According to Agikuyu mythology, the first man and woman – Gikuyu and Mumbi – had nine daughters who became the mothers of the nine Kikuyu clans that bear their names. There has been some speculation that there was a tenth clan, Thagicu, who are thought to be the first Agikuyu ‘clan’ to borrow male circumcision from the Cushites. Before then, this rite did not feature in proto-Kikuyu life.
But this is simply a theory.
Once it did become a widely accepted practice, the Agikuyu circumcision ceremony was for boys and girls within prescribed age-sets, or irua. An irua consisted of boys within a five-year age gap, and it signified adopted brotherhood after initiation, proceeding through life together and exercising authority over the irua that came after them. Each irua had a unique name and having these names was an advantage to the Agikuyu who were able to remember historic events by the age-set names.
In the months leading up to the ceremony, the boys to be circumcised looked forward to the ceremony, however, because it was a public occasion that called for demonstration of fearlessness, feelings of anxiety sometimes overtook the excitement. For days before the ceremony, the initiates receive instruction from a well-informed elder. The initiation event was given the name mambura meaning rituals and divine services. Song and dance were always in the agenda, enacted to show communal solidarity, with the first ceremonial dance, gituuro, happening the night before the rite.
In the ancient times, after initiation, the boys were not only men, but junior warriors, proteges of the senior warriors who were experienced defenders of the community. Junior warriors could not marry until they were elevated to senior status.
This was through an elaborate ceremony probably borrowed from the Maasai when the young man was shaven clean for the last time by their mothers. This was a significant event as it also meant that, if he was the youngest son, his father was removed from the kiama that used to declare war and organise cattle raids on their enemies.
Girls had a similar ritual presided over by a senior lady who was well past childbearing. Unlike the boys, girls rites were strictly annual.
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Despite the contents within this story, we still advocate for the end of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) which has ended the lives of many women despite being a cultural practice.
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Tell us about the initiation rites in other Bantu Communities. Were heads shaved? What are the traditional names and are there ceremonies still practiced today?
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