Thirteen kilometers north of Meru town is Njuuri Ncheke the traditional high court for the area. Construction of the building began in 1962 on the site where elders met under trees, but due to differences between the Meru County Council (which was responsible for its construction) and the constructor, the building was abandoned before its completion.

Nonetheless, it was and is  still used once a year by a Meru Council of elders as the venue for settling disputes arising within Meru communities which could not be resolved by the smaller traditional councils(njuuri). The smaller njuuri houses nominated their members to Njuuri Ncheke, the high court of the Meru people, which catered for the entire Meru community.

The Njuuri Ncheke house is located in Nyambene District, near the road leading to Meru National Park. Its shape is oval representing the traditional Meru architecture. In 1989, the building was entrusted to the NMK. The name Njuuri Ncheke is derived from the ritual oath that was taken by all the members of the traditional council; only the elders (judges) of the court knew this sacred and secret oath.

There are several njuuri houses (as they were popularly known) within one sub- location, and they deliberated over local cases within that area. These smaller njuuri were widely spread all over the former Meru District (currently Tharaka Nithi District), Nyambene and Meru Central Districts. Today the small njuuri houses are active only in Nyambene District.

Some of the cases dealt with by the sub-locational (smaller) njuuri houses were farm boundary disputes, personal debts and small theft cases. The members of the court decided on what type of punishment was to be imposed, and these ranged from ritual sacrifices to even death. The cases deliberated by the smaller njuuri houses were normally settled to the satisfaction of both parties. If one of the parties was not satisfied, he was allowed to appeal to the wider njuuri system: some members of all the njuuri houses in the location could be nominated to sit and listen to the appeal.

Njuuri Ncheke members met once a year to make new laws or review the old ones; it also determined bride prices. The smaller njuuri houses also used these laws, and it ensured uniform judgements throughout Meru. It was also the duty of the njuuri to bring rains.

If a Maasai man plants his spear outside the manyatta of his agemate, he can go ahead to enjoy the company of his wife. Right? Wrong.

This is just one of the myths associated with the Maasai culture. “Nothing can be further from the truth,” says Mr Gideon ole Pesi a Maasai cultural expert.

“The planting of the spear was actually meant to show you meant no harm and that if anybody doubted you, then they could even spear you, as you had surrendered you weapon. It did not mean you were free to have sex,” he says.

He added that if you were travelling in distant lands and you were caught up by nightfall you could sleep at your agemate’s house whether he was there or not, after planting a spear outside to announce your presence.

Another myth is that young Maasai children play a game of placing rocks on a sleeping rhinoceros; the last one to put a rock on it before it wakes up being the winner.

But there are also practices that are unique to the Maasai. Take house building, for example. Whereas in many other parts of Kenya, it is the man who builds the house for his family, among the Maasai, this is the woman’s responsibility.

This is one of the little known cultural aspects of the glamorous Maasai: the role of women to build and maintain the house.

“It might now look odd and oppressive, but it was not always like that. Initially, there was clear division of labour. The man, too, toiled the whole day in the scorching sun, looking after cattle,” said Henry Rupes ole Kulet, a leading Maasai novelist.

Female circumcision is another of those cultural aspects that have stayed in spite of modernity. The cut is now even carried out in clinics and hospitals, including those run by the government.

Like most poor women in Africa, the majority of Maasai women in Kenya are destined to live a life of poverty and cultural oppression.

Just one generation ago, fewer than 20 percent of Kenyan Maasai women enrolled in school.

Today, even with free primary school education since January 2003, only 48 percent of Maasai girls enroll, and only five per cent of them will go on to secondary school.

‘Never cut’ forest

Yet it is not always doom and gloom for this community which has largely retained its culture in spite of an onslaught on its values from the West and other communities.

The Maasai have coexisted with both the flora and the fauna of their environment. For example there is a forest near Mau known as Medung’i, which means in Maa ‘Never cut.’ It was believed that if you cut a tree in the area, blood, and not sap, would ooze from it.

You would also hear wails of mourning as if in real death. It is this cultural belief which has kept the natural environment largely intact in Maasailand.

This had helped to conserve the Maasai Mara, Amboseli and Serengeti national parks and reserves, as had the fact that the Maasai do not eat game meat.

He is also said to have foretold the building of the railway, which he compared to a long snake winding its way across Kenya and beyond.

Far from the mystical picture of Mugo wa Kibiru, he was a well-known figure in Murang’a remembered many people.

He has descendants living in his area of origin at Kariua in Gatanga.

Contrary to popular legend, Wangu wa Makeri was a modern and even fairly well-educated colonial chief, and not the distant mythical figure she is widely believed to have been.

