Another dance connected with the crops is Kichukia, which is held when the mawele is six to eight inches high. It is danced both at night when there is a moon, and in the daytime. The author has not seen this dance. It must not be confounded with Njukia, which is called thus because the girls do not choose the song. Both are danced by girls and anake together; the latter dance is held about the month of July, and in the morning only.
Muzogo.—This is also danced by anake and girls on dark nights by firelight, and is very similar to the Mugoyo both in name and character, but is danced when the maize is nearly ripe.
One of the most important dances for young men is Nguru. In 1912 it was held all over the district in the [[270]]month of September; it does not seem to be in any way connected with crops, but denotes rather a time of rest and leisure while there is no work in the field. It is danced by young men and boys only, but the latter are said to join merely for instruction; anyone may look on. The dance commences with a sort of “follow my leader” march, after which there is continued jumping up and down with great vigour, although the heels are not lifted off the ground. A continuous song is maintained by one man; there is no chorus. The dance somewhat resembles Kivata, but the body painting is much less profuse. No spears are carried, but among the people east of the Ruiru River it is customary to dance with shields, which, during the march, are held aloft over the head. Sticks with wisps of fur are carried. A curious feature is the wearing of skin apron flaps such as are worn by women; when the season for this dance is over these coverings are given to small girls to wear.
The main feature of this dance is the eating of meat by the dancers and elders. Everyone who dances must contribute to the cost of buying bulls to supply the meat which is eaten in common by the dancers at a hut built near a river. The dancing which takes place at different villages goes on day by day until the meat is finished; the bladders of the slaughtered beasts are very common articles of decoration in the dance. The elders, if they contribute, are given a share of the meat, which they eat apart from the young men. In the eastern part of Kikuyu meat-eating is not a part of the Nguru dance, but at the same time of the year several men, both old and young, club together and buy meat which is eaten at a common meal; this custom is called kiruga.
At this time people are supposed to lose strength, and therefore require good nourishing; this is said to be the reason for the custom. It appears, therefore, to be a general time for feasting all over Kikuyu. [[271]]
This dance is said by Mr Routledge to be one held by warriors before going to war, but this can hardly be so seeing that it is performed at a fixed season in the year. If it were so it must be a relic of a very old custom, when possibly the tribe had a favourite time for raiding.
There is thus a continual round of dances for the anake, and they continue for a fixed period. One should therefore be able to reckon the seasons by the dances, but as a matter of fact they may be very irregularly held. For instance in 1912 most of the dances, Kivata in particular, were quite out of season, and this was only owing to the previous heavy rains in which the people could not dance. The anake will, however, have their dances, and if the season is unsuitable they will dance it at another time. It is probable that the significance of the dance as connected with the crops is beginning to be lost. In this connection it is interesting to note that although there is a great difference in the seasons prevailing in the highlands and the lowlands, the dances are mostly held at the same period all along one ridge. It thus happens that the highlanders are often completely out of season in their dances. The fact is that the Fort Hall Kikuyu give the lead, and the dances spread westward so that the lowlanders even in Kyambu may not be dancing quite at the proper season. Fort Hall is, on the whole, the authority for the Kikuyu customs, whether because it is the birthplace of the tribe or not, one cannot say, but the lead given by Fort Hall is analogous to that given by Machakos to the Kamba of Kitui. These facts give a curious instance of how a custom may lose its meaning; we have here an example of a custom superseding its own origin.
The uncircumcised boys and girls are called irego. Their principal dance is Ngoisia. There is no particular season for this, and it is danced both in the daytime and at night; in the former case anyone may [[272]]watch it, but at night only the inmates of the village in which it is held may be present.
Before the circumcision feasts a dance called Kibuiya is danced by circumcised and uncircumcised boys. It is so called because of the buffalo horns worn by the boys, but this dance is now said to be practically extinct, mainly because they cannot get buffalo horns.
For women there are two dances which are: