more in-depth study than this one. Exploration of non-Kikuyu court files and
cases in the archives may also be a fruitful approach to finding stories and
experiences. There is an opportunity to know much more about the past through
these varied accounts.
Only close historical and anthropological analyses can explain the inner
meanings and beliefs of structures like the oath. There is a growing need to
seek a history that allows even more interdisciplinary and collaborative
approaches. The themes of power, war, ethnicity, change, environment, gender
and criminalization will continue to occupy the attention of scholars. However, the
field seeks and is ready for a history that is inclusive of all the complicated
structures that truly define a society. Therefore, the challenge for scholars is to
become more comfortable weaving in diverse sources and methodologies in
order to better understand the complexity of the past. This approach is rewarding
as it enables us to understand complex structures like oathing.
The Relevance of This Study
In 2003 after almost fifty years of silencing from the Kenyatta and Moi
administrations, the Mau Mau ban was lifted after the election of President Mwai
Kibaki. Prior to this point, Mau Mau veterans who risked their lives to oath for
freedom and land were outlawed and prevented from organizing in Kenya. The
removal of this ban represents a new era in the Mau Mau conversation. For
decades, these veterans suffered silently with the legacies of a war that left them
injured, lame, castrated, emotionally scarred, and impoverished. Now, the ex-
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