Wangu wa Makeri was actually a run-of-the mill chief appointed by the British authorities at the recommendation of Chief Karuri.

Chief Karuri had at first earmarked the position for her husband, one Makeri wa Mbogo, a wealthy man and agemate of the chief’s who had eight wives, with Wangu being the first.

When the man declined to take up the position, it was given to Wangu, who is today remembered as an extremely heavy-handed administrator especially towards the menfolk.

Wangu had two sons, Jacob Muchini and Moses Maina. The former inherited her position as a chief, and the later, who died in 1994 was a well-known figure around Koimbi.

Her office still stands, complete with the safe in which she used to store firearms and taxes. There is also a small cell where she is reputed to have whipped erring men while seated on the backs of other men.

The executed Iraqi dictator was captured from a manhole in his Tikrit home town after only a few months.

But Masinde, head of the Church of Spirits (Dini ya Msambwa), evaded the British for three years, holed up in a bunker at Sulwe Village on the foot of Mt Elgon.

Sulwe means star and it was given to the village by locals because it is a place of hope, especially in the days of Masinde as he was sought by the colonial government for preaching rebellion.

Today the bunker remains one of the most outstanding treasures of Bungoma County, although possibly unknown to the Ministry of National Heritage and the National Museums of Kenya.

Betrayed by a chief

The county and the locals now have the task of turning this historic site into a museum that could rake in tourism cash.

The oval bunker is 4.5 metres high and about 3.5 metres wide. The furniture comprised a stool and a table. It is a heritage fit to be declared a national monument.

Unsuspecting visitors to the compound, home to the Juda Israel Church, a splinter of the Dini Ya Msambwa, would not know that the rotunda house with corrugated iron sheets was built to conceal the bunker.

Mr Moses Wafula, commander of the church, said that had he not been betrayed by a chief, the British would never have found Masinde.

“The chief was promised promotion and he showed them where our spiritual leader was hiding,” said Mr Wafula.

The man who conceived the idea of the bunker, he says, was Jonathan Mabonga, a World War II veteran who had seen combat overseas.

The Juda Israel sect recognised Masinde as their leader, even though they have gone their separate ways. The parent sect is based 20 kilometres away at Maeni Village.

The bunker is revered by sect members. Before entering it, visitors must remove their shoes and follow steps into the dark, oval bunker.

As their eyes get used to the darkness, one notices the sect’s paraphernalia — furniture draped in Masinde’s flag, a Bible and other materials. Ms Sarah Nebula explains that sect members restored the bunker 13 years ago.

While digging out the soil they found some things, which Masinde used, among them rubber bands from his bed and ash from the fireplace.

Masinde was arrested in 1948 and detained for l4 years variously at Kapenguria, Hola and Lamu. At Kapenguria, he was detained with Mzee Kenyatta, the founding president.

The reason for his detention was his and his church’s open agitation that Mzungu arudi Ulaya (white man must return to Europe). The British considered him a troublemaker.

The sect’s compound, above the bunker, also houses refugees from Mt Elgon, who fled the rebellion over land sparked by the Sabaot Land Defence Force militia.

Sect followers see it as a continuation of Masinde’s leadership and the generosity he accorded his followers.

Twenty kilometres away, at Maeni, is another heritage highpoint — the mausoleum in which Masinde’s remains were interred in 1987.

In the five-acre compound are the homes of four of his six widows and their 13 sons and 12 daughters as well as Maeni Girls Secondary school.

The mausoleum is tended by family members who are excited to talk about the legendary leader. The traditional African round hut in which Masinde died has been turned into a church.

In the compound, a 12-bedroom house built in a Z-shape is set aside for visitors. His sons explain that the foundation was started by the late Masinde Muliro, another Luhya leader and Independence and Second Liberation fighter from the same county.

Ironically, it was completed by a white man for whom Masinde prayed in an attempt to solve his personal problems.

Gladys Nanjala, the sixth wife, has fond memories of her husband. “Although his heart has gone, the spirit remains with the followers,” she says.

Two sons, Simiyu Waliaula and Sitati Simiyu said Masinde had shown local elders where he wanted to be buried.

But the elders dug his grave in the wrong place and were astonished to find the skeleton of someone nobody remembered.

They then had to uproot a tree and prepare a new grave in the place Masinde had indicated and where his mausoleum stands today.

Unlike in Canadian cities like Toronto where weddings are colorful with many wedding photos, culture permeates Luo wedding activities for this tribe. From birth to death, traditions and culture dictate the society. Recently however, this cultural fabric is disintegrating and many traditions are losing acceptance.

