The name is absent

research. The first part of the chapter outlines oathing across time and
geographical boundaries to show the existing opportunities in understanding
oathing and how previous scholars were challenged by the concept. This
demonstrates that the oath is a product of time, location, and meaning.
However, the second half of the chapter complicates this perspective by focusing
on oathing in Kenya from the pre-colonial to the colonial period. The study traces
the detailed historical, cultural, and political nuances associated with kithitu
oathing in the society, showing how the oath was used traditionally to support
judicial order and how it evolved during the Mau Mau period. The key finding that
this chapter reveals is the importance of understanding historical origins of
oathing in Kenya in order to truly understand what changed during the Mau Mau
period and why. This analysis is key because it provides an opportunity to truly
investigate the behaviors and beliefs of the society.

Chapter four presents a Mau Mau oath model as a solution for analyzing
the inner structures and meaning of oathing. The key finding in this chapter is
that the oath is not a static, random, or simple practice; instead the oath is a
complex system grounded in beliefs of the past but renewed and customized to
fit present situations. By closely utilizing a combination of field oral interviews,
field survey data, archival data, court files, ethnographical accounts, and
secondary literature, this chapter shows that the Mau Mau oath is an evolved,
sophisticated, elaborate, and modern system of relationships and structures. This
chapter is the heart of the entire dissertation because it provides the model
needed to truly understand the Mau Mau oath; the remaining chapters highlight

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