THE Day modern medicine made kikuyus in Gitjunguri abandon Kikuyu religion

[KenyanPlato]

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When missionaries came to githunguri they settled I believe in a place called riruta I may be wrong. Let me take you to about 1981 I am a kid and one evening as we are in the kitchen just after dinner listening to my mum stories she started to sing this song. Ndahungukite ngiuma kwa waing'a. Njisu akihumba nguo ya uhonokio kwa
Waing'a ndigachoka. As as a kid I assumed she had made it up and sung it. Over the years I was to hear the same song over and over.
Loose transaction of the song is
I was ashy as I came from Waing'as place. Jesus took me and covered me in salvation. I will never go back to waing'as place.

Kikuyus preserved our history thru songs. The history behind this song is that..there was a measles outbreak in githunguri. Only one medicine man had a remedy for it. His name was waing'a. He had this ash that when applied it would stop the itching from blisters so anyone especially children who caught measles were taken to him and he treated them. When they left his homestead they would be covered in ash. Then a local missionary doctor came into town and started treating people and his medicine was working very well against measles and so the kikuyus recorded a song in praise of his medicine and so everyone abandoned waing'as medicine for the mzungu one. However over years waing'a has been demonized and his name has Ben synonymous to the devil.

With modern medicine the missionaries were able to recruit more covers. As kikuyus wanted to learn more about this new medicine. So kikkuyus abandoned their medicine men and religion converting into Christianity in droves.

Anyway I found this tib bit on Twitter

[Njuri Ncheke]

You also have to add that Kikuyus were traitors and collaborators, during the Embu conquest they plundered the Embu lands as they were promised rewards by British if they sided with them. This is why Merus didn't oppose the British military because they were forewarned that Kikuyus were salivating at the thoughts of taking war loot and lands from the Merus,so Njuri Ncheke negotiated peace with bazungu and Meru was spared the devastation of the Embu lands which Embus never recovered to this day. If Kikuyus had not Collaborated with bazungu when they came we would be talking others stories today, again during Mau Mau Kikuyus betrayed their own like Kimathi amongst others, Survivors were killed by Kenyatta,Only Merus managed again to survive this betrayal but not before gatheca father killed Field marshall Baimunge Marete who refused his terms,he lured him then had him shot in cold blood.
This is why Merus consider Kikuyus as traitors and collaborators. Anyways worked well for you you run the country unopposed.

[KenyanPlato]

Which lands did kikuyus take from embu? May be on the border between embu and kirinyaga..I had this beautiful girlfriend from embu called muthoni. She was really sweet. I wish I could have stayed in the school we were in longer.

Embuians are very nice and humble. I think is due to abundance of food. Embu was my favorite town. You could walk all over at night without fear of being mugged

Kikuyu were just too liberal and wanted to acquire mzungu knowledge. Remember mzungu came in first as missionaries and then the colonialist ..

[Njuri Ncheke]

Which lands did kikuyus take from embu? May be on the border between embu and kirinyaga..I had this beautiful girlfriend from embu called muthoni. She was really sweet. I wish I could have stayed in the school we were in longer.

Embuians are very nice and humble. I think is due to abundance of food. Embu was my favorite town. You could walk all over at night without fear of being mugged

Kikuyu were just too liberal and wanted to acquire mzungu knowledge. Remember mzungu came in first as missionaries and then the colonialist ..

Plato during the colonial conquest,The Kikuyu became spanner boys to the British after they were conquered by them, actually Kikuyu and Kamba then had almost a similar mentality "tukose wote"  they viewed other neighboring kabilas that were independent with great jealousy, especially kabilas that they couldn't conquer,the British knew this and used them to undermine these kabilas,The embu were proud warriors so when British told them to surrender they just laughed it off,to the Kikuyus this was good news,when British invaded Embu the Kikuyu and kamba ransacked the entire county and left it destitute, surviving Embus ran to Meru and described what had happened after the British invasion,they managed to convince Njuri Ncheke that Merus stood no chance. The British too sent an emissary who demonstrated the power of the maxim gun to Meru warriors and elders by shooting dead several bulls from a distance,Njuri chickened out but Meru warriors were not cowed anyway in short the elders prevailed over them after Embu refugees told their story of Kikuyu and Kamba rape on their land.
Kikuyu and Kamba had all schemes for Meru land vast and sparsely occupied they salivated over it for centuries but none had the military ability to mount an invasion on the Meru,they were all terrified and greatly feared Merus,Merus dint even waste time to put warriors where they bordered kamba and Kikuyus only out scouts to watch their movements,Meru fighting force was entirely concentrated in the North against Nilotic and cushitic enemies who were more potent. Actually Meru lands after migration from the coast haven't changed for centuries.

[Njuri Ncheke]

Kirinyaga all the way to near muranga was embu grazing zones just like what Buuri is to Meru the area from timau to isiolo bordering laikipia,the Embus lacked the manpower to oversee it permanently but no kabila would venture there,so after mkoloni came,kikuyu and kamba managed to grab it.

[RV Pundit]

Plato that story mirror one by grandma..in our place the power of mzungu and church was seen in reduced child mortality..for first time families had more than 3 kids.. previously it was a miracle to have four surviving kids because child mortality was high.. medicine rather than gun drove people to church and school

[RV Pundit]

Njuri I have heard similar story in kipsigis about surrender but it doesn't make sense.Arabs brought guns..so guns were not alien..what was new was mzungu semi automatic self loading gun.Arab gun you fired then took forever to reload.. kalenjin had mastered how to beat it..at sounds of firing they went down...and crawl towards it..and soon found the guy reloading and killed them.Most tribes that collaborated did it because they were either weak or mzungu played divide n rule.. kipsigis leader was koitalel bro koilegen..he had fallen out with him..so when nandis decided to fight..he decided to collaborate..became a paramount chuef..but after his entire family was massacred in Nandi he changed his mind and started fighting mzungu.The same for maasai or others..it was siasa..you rival support mzungu..you oppose them

[KenyanPlato]

Plato that story mirror one by grandma..in our place the power of mzungu and church was seen in reduced child mortality..for first time families had more than 3 kids.. previously it was a miracle to have four surviving kids because child mortality was high.. medicine rather than gun drove people to church and school

Missionaries and their education and Healthcare was what drove progressives to mzungu side. Actually even Christianity was to agikuyu similar in traditions with kikuyu ones. Especially when it came to old testament.
The economic reason also the biggest contributor to people wanting to collaborate with colonialists..

[KenyanPlato]

Kirinyaga all the way to near muranga was embu grazing zones just like what Buuri is to Meru the area from timau to isiolo bordering laikipia,the Embus lacked the manpower to oversee it permanently but no kabila would venture there,so after mkoloni came,kikuyu and kamba managed to grab it.

colonialism..
Yes you can tell that kirinyaga border with embu was initially settled by people from embu. The names are all embian.

[Njuri Ncheke]

Njuri I have heard similar story in kipsigis about surrender but it doesn't make sense.Arabs brought guns..so guns were not alien..what was new was mzungu semi automatic self loading gun.Arab gun you fired then took forever to reload.. kalenjin had mastered how to beat it..at sounds of firing they went down...and crawl towards it..and soon found the guy reloading and killed them.Most tribes that collaborated did it because they were either weak or mzungu played divide n rule.. kipsigis leader was koitalel bro koilegen..he had fallen out with him..so when nandis decided to fight..he decided to collaborate..became a paramount chuef..but after his entire family was massacred in Nandi he changed his mind and started fighting mzungu.The same for maasai or others..it was siasa..you rival support mzungu..you oppose them

The maxim gun was a  game changer and that's why British would demonstrate its firepower so that enemies would think twice. Few kabilas were afraid of the arab gun that was useless and arabs would be overun with it together wuth their Kamba porters that rarely would appear at Meru borders.The Meru story.of surrender is true well documented.

[RV Pundit]

Yes the maxim gun was the game changer because African had mastered how to beat the Arab muskets that had manual recoil and took forever to recoil