A Luo wedding is a very significant event among the Luo and remaining unmarried is considered inappropriate. Thus to enable all people to get married, polygamy is widely practiced. Despite the many tribes in this populous nation, many Luos still marry within the Luo ethnic group. With the coming of Christianity, many Luo weddings are performed in churches, just like Toronto weddings, with many wedding photos to show for it.

Before a wedding, women are required to organize the menu. Usually, the bride and bridegroom take the financial responsibility of ensuring that everything is catered for. A bridal party of up to twenty people can be organized. Before the wedding day, the bridegroom must visit the bride’s village, accompanied by elders from his village. Usually, the bridegroom must arrive in style and usually this means a fleet of cars. There are many wedding photos taken at this point. All this is done on the eve of the wedding and the bridegroom is required to give everything he is asked for by both the in-laws and the village elders.

The wedding usually lasts the entire day. Wedding photos are taken while the bridegroom goes to the brides homestead and picks her up early in the morning. From there they make their way to the church for the ceremony. This is a typical western ceremony as witnessed in Toronto. After the church ceremony, they go to the reception, which is held in a venue that can accommodate a large number of people. Usually it is a field or a designated hall or even the bridegroom’s home. Here the community is invited to a large feast and people bring gifts to the couple. People of the community are allowed to speak and offer words of wisdom to the now newly married couple. At times enacted demonstrations or plays may be performed to entertain the guests.

After the reception, where many wedding photos are taken, there is an evening party, usually for a few designated individuals. The couple opens the dance floor with a slow romantic dance and after the first dance, the rest join in. The bridegroom is expected to pay for the drinks and food that is consumed. This party usually lasts the whole night even after the already exhausted couple retires for the night.

As Luo’s embrace western culture and practices, honeymoons and anniversaries are becoming common. In Toronto, luxury vehicles accompany many wedding couples and as result, many Luo people who have the financial capacity have had weddings just like those in Toronto right in their homeland. With the changing cultures, the traditional wedding is slowly being replaced by the western wedding style.

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Wedding Photography & Video Productions Toronto we specialize in individually tailored Wedding Photography, Videos and DVD’s, offering an experienced, highly professional and affordable service. for more info visit: http://www.VideoBabylon.ca/

The Kikuyu culture is a well-known cultural group that is predominantly found in the central highlands of Kenya. Many Kenyan citizens are actually of Kikuyu descent as it is the largest tribe in Kenya. The Kikuyu language is used everywhere by Kikuyu immigrants as far away as Toronto. Despite long-held wedding traditions, modern western influences have slowly begun to be incorporated into Kikuyu weddings an example being wedding photos.

Customarily, marriage proceedings often begin with the man proposing to the woman. Upon her acceptance the man then calls for a meeting with his clan elders who largely consist of extended elderly family members. A delegation carrying small gifts such as wheat and rice is then sent to the woman’s home to meet with her clan elders. Deliberations on bride price actually begin on a later date and these are strictly conducted by the older men only. Traditionally, no wedding photos are taken at this time. Upon completion of these negotiations, a wedding date is set, with the elders having provided an acceptable percentage of the full dowry. The rest of the dowry is expected later. No request is made for it, but the young man is expected to remember to finish his payment and failure to do so spells dishonor for that family.

The actual wedding ceremony often involves the entire community. Women organize food matters while the men organize financial matters. The man is considered responsible for his bride’s dress and the bride is free to choose her bride’s maids. These matters are often deliberated upon in pre-wedding parties. In strictly traditional Kikuyu weddings, there is hardly ever the use of official rings and neither is there an official engagement ceremony as is characteristic of western weddings for instance. in Toronto. Furthermore, wedding photos, which feature largely in these events, were in earlier times not taken.

On the eve of the wedding, the young man and his relations visit his future in laws. Usually this is done to help with wedding arrangements. However, the convoy is not immediately let into the girls homestead. Rather the bride’s gate is locked and song and dance begins as a cover for negotiations. Various goods may be asked of the groom and he willingly obliges to the demands after which he is let into the compound.

The wedding day begins with a convoy from the grooms family that heads to the girls home to collect her. The singing and dancing can be heard all over the village. Most Kikuyu’s being Christians head to a church for the ceremony and a consequent reception. Kikuyu weddings are characterized by many guests and are rarely a private affair as is often witnessed in Toronto. Wedding photos are taken at this time as food is served and wedding gifts offered. Speeches on how to live as husband and wife are given, then singing, and dancing goes on late into the night. Unlike weddings in Toronto, Kikuyu couples do not go for a honeymoon, but rather just proceed to their new home, marking the start of their new life together.

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Wedding Photography & Video Productions Toronto we specialize in individually tailored Wedding Photography, Videos and DVD’s, offering an experienced, highly professional and affordable service. for more info visit: http://www.VideoBabylon.ca/