KIKUYU CULTURE
According to Kikuyu mythology, all of creation began at the summit of Mount Kenya.
The icy peak was the realm of Ngai, the Supreme Creator, who descended from the heavens to his mountainous throne to survey his newly created lands. The mountain became Kirinyaga, his resting place, and it was from here that he called forth Gikuyu, the father of the Kikuyu people.

Ngai told him that all of the lands around Kirinyaga would be the home of Gikuyu and his children forever. He sent Gikuyu to grove of Fig trees, where he found a woman called Mumbi. This grove would become known as Mukuru wa Nyagathanga, the birthplace of all Kikuyu, still revered as a sacred place.

Among the fig trees, Gikuyu and Mumbi produced nine daughters- Wanjiku, Wanjiru, Wanjeri, Wambui, Wangari, Wacera, Waithera, Wairimu, and Nyambura. (Traditionally all Kikuyu girls should be given one of these names)

The girls grew into beautiful young women, who each full moon wandered the lands around Kirinyaga in search of men so that they could bear children. They begged their father to appeal to Ngai for help. Finally he bowed before the Mountain, and Ngai commanded him to make sacrifice among the figs and light a fire.

The sacrifice of a goat beneath a fig tree is still considered a way to call rain in times of drought, but in this first case it was a different form of life sustaining rain that Gikuyu sought. After the sacrifice he plunged nine sticks into a fire, and prayed. The fire erupted into an inferno, from which nine strong young men emerged. Giving thanks, Gikuyu took them back to his daughters, and the nine marriages were blessed by Ngai.

Each of the daughters made her own homestead, and nine separate clans of the Kikuyu were born. the unity of these clans was known as the Nyumba ya Mumbi, in honour of their Mother. The peak of Kirinyaga has since remained the sacred home of Ngai. All Kikuyu homesteads were traditionally built to face this Holy Mountain.

In reality, the traditional Kikuyu lands (From Mt Kenya south through the Aberdares and towards present day Nairobi) have indeed been long inhabited by the Kikuyu, but their exact origins are uncertain. The most widely held theory is that they descended from a now extinct group known as the Thagicu, who are considered the linguistic ancestors of the Kikuyu, Kamba, Meru, Tharaka and other tribes. Some Kikuyu lore also speaks of the Gumba ,a tribe of pygmy hunter gatherers who lived in holes under the ground, being absorbed by the early Kikuyu.

Regardless, the Kikuyu were traditionally an industrious people who quickly expanded throughout the central elements of dress, and intermarriage was common. This resulted in some Maasai clans being absorbed into the Kikuyu. highlands. They came into close contact with the Maasai, with whom they shared some traditional practices and

The Kikuyu culture has always remained bound by strict and strong ties of clan loyalty and an even stronger sense of tribal unity - still devoted to the original Nyumba ya Mumbi.There was an age set system among young men, known as Mariika, but all clans and villages (itura) always paid deference to the wisdom and law of the tribe. There were many tribal councils of elders known as Kiama.

There was a structured system of Chiefdom, with all powerful 'Paramount Chiefs' ruling entire areas. Society was strongly patriarchal- with one surprising exception. In the mid-19th century, a Paramount chief appointed a woman, Wangu wa Makeri, as Chief of an area near modern day Muran'ga.

She proved to be a very powerful and authoritarian ruler. Rigid order was maintained, and she was widely supported by the female population. The men however, felt differently. She was known to treat her male subjects harshly, and it is believed that she even used to require men to kneel on all fours so that she could sit on their backs. Dissent among the male ranks grew, and a very unique political coup was hatched.

All of the men plotted to impregnate their wives at around the same time, knowing that in nine months the majority of Makeri's supporters would be physically disabled. This actually worked, and a wave of planned pregnancies (including Makeri herself) swept her from power. The men easily assumed control as the female population, almost entirely heavily pregnant, in childbirth or nursing, were powerless to stop this unusual, bloodless coup.

The Kikuyu were widely effected by the coming of European settlement. The Mountain was first described by the German explorer Krapf in 1849, though his stories of snow on the equator were mostly dismissed as ridiculous. The British found the highlands of Kenya to be ideal for settlement and farming and the Kikuyu were widely displaced. Karen Blixen's Out of Africa is an interesting European perspective of the initial relationship between settler and Kikuyu on her coffee plantation just outside Nairobi.

The British were shocked to find that Kikuyu elders were sometimes found high on the snowline of the Mountain, making pilgrimages to their god. Such climbs seem to have been a regular custom. Whether or not they ever actually achieved the summit is still unknown. The first recorded ascents by European climbers were made in 1899 and 1928.

