters had to go through in the hands of the colonial masters. Thus, such a saying again galvanized the Kikuyu society to rally behind their leaders to come up with a solution that would be valued by the entire society.

It is common to see the influence of such saying in contemporary Kikuyu society. Again for those who may have a chance to read about the Kenya modern politics, often you may come across calls for unity of people from mount Kenya region or the formation and the revival of the GEMA (Gikuyu, Embu, Meru and Akamba) council of elders. All these are attempts to respond to this saying.

To some extent, the saying introduces the gender roles structure within the community. The saying defines the hard tasks as belonging exclusively to men. This has the effect of introducing the decision-making process where men would be looked upon to make hard decisions.

The other saying that has been quoted has to do with a lady called Wacu. This saying would be used among women or among older generation to younger generation. It is explained that while lady Wacu was at the farm tilling her land, cows and other gifts came to her. She then took them home to be used by the family members. This saying has for a long time been told those who sit idle and who shun hard work.

The saying introduces another dimension of the Kikuyu society, agriculture. It was and it still is common to find individuals telling themselves this saying in the morning before going to their daily chores. It is used as a morale booster. The saying implies that when one goes out to farm, there could be other benefits that could accrue apart from the farm produce. In other contexts it is used to prompt someone to go out to the place where they derive their livelihood since luck may come their way.

The effect of this is to find that the society leads in farm produce. In fact it is feared that should the Central Kenya go hungry, then the entire country’s food situation would be severely affected. It is such sayings that prompt every Kikuyu in Central Kenya to do away with laziness and go out into the farm where something that might change their life might come.

In the modern times, this saying can be used to explain the resilience of the Kikuyu entrepreneurship within the Kenyan economy. Kikuyus dominate every sector of the economy. May be it is the conviction of this saying that works at the individual level to ensure that they all produce as expected.

Let us now focus on a folksong.

Muturi ugutura ii,   (Hardworking smith,)

Cagararai  ca,         (Brighten up,)

Muturi ugutura ii,     (Hardworking smith,)

Cagararai ca,          (Brighten up,

Mutumia waku aciariathio ni irimu ii, (Your wife has been midwife by an ogre,)

Cagararai ca.           (Brighten up)

This song is sang during a story telling in which a tools smith goes to a far land and concentrates with his work, while back home his wife whom he had left pregnant had given birth with the help of an ogre as the midwife. In each society stories involving the ogre were common. The imaginary beast would feed on humans, especially young children and beautiful girls. So the survival chance of a child who is born with an ogre as the midwife is zero. The good dove sings this song to the blacksmith in an attempt to urge him to go home before the ogre decides to feed on the new born.

This song introduces a teaching on family unit. The big lesson here is that the man must not leave his family unattended and must always be available to offer the needed security. Through such a song the family unit was not only safeguarded but also given a sense of meaning and security. What was the essence of working hard only to go home and realize your very own family is no more? Thus the song tries to urge the society to strike a balance between other activities and family.

In conclusion, folklore in its widest sense served to influence the society’s every aspect. It provides answers to questions that are not easily comprehensible and more so is a tool for rallying support by creating a common platform for action. Though traditional folklore has continued to wane, modern time has produced its own, commonly shown through common slogans, names and occupational etiquette. The code of conduct ascribed to by some organizations, mission and visions displayed by corporate are all vestiges of the traditional folklore.

References and Further reading

Mount Kenya. Kikuyu stories Kanyoni ka nja Folklore Names Proverbs