The name is absent

in something. For this reason, the oath was far from being a haphazard,
irrational, and barbaric act.

Reflections - The Mau Mau Historiography

This study heightens our knowledge and understanding of the Mau Mau
movement by deepening the interrogation of its history. It is an intervention in
the historiography by examining the Mau Mau war from the angle of the African
oath. It shows an oath that contradicts the savage and wholly evil acts normally
associated with the war by showing it to be a sophisticated, elaborate, and
structured process that was ordered around symbols, gestures, and words that
had long standing ethnic meaning and power. It enabled Africans to define their
relationship to the world. Mau Mau fighters had their own imaginations, dreams,
and objectives associated with the movement that included a free and
independent Kenya. A much more complex narrative is revealed here compared
to previous studies of Mau Mau.

One key theme raised here is the importance of questioning history
making and how we know what we know. African historiography is still embedded
in conversations of invention. The field wrestles with who should be the authority
on particular topics and why, including whether inside or outside perspectives are
more meaningful. The question of authority forces us to question if we have truly
interrogated what it means for individuals to invent and reinvent the history of
others. What history are we sacrificing by accepting the created classifications,
categories, labels, and definitions of others?

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