Nyumba ya Mumbi

In the fiery dawn of time, when the earth trembled in the throes of creation, a dense cloud of mist stood over the land as Mugai, the divider of the Universe, descended to earth, to his seat of mystery.

There upon the dazzling snowcapped peaks of the black crystal mountain called Kirinyaga, he made a dwelling place.

From that day the mountain became his chief abode and was revered as sacred ground.

One day, Mugai led Gikuyu, father of the Gikuyu nation, to the misty peaks of the sacred mountain. Pointing out the beauty of the land lying below he said:

"You shall carve your inheritance from this land, it shall belong to you and your children's children to be passed from generation to generation until the twilight of existence."

And so it became. The Agikuyu were given the land of rivers and ravines, of hills and valleys, of forests with all the creatures therein, and all the gifts of nature that Mugai, divider of the Universe had bestowed on his people.

As the morning sun broke through the misty skies, Gikuyu did as his creator had commanded. He descended to Mukurwe wa Gathanga (20 kilometres west of Kuranga town) where a grove of sacred fig trees grew in rich red earth.

Resting in the shade of the sacred grove, he found the most beautiful of women. Taking her to be his wife, he named her Mumbi, the creator or moulder of the tribe.

From the sacred Mukuyu grove, Gikuyu took his name. Together, Gikuyu and Mumbi built a home and gave birth to nine daughters. From Kariuki Gakuo, African Art and Literature Series, Nairobi, Kenya, 1992.