Chapter 3 The Oath Across Time and Space
Introduction
The process of oathing in Kenya is referred to as “beating the kithitu” or
“eating the Kithitu."1 Oathing is not a static activity but a continuous process.
One of the most vivid accounts of this oathing characteristic was displayed during
the Mau Mau revolution in which oathing was only limited by the mind and beliefs
of those that engaged in the activity. The oath during this period adhered to
ancient oathing practices while also providing a dynamism that responded to the
needs of the participants. This chapter explores the paradox of the oath as an
object grounded in beliefs of the past but renewed and customized to fit present
situations.
Survey data collected for this research shows that 100% of all
respondents affirmed familiarity with past ceremonies and rituals.2 Therefore,
many traditional practices are still remembered and have been adapted in
various forms to find a place in modern Africa. As in other parts of Africa, Kenyan
customs were associated with life cycle ceremonies, such as birth, initiation,
marriage, and death but were also noted in times of life crisis, sudden illness,
famine, disease, war, and so on. The key question is how these practices were
transformed in Kenya after it had adopted new and modern Western systems
'interviewees often described the oathing process as one in which the Kithitu was beaten or eaten; both
statements involved the invoking of the power of the oath and eating the oathing statements. Interview, K.
Mutunga, June 2009, Kitui, Kenya; Interview, K. Nthuva, June 2009, Kitui, Kenya. Interview, K. Kitavi,
June 2009, Kitui, Kenya. Gerhard Lindblom in his 1920 document, The Akαmbα in British East Africa An
Ethnological Monograph on page 168 refers to the kipitu as kuna kipitu (to strike the kipitu) or Kuia kipitu
(to eat kipitu) which is the process of binding the oathing men.
2 See Appendix, Table 2.0, Kenya 2009 Survey Percentage Analysis
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