During the Second World War, the mountain became the stage for a remarkable adventure story. Many Italians were made prisoners of war at the time, and interned in camps throughout Kenya. Italian soldiers captured during the East African campaign were used to build roads throughout the colony. On one such road along the escarpment between Nairobi and Mai Mahehiu (en route to the Maasai Mara) a small chapel built by these prisoners can be seen on the roadside.

One young Italian soldier, Felice Benuzzi was a keen Mountain climber. He had heard about the challenging ascent to the summit of Mt Kenya, and dreamed of one day bagging the peak. Finally, unable to resist temptation, he convinced two other prisoners to join him, escaped from their camp at Nanyuki and made their way to the mountain. Using a tin of local corned beef with a picture of the Mountain on the label as a route map and basic handmade tools, they began the difficult and dangerous climb. Two of them managed to achieve an ascent to Point Lenana.

Their dream realised, they returned from the slopes and turned themselves back in to the British authorities.

Meanwhile the industrious nature and opportunism saw the Kikuyu quickly take advantage of the arrival of the colonial settlers, and the Kikuyu quickly became some of the first western educated local authorities and business men.

At the same time, resentment at the loss of land and imposition of colonial restrictions grew. The Kikuyu the driving force behind the Independence movement, and the inevitable initial stakeholders in Kenyan politics and business. Some may consider that the Kikuyu were quick to abandon tradition and embrace Western values, but Kikuyu Today, the Kikuyu are Kenya's largest tribe.

loyalty remains very strong, and traditional beliefs hold strong in many communities. Rites of passage, especially initiation and marriage, remain very important and widely celebrated events.

CULTURE TOURS

One of the most intriguing aspects of Africa is the colourful local tribes, their culture, and their unique traditions. Cultural Tours are created to allow visitors an insight into the African way of life, and include visits to traditional villages and to social functions

MASAAI CULTURE
This warrior tribe of nomadic pastrolists are descendants of Nolitic and Cushitic people originally from north of Lake Turkana over 10 centuries ago. Their life is dominated by their herds of their cattle and livestock. They often move hundreds of kilometers with large herds of livestock in search of water and rich pastures. Their diet is based on fresh / curdled milk and meat from their livestock. Centuries ago the Maasai were feared as ruthless conquerors and cattle rustlers who invaded other tribal areas in search of bigger grazing land and more cattle. The Maasai are also famous for drinking a mixture of cattle blood and milk during ceremonial rites. An arrow is shot at close range to punture the jugular vein of the cow. The blood is drawn into a skin gourd and later mixed with milk to be drunk by the gathering. The animal is not left to bleed but is carefully tended to, till it fully heals.Their rites and traditional ceremonies are taken very seriously, and it is not common to allow outsiders to attend. Elders play a very important role in the community and society at large. There is then the 'moran' or warrior age group, men who have been circumcised and been initiated into this group and are expected to safeguard the herds of cattle from theft or attack.
Cattle are the mainstay of the traditional Maasai way of life, and their importance is embedded deep into the hearts and minds of these peoples. So much so that one of the traditional maasai beliefs was that God sent all the cattle down to earth only for the Maasai. This long justified their cattle rustling activites on surrounding tribes, who they believed had 'stolen' any cattle they had from the maasai. Social structures in the traditional way of life reflect the principles of a male dominated society with polygamy being a norm. Wife inheritance subject to certain conventions, was also practised. The traditional maasai dwelling , known as the 'manyatta', was infact constructed by the women, using a wooden structure and a plaster made of cowdung and mud. Several of these manyattas could form a household for a maasai family headed by the man. Although remnants of the traditional Maasai way of life still remain, there are inevitable changes on a large scale. There are several eminent members of the maasai community in different spheres of life in Kenya. The more traditional and conservative members of the tribe still do live almost like they used to say 80 years ago, but the majority of the community is accepting change and are embracing education. Permanent settlement is also becoming a normal way of life for many Maasai.

SAMBURU CULTURE
Brief History on the Samburu People A nomadic people, numbering over 100,000 who moved south from the horn of Africa into the current day Kenya, the Samburu tribe are quite similar to the Maasai tribe with almost the same traits and cultures but with the exception that the Samburu are found on the northern part of the country whilst the Maasai are to the south. The Samburu are pastoralists with a close attachment to their livestock, which they live off. Meat from sheep, goats and milk from cattle are their principal foods, supplemented by the blood of living cattle. The land they inhabited is mainly semi - arid and offers few opportunities for agriculture except around the hilly areas where maize, sorghum and wheat is now actively grown. Despite sharing the same language as the Massai community, the Samburu are more tolerant of other groups and their cultural rites are elaborate, carefully followed with social ceremonies being loud and colourful