speak to the developments of the society, but they also offer insight into the
forged identity based on changing levels of awareness.
This study of the new women-to-oath relationship provides another
example of the modern, responsiveness, and sophistication of the oath. Through
the lens of gender, we have been able to uncover new aspects of gender
struggles and transformations that were the result of years of colonial rule. We
have seen specific examples of how female involvement in oathing changed the
oath and how the oath changed women. The modern need was for women to join
the war, and the oath adapted which was evidenced by the new sexualized
nature of the ceremonies; this change was an aspect of the oath that drastically
altered it from the oath prior to Mau Mau. This new relationship reveals the
dynamics of gender in Kenya and the complexities of oathing during Mau Mau.
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