KNOW YOUR CLAN AGE GROUP AND GICHIARO IN MERU

YOUR CLAN AND GICHIARO IN MERU

De: TARCISIO F. B. GICHUNGE

Narrado por: Virtual Voice

By Gichunge WA M’Thirua

Ameru of Kenya believes that they were created by God somewhere outside Kenya and that they crossed the Red Sea to live in Egypt for millenniums. Ameru were forced to leave Egypt by harsh and cruel rulers. They arrived in Mboa and lived there for centuries (approx. AD 1100 to AD 1650). Thereafter, they escaped to evade the Nguuntune (Portuguese) who hunted them as slaves for export to Americas from around AD 1650.

Ameru also believe that before the arrival of the Nguuntune (the Portuguese), Arabs used to hunt them as slaves and export them somewhere before they used them to construct Fort Jesus in Mombasa between AD 1593 and AD 1598.

They also believe that the Waswahili in the East African Coast were their offspring with the Arabs and whose Kiswahili language is 93 per cent similar to Kimeru language.

Therefore, the history of Ameru in summary is that they lived beyond Red Sea and they crossed to Egypt where they became expert builders of the ancient Pyramids (similar Mbiira in Kimeru). True, since Ameru escaped from Egypt no Pyramids were built thereafter because Ameru escaped from Egypt on being forced to surrender their expertise to those left behind in Egypt.

Ameru therefore, had many things and issues which other races and communities did not have. They had clans, age groups and Gichiaro that did not exist in other communities. They are these we want to explain to our present and future generations in order to know and preserve them. Some are legends and others are myths, or mythologies and traditions.

In this book, the reader will know clans that were prohibited to exchange in marriage because of certain reasons. There were clans that were prohibited from wronging one another because of certain consequences of Gichiaro. The same age groups never exchanged daughters in marriage through Kimeru traditions. Ameru were strict in their customs, culture and traditions. If one acted against any one of them, he/she faced a community penalty or punishment or even a decree.

These days our present generations do not know their clans and Gichiaro to avoid going against them. They do not know their age groups to avoid marrying daughters of their age mates. This book is about “Preserving cultural identity and traditions” of Ameru, therefore, read it with utmost interest to understand its dictate.
It is history but it has its advantages. People these days are struggling and facing diseases that are related to the ignorance of some rules of some communities’ traditions. Deformed children are one reason of ignoring the rules of Ameru traditions of marriage between certain clans and Gichiaro.

Readers are encouraged to read this book and learn to get insight about Kimeru customs, culture and traditions.