Making of Fire (Kamba of Kibwezi).—The fire [[68]]required for sacrificial purposes was formerly always made anew by friction, as fire so produced could carry no evil with it, whereas if firebrands were brought from a hut some thabu or curse which rested on the family owning the hut might inadvertently be brought with it, and the wood might in fact be infected.
Nowadays, however, it is curious to note that a sacrificial fire is lighted with matches; for they consider that these, being of foreign origin, can bring no infection derived from Kamba spirit influence. This gives some insight into the ratiocination of the native mind.
Fire was formerly made, and is still made, on occasion, by hunters and others who rapidly rotate a piece of hard stick, held vertically between the hands, in a cup-shaped cavity cut in a piece of soft wood which is held between the toes, the friction generating enough heat to produce sparks which light some tinder. The vertical stick is called the male, and the other piece the female, the reasons for which nomenclature are obvious.
It is curious to note that a woman is not allowed to make fire by friction, the reason given for this being that a man has to squat to make fire, and that if a woman does the same, it is unseemly, as she thereby exposes her nakedness. It is believed, however, that there is more in it than this, and that only a male is really supposed to manipulate the masculine portion of the fire-making apparatus. [[69]]
CHAPTER III
SACRED STONES OR VILLAGE SHRINES IN KIKUYU
When the Kikuyu people found a new village, the elder of the family collects three stones, two being brought from the bed of a river to the north of the village, the direction from which the tribe migrated, and one from a river to the south of the village. The river in the north is generally the Thika, and the river in the south is generally the Mbagathi. The stones must not be collected from a river from which the villagers take water for their domestic use, and it must also be a river with a perennial flow.
These stones usually weigh from thirty to forty pounds, and are used as a village shrine. Having obtained the stones, the people take a black ram, sew up its left eye, and bury it in the middle of the village. This is done with the idea that if anyone comes to bring bad magic to the people of the village, he will, like the ram, lose the sight of one eye. The three stones are then planted round the spot where the ram is buried. Four people carry out this ceremony: the head of the village, another elder of the same clan, and the two senior wives of the village head. They break branches from the mutumaiyu, mukenya, and muthakwa trees and plant them round the spot. If they take root, it is considered a very good omen; if the branches die, however, they are replaced periodically by fresh ones.
Whenever a sacrifice is made in the village, in connection with any ceremony, the ram is killed near this spot and blood and fat are poured into the ground [[70]]between the stones. Meat for the spirits is always put out in two heaps, one for the male and one for the female spirits. It is believed that if the stones are obtained from strong flowing rivers, they will help to protect the village from nocturnal thieves. Moreover, the stones from the rivers to the north of the village will stop the entrance of bad ngoma or spirits coming from that direction, and similarly, the stones from the south will form a protection against the evil spirits from that direction.