It all starts on day 1. That is when you are born. In Kikuyu community found in central Kenya, it was a great celebration when a boy was born. He is a future king and who will carry the clans genes to the next level. A boy was as important as life itself. Women will cook all the delicacies sing and dance. For a baby boy the wait of the matter was five times heavier than a girl. He was treated with a lot of care and tenderness. Once born, the next step was cleansing the mother and the newborn. A he goat was slaughtered on the eighth day of the newborns life. His father eat the best piece and his mother would take roasted left front arm of the goat and take away the hooves and the head for boiling. When boiled, she get the soup which is very important for milk production and her bones which the boy expanded while delivering. The boy will grow with his mother and with a lot of attention from his father and his grandfather. If the boys father was the first born in his family and the boy is the first born in this family, He was very important mainly because he will bare the family full names thus the real man of the family. Nobody would dare him especially when his father”s mother is around. Simply because he is named after his husband, (the father”s father). He would grow with his grandmother”s special attention and care, everybody respecting him and he would gain extra favour from all family members. As he grows he undergoes all necessary rituals until he is about 14 years. Initiation was to follow.
Lets start from initiation tomorrow.
Let me know what you would like to know about African culture……
djsanjokenya 