Bantu Beliefs and Magic / With particular reference to the Kikuyu and Kamba tribes of Kenya Colony; together with some reflections on East Africa after the war

by C. W. Hobley

This only applies to cattle owned by persons circumcised Kikuyu fashion.

(36) There is a white bird called nyangi (the bird nyangi is in Swahili called furakombe); if one is seen to settle on a cow, and the cow is not killed, the owner of the cow will be thahu and die. The cow must be killed there and then and the meat divided up, the elders receiving the saddle, and the neighbouring warriors the neck, whilst no person belonging to the [[114]]village must eat of the meat. The herd of cattle also need to be purified, and the owner of the village, assisted by the elders, must take a female sheep which has not borne a lamb, and a male goat; these are slaughtered, and the intestines and bones of the animals (termed ichua) are placed on a fire, which is lit to the windward of the cattle kraal, and the smoke passing through the kraal and among the cattle will purify the herd. Should the bird be killed among the cattle, the whole herd would die.

This applies to both sections.

(37) If a cow’s horn comes off in a person’s hand the animal is thahu and is slaughtered, and the meat is eaten by all. This applies to both sections.

(38) If a bull or bullock leaves the herd when out grazing and comes home alone, and stands outside the village digging at the refuse heap (kiaraini) with its horns, it is known to be thahu, and is forthwith killed by the owner. This applies to both sections.

(39) If a goat is giving birth to a kid, and the head appears first and the body is not born quickly, it is said to be thahu, and is slaughtered by the owner. No woman must touch the meat of such an animal or she would become thahu; men only can eat it. Moreover, if a goat which is in kid should die, no woman must touch it or eat the meat, the idea probably being that her fertility might become contaminated. This applies to both sections.

(40) If a woman bears twins the first time she has children, the twins are thahu, and an old woman of the village, generally the midwife, stuffs grass in their mouths until they are suffocated and throws them out into the bush. If, however, a woman first bears a single child and then has twins they are not thrown out.

If a cow or a goat bears twins the first time, the same practice is observed, and a necklace of cowries is placed round the neck of the mother. This practice is observed by both sections. Some kill both mother and young, and a medicine man is called, who leads a [[115]]sheep round the village and then sacrifices it to remove the curse.

(41) If the side pole of a bedstead breaks, the person lying on it is thahu, and a sheep must be sacrificed; this is a matter for the kiama to arrange, and a bracelet called rukwaru, cut from the skin of the sheep, must be placed on the wrist of the person, or he or she is liable to die. This applies to both sections.

(42) A malicious person will sometimes, out of spite or in a fit of rage, take up a cooking pot, dash it down to the ground and break it, saying the words urokwo uwe, “Die like this.” This is a very serious matter and renders all the people of the village thahu; it is necessary for the people of the village to pay as much as seven sheep to remove the thahu. This is naturally considered a crime according to native law, and the offender is punished by the elders of kiama, who inflict a fine of seven goats. This applies to both sections.