King’ethu, which is a nickname for white destroyer.35 Although an elderly woman
now, there are very specific occurrences and events that she recalls surrounding
her Mau Mau participation. She claimed that her life purpose was to receive
compensation for the vast amount of land and cattle that were taken from her
father, like many OtherAkamba men.
When Kakie took the Mau Mau oath with a sword in her hand, she went
through a ritual journey of no return.36 While blindfolded, she had to answer
various questions about her motives for participating in the movement and her
overall allegiance. According to Kakie, the oathing administrators asked if
participants were circumcised because Undertheirtraditional culture, circumcised
women were considered real women.37 Therefore, the ceremony was important
in re-establishing this dimension of their culture in the movement. Some women
were expected to be circumcised as a condition of taking the oath. Kakie’s
oathing statements were mentioned at the beginning of this chapter, revealing
the important themes of secrecy, allegiance to the movement, support, and
commitment to fight even if it meant death.
Kakie did not specify any additional oathing rites as a result of her gender.
She, like the other participants, had to drink blood and eat ndundu (meat).38
After a resting period, she went through the banana oath process and was then
returned to the larger oathing community for food.39 Both sexes appear to have
35 Interview, S. Kakie, January 2009, Machakos, Kenya.
36 Interview, S. Kakie, January 2009, Machakos, Kenya.
37 Interview, S. Kakie, January 2009, Machakos, Kenya.
38 Interview, S. Kakie, January 2009, Machakos, Kenya.
39 Interview, S. Kakie, January 2009, Machakos, Kenya.
164
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