The name is absent

Finally, chapter seven examines another modernized aspect of the oath
by analyzing the new oath-to-purification relationship created during the Mau
Mau period which did not exist in pre-colonial oathing practices. The persistent
application of purification rituals is explored in Kenya with emphasis on how rites
were reinvented during the Mau Mau period to cleanse fighters returning home. It
also seeks to contextualize oath cleansing within a larger system of purification
and environmental management. This study weaves in old rainmaking myths with
present day purification ceremonies showing cultural continuities, breaks and
legacies. It is a story of Kenyan resilience displaying a keen understanding of
their fragile relationship to the environment. It shows that there is and will always
be a dance between Africans and the environment, as Africans consistently seek
ways to control and work within the boundaries of their environment through the
application of old ritual practices and beliefs.

The chapter examines the rationale for purification, the historical
application of purification rituals based on specific life stages and committed
offenses, and the Mau Mau oathing purification ritual process. This study argues
that Mau Mau oathing was elaborate and modern, combining itself with
purification rituals designed to neutralize the danger of oathing participants to the
village. The evidence for this chapter comes from fieldwork based on an actual
and observed purification ceremony performed to address the recent drought in
Ukambani, purification and cleansing reenactments, survey results, archival
criminal cases, and the primary files of ethnographers (Lindblom and Dundas) on

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