MIRAA HISTORY IN MERU AND ITS LEGISLATION IN KENYA

MIRAA HISTORY IN KENYA

De: TARCISIO F. B. GICHUNGE ISAAC KAURA nGORE JOEL KIREMA

Narrado por: Virtual Voice

GICHUNGE WA M'THIRUA AND JOEL KIREMA

Long ago in Egypt, when people went to their farms in the community, they were assigned the amount of work to be accomplished by one within one day by the size of Ibuuti or steps to be cultivated in one day in order to be justified for payment as self-assurance. Ameru were gatherers and serious farmers in Egypt. Thus, when they left Egypt under pressure and in unfriendly circumstances, they carried with them various crops, plants and animals on their long and epic journey to Mboa (Manda Island Kenya). Among the crops and plants that they brought from Egypt was Miraa (Khat in Arabic language). Khat is grown in many Arabic nations and no one can dispute the fact that Miraa (Khat) is a native plant from Egypt, having been discovered by Ameru there while it later spread to Arabic countries like Yemen and Arabia. While Ameru meandered in the wilderness through Egypt, Sudan, Uganda, Congo, Rwanda and Tanzania to Kenya, they were sustained by that plant which subsides thirst and hunger for several days. Miraa is not a drug, but it is a “sacred food crop” designed by God to subside hunger and thirst in times of food shortages; it is a “natural raw chewing gum” meant to stimulate saliva from the mouth of a person faced with thirst. The plant is a blessing to the people, not in disguise, but to their frontage. Readers are engaged to note that, all along Ameru managed to carry Miraa with them through very harsh and unfavorable conditions because it was a dependable and reliable plant that enabled them to conquer vagaries of weather and climates wherever they passed through in their long and epic journeys. They passed through Ethiopia where they left seedlings to the Ethiopians who passed the same to the Djiboutians who told grow Miraa for their consumption as they import more from Ethiopia. Look at the World Map, Kenya, Ethiopia and Djibouti are total neighboring countries that grow Miraa and both regard the crop as dependable in their countries. Yemen and Arabia are also distant neighbors separated by the Red Sea. How come that only neighbors have maintained the cultivation of this important crop in the World? Answer that question for your own interest if you are a good historian. Ethiopia and Djibouti are therefore, growers of Khat (Miraa) along with Kenya in addition to the Middle East countries like Yemen and Arabia. So when we talk about Miraa, we are talking about a crop that is grown elsewhere in the world and not in Kenya alone. Therefore, our purpose for the talk and discussion is simply to inform our people: 1. How Miraa originated in Kenya 2. How Miraa became an important crop in Kenya 3. How Miraa was commercialized in Kenya 4. How Miraa has been used since being commercialized 5. How Miraa has won critical eras to become Cash Crop 5. The best way to harness Miraa benefits by the people 6. How to avoid ridiculing the benefits of Miraa Cash Crop 7. How Miraa can be advantageous as a "Cash Crop." In this book, we have discussed the various topics related to Miraa since time immemorial and readers will find information useful as they also learn how to use, to care and to promote the usage of Miraa as a major Cash Crop for Meru People in Kenya, while reducing and eliminating the misuse and its overuse. The information contained in this book is authentic and well searched, sincerely formulated and corroborated by old people who witnessed the traditional usage of Miraa, its commercialization and its current position of being ignored by the people who should come forward to defend its very existence in the middle of the people who have no interests of Miraa at heart. We come out strongly to defend Miraa. It is interesting that when Miraa issues come up, the Government of the day appoints irrelevant task-force members who sit and talk issues that do not affect them.