This glossary contains the most frequently used Kikuyu and Swahili words used in this report. Definitions are from a number of sources, primarily Benson's Kikuyu-English Dictionary, but also from Leakey's The Southern Kikuyu before 1903. Botanical descriptions are from Leakey's botanical appendix to The Southern Kikuyu... and from Norman Gachathi's excellent Kikuyu Botanical Dictionary of Plant Names and Uses as well as from information collected from key informants. Words in this Glossary are in Kikuyu, unless otherwise noted.
aguri |
Plural of muguri. |
ahoi |
Plural of muhoi |
athami |
Plural of muthami. |
Gikuyu |
Name of the mythical male
forbearer of the Kikuyu, to whom God gave all the land
south and east of the Nyandarua mountains. Married to Mumbi,
who bore nine daughters who were the mothers of the
nine Kikuyu clans. Also sometimes used in place of Kikuyu
which is the orthographically incorrect, but commonly
used, form of Gikuyu. |
githaka |
sub-clan (mbari) land
holding. Originally meaning uncultivated bush, the
holding was based on rights of first-use, and were
derived from hunting, rather than from agricultural
traditions. |
gitoka |
The Pajama Lily (Crinum kirkii)
which was used to demarcate the boundaries of the githaka.
The dark flowering variety which was preferred for
demarcation was called gitoka kiru. |
ihurura |
A general term for various plant
species which vine and twine. Often these were vines of
the genus Ipomea and were used as goat and sheep
fodder. |
ithimbi |
Plural of githumbi. |
itoka |
Plural of gitoka. |
kaiaba |
Dovyalis caffra. Also
called kei apple and often used for hedging. Usually
impenetrable because it is very thorny. |
kariaria |
Euphorbia tirucalli. Also
called Finger Euphorbia, which is often used for hedging
in arid and semi-arid lands. Easily propagated from
cuttings. Has a thick latex which is highly toxic, and
particularly noxious to livestock. |
Kikuyu |
Orthographically incorrect name
for Gikuyu, referring variously to the language or people
or to the mythical tribal forbearer. |
Kiinuini |
Early Kikuyu name for Nairobi,
referring to "the place where there are many miinu
(Cassia didymobotrya) trees. |
mbari |
Sub-clan of one of the nine Kikuyu
clans. |
Mbuyuni |
Swahili place name for the town
where the baobab (Adansonia digitata) was growing. |
mubage |
Caesalpinia decapetala. Also
called Mauritius Thorn. A native of Asia, but naturalized
in East Africa. Used for hedging around homesteads. |
mubariiti |
Grevillea robusta. Also
called Silky Oak and in Kikuyu, mukima. Native of
Australia, but widely planted in fields. Prolific
producer of mulch. Is often sidepruned to limit light
competition and for fuelwood or small construction
timber. |
mubiru muiru |
Vangueria linearisepala. A
small tree, the wood of which was often used for
constructing cattle enclosures. The berries are edible. |
mugumo muguri |
Ficus thonningii. Sacred
tree, widely distributed. Easily regenerated from
cuttings but seldom found naturally growing. Naturally
regenerating trees were often uprooted and replanted with
other trees or bushes. Trees would be planted to mark
sacred groves. |
mugumo |
Purchaser of land in a redeemable
land sale. Usually, land would be sold for livestock for
bridewealth or to pay off debts. The land could be
redeemed by returning the original number of livestock to
the muguri. |
muheregendi |
Grewia similis. Tree used
for constructing granaries. Also produced very good
fodder. |
muhethu |
Trema orientalis Saplings
of this tree were used for building rafters. Leaves were
used as fodder. |
muhindahinda |
Trimeria tropica. Often
planted between huts of a homestead as a living fence. |
muhoi |
Tenant with cultivation rights on mbari
holdings. Not allowed to construct a homestead and
had to live elsewhere. Land was temporarily lent to a muhoi.
The arrangement could be inherited and could be
cancelled by the original rightholder. Ahoi arrangements
were most common when land was abundant and labour to
cultivate it, and so to establish permanent tenure, was
scarce. |
muhuti |
Erythrina abyssinica. Cuttings
of this tree were commonly planted to reinforce the
cattle enclosures and to make living fences. |
muigoya |
Plectranthus barbatus.
Often grown as a hedge, the leaves were used for ripening
bananas. |
muiri |
Prunus africanum. Tall
timber tree. |
mukandu |
Lantana or Lippia sp.
Grown as hedges. Lantana was introduced with
colonization, while Lippia is indigenous. Branches
of both were commonly used for the construction of small
buildings and for fencing. |
mukawa |
Carissa edulis. Bush used
for fencing around fortified villages. Is very thorny but
with edible berries. |
mukenia |
Lantana sp. See mukandu.
A "good" tree planted in the place of
naturally generating mugumo trees. |
mukeu |
Dombeya sp. Saplings of
this tree were favoured for timber cross beams. Good
timber for beehives. A "good" tree, planted in
place of naturally generating mugumo trees. |
mukinduri |
Croton megalocarpus. Very
common tree planted on field boundaries. Produces good
fuelwood and has a high canopy that allows light to pass
through, limiting crop competition. Often managed as a
tightly pruned hedge. |
muluhakuha |
Macaranga kilimandscharica. Timber
tree used for building poles. |
mukungugu |
Commiphora zimmermannii. Cuttings
of this tree were used to mark boundaries within a githaka.
Also commonly planted in the centre of a courtyard to
support fodder for goats and sheep. |
Mukurwewa Gathanga |
"The sandy place where the Albizia
grows" also variously translated as "the
building place." Traditionally held to be the place
in Murang'a District where God gave Gikuyu all the
land south and East of the Nyandarua mountains. |
mukuyu |
Ficus sycomorus. Sacred
tree from which the name Gikuyu is derived. Munyua
maai Kikuyu name for Eucalyptus. Literally
translated, in means "the drinker of water." |
muramati |
Lineage authority with rights of
control over sub-clan lands. The eldest son of the eldest
son... |
murema |
Trees which were left after an
area had been cleared for cultivation |
kiriti |
to become the dwelling
place of the spirits of the trees which had been felled.
Literally, "the trees which resisted" the
felling of the forests. |
murigono |
Clerodendrum johnstonii.
Branches of this shrub were used for constructing cattle
enclosures. Also used as stakes for training yam vines. |
muringa |
Cordia africana. Large
timber tree covered with white flowers. Cuttings of this
tree were used for marking githaka boundaries. |
mutanda |
Pterolobium stellatum. Bush
used for living fences |
mbogo |
around fortified villages. |
muthakwa |
Vernonia auriculifera. Bush
with many ritual uses. A "good" tree used for
replacing naturally generating mugumo trees. |
muthakwa wa |
Crassocephalum mannii.
Shrub commonly planted around |
athi |
homesteads and field boundaries.
Propagated by cuttings, the leaves are used for treating
gall sickness in cattle. |
muthami |
Tenant with cultivation rights on mbari
land. Similar to a muhoi except that a muthami
was allowed to construct a homestead. A muhoi had
to live elsewhere. Tenancy rights could be inherited, but
could also be cancelled by the original rightholder. |
mutundu |
Croton macrostachyus.
Common boundary tree and sometimes managed as a hedge.
Naturally regeneration was reportedly prolific on
burnt-over sites. |
mutura |
Solanum aculeastrum. Bush
planted as a living fence. |
muuti |
Aspilia spp. Noxious shrub
planted around fortified villages. |
muuu |
Markhamia hildebrandtii.
Freely coppicing timber tree used to mark subdivisions of
the githaka. |
muyuyu |
Chaetacme aristata. Shrub
planted around fortified villages. |
mwatha |
Synadenium compactum. Tree
used for boundary demarcation. Has bright red leaves and
white latex. |
ngundu |
Name for a sub-clans holdings,
similar to githaka but in less common usage. |
ngwatio |
Form of labour organization
involving reciprocal labour use during times of peak
labour demand. |
Nyandarua |
Proper name for the Aberdare
Mountains, which form the western boundaries of what were
traditionally Kikuyu lands. |
rugongo |
A ridge lying between two rivers
in Kikuyu country. Ridges were often formally recognized
territorial units sharing similar social obligations. |
shamba |
Swahili for a smallholding. |
wira |
Used to describe large work
parties which would be convened on particular holdings to
complete big tasks such as digging. The person whose land
was being attended to would be required to provide beer,
at least, and sometimes food as well. |