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Traditional Myths and Historian's Myths: Variations on the Singwaya Theme of Mijikenda Origins

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 May 2014

Thomas T. Spear
Thomas T. Spear*
Affiliation:
La Trobe University
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Extract

African myths of origin have long both fascinated and perplexed historians. Naively taken as fact, they have led historians to create their own myths, such as the Hamitic Myth and its corollary, Sudanic Civilization. The most radical corrective has been to dismiss origin myths altogether on the anthropologial rationale that all myths are simply cultural charters and bear little resemblance to historical fact. By so doing, however, quite frequently we uncritically dismiss our sole source for the history of African peoples prior to the nineteenth century. The task, then, is to try to sift the historical wheat from the mythical chaff in order to recover as much valid historical evidence as possible from origin myths without violating the canons of historical method.

A case in point is the Singwaya tradition of Mijikenda and other Kenyan coastal peoples' origins. The Singwaya tradition is one of the most frequently cited and discussed myths of origin of African peoples. Most of the discussion, however, has taken place in a void, because the myth concerns peoples about whom we have known very little and whose traditions have been collected only fragmentarily at best. Its appeal has lain in the fact that this tradition has been collected dozens of times from the 1840s to the present from virtually all the coastal peoples, including the Bajun, the Pokomo along the Tana River, the nine different Mijikenda peoples, the Segeju, the lowland Taita, and two Mombasa Swahili groups. Its widespread distribution has caused the tradition to have a fatal fascination for historians.

The first collections of traditions of origin for the coastal peoples were made in the latter half of the nineteenth century by Krapf, Rebmann, Guillain, Burton, Wakefield, New, and Taylor, the earliest missionaries and travelers in the Mijikenda area. These collections were sketchy, and although they mentioned northerly origins they did not specifically mention Singwaya. Starting with Hollis' earliest collections in 1897, the traditions rapidly acquired greater detail. Collections by Johnstone, Platts, MacDougall, Champion, Pearson, Werner, Osborne, Sharpe, Weaving, Hobley, Griffiths, Dammann, Kayamba, and Prins among various coastal peoples all relate a common theme: that the Pokomo, the Taita, seven of the nine Mijikenda peoples, the Segeju, and the Kilindini and Jomvu Swahili all shared common origins in a place called Singwaya located on the southern Somali coast; that they were driven from there by an invasion of the Galla; and that they migrated south in several groups to their present areas of settlement.

Type
Research Article
Information
History in Africa , Volume 1 , 1974 , pp. 67 - 84
Copyright
Copyright © African Studies Association 1974

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References

Notes

1. Following Webster's Third International, I take ‘myth’ to mean: “A story that is usually of unknown origin and at least partially traditional, that ostensibly relates historical events usually of juch a character as to explain some practice, belief, institution or natural phenomenon …”

2. Most traditions fall naturally into three time periods: the latest period, usually quite detailed, with a depth of about 100 years; a middle period, characterized by generalized institutional developments and telescoped genealogies restricted to significant nodes of lineage segmentation, which can represent several centuries; and the earliest period, consisting of myths of origin. (See, e.g., Boston, J.S., “Oral Traditions and the History of Igala,” JAH, 10 (1969), pp. 29–43.CrossRefGoogle Scholar) Correct interpretation of the middle period is often dependent on our understanding of the earliest period, as both periods are charters and their symbols and history are tightly intertwined.

3. The Mijikenda form, Singwaya, is usually written Shungwaya in the literature. As with other African terms, I have preferred local usage. Thus, Mijikenda is also preferred to the older Swahili ‘Nyika’ (‘Bush People’), which is quite naturally considered alien and pejorative by the Mijikenda themselves.

4. To appreciate the confused nature of the collections available, see the generally reliable compilation of known data in Prins, A.H.J., The Coastal Tribes of the Northeastern Bantu (London, 1952).Google Scholar

5. See below for individual citations.

6. Lambert, H.E., The System of Land Tenure in the Kikuyu Land Unit (Cape Town, 1949), pp. 7–43.Google Scholar

7. See, e.g., Middleton, J., The Kikuyu and Kamba of Kenya (London, 1953), p. 14Google Scholar; Huntingford, G.W.B., “The Peopling of the Interior of East Africa by its Modern Inhabitants,” pp. 89–90Google Scholar; Mathew, G., “The East African Coast Until the Coming of the Portuguese,” pp. 103, 114Google Scholar; and Freeman-Grenvffle, G.S.P., “The Coast, 1498-1840,” p. 130Google Scholar, all in Oliver, R. and Mathew, G., eds., History of East Africa, Vol. I (Oxford, 1963)Google Scholar; Chittick, N., ‘The “Shirazi’ Colonization of East Africa,” JAM, 6 (1965), pp. 275–294Google Scholar; Mcintosh, B.G., “The Eastern Bantu Peoples” in Ogot, B.A. and Kieran, J.A., eds., Zamani (Nairobi, 1968), pp. 203–209Google Scholar; A.H.J. Prins, Coastal Tribes; idem, “Shungwaya, die Urheimat dei Nordtfst-Bantu,” Anthropos, 50 (1955), pp. 273-281; and idem, “The Shungwaya Problem: Traditional History and Cultural Likeness in Bantu North-East Africa,” Anthropos, 67 (1972), pp. 9-35.

8. Munro, J.F., “Migrations of the Bantu-Speaking Peoples of the Eastern Kenyan Highlands: A Reappraisal,” JAH, 8 (1967), pp. 25–8CrossRefGoogle Scholar; Berger, I., “Migrations of the Central Kenya Bantu: A Reconsideration of the Shungwaya Hypothesis” (M.A. thesis, University of Wisconsin, 1967).Google Scholar

9. Muriuki, G., “A History of the Kikuyu to 1904” (Ph.D. diss., University of London, 1970)Google Scholar; Jackson, K.A., “An Ethnohistorical Study of the Oral Traditions of the Akamba of Kenya” (Ph.D. diss., UCLA, 1972).Google Scholar

10. Morton, R.F., “The Shungwaya Myth of Miji Kenda Origins: A Problem of Late Nineteenth Century Kenya Coastal History,” IJAHS, 5 (1973), pp. 397–423.Google Scholar

11. My research on the Mijikenda was conducted in 1970-71 and involved collecting the traditions of all nine Mijikenda peoples as well as some of those of the neighboring Waata, Kamba, and Segeju. This was made possible by a grant from the Foreign Area Fellowship Program and through the cooperation of the Government of Kenya and the History Department of the University of Nairobi, with which I was affiliated as a Visiting Research Associate. I have designated the traditions I collected as “Mijikenda Historical Traditions” and preliminary English translations of them are on deposit at the Department of History, University of Nairobi. The results of my research are contained in my thesis, “The Kaya Complex: A History of the Mijikenda Peoples of the Kenya Coast to 1900” (University of Wisconsin, 1974).Google Scholar

12. In its vernacular form, Makayachenda, Mijikenda means, quite literally, ‘The Nine Kayas.’ See below for more on dating.

13. Like Mijikenda itself, these are the Swahili forms; Mijikenda themselves use Swahili forms when speaking Swahili or English and these are the forms commonly used in the literature. The vernacular forms, where they vary, are: Makayachenda or Midzichenda (for Mijikenda), Dzihana (Jibana), Rihe (Ribe), and Rahai (