Furthermore, he mentions that the power of the kithitu is so strong that it
cannot be burned in order to stop the deaths.28 It was noted, however, that the
kithitu could be dismantled by moving a small young sheep around the object
and jump over the kithitu on the seventh time..29 For example, according to
Lindblom, Africans traveled to remote locations in order to secure a famous kipitu
or a kipitu thought to be particularly powerful during the oathing ceremony.30 This
object was considered so potent that it was not to be touched by bare hands. The
owner was expected to abstain from sexual intercourse, and he was expected
not to eat with the hand carrying the kipitu.3^
Women were not able to own, oath, or have anything to do with the kipitu
oathing process or object.32 If there were cases involving women, the men would
step in to resolve the issue and to oath on behalf of the women.33 Hitoshi Ueda
also reports on the conditions and power of the kithitu. In this document Ueda
also mentions that women (and children) were forbidden to approach the kithitu
as it was dangerous and only for adult males.34 Also, for those with a “strong”
kithitu, sons must stay away or run the risk of dying from the contact of the
object. In oathing, Ueda states the kithitu has the “power to judge the truth” and
28 Interview, K. Mutunga, June 2009, Kitui, Kenya. He states that if you try to bum the Kithitu, “it jumps
aside and laughs like a human being and goes”.
29 Interview, K. Mutunga, June 2009, Kitui, Kenya.
30 Lindblom, TheAkamba in British EastAfrica, 170.
31 Lindblom, The Akamba in British EastAfrica, 170-171.
32 Although this was the case in the past, today some Kenyan women actually own, possess, and use the
Kithitu. My husband is Kenyan, and this is the case in his side of the family. It is an interesting point to
explore in more detail in the contemporary application and uses of the Kithitu object and oath.
ɔɔ Lindblom, TheAkamba in British East Africa, 170-171.
34 Hitoshi Ueda, “Kithitu amoung the Kamba of Kenya - The Case Study of Kilonzo ,s Kithitu,” Journal of
African Studies, Japenese Association for African Studies, 16 (March 1977).
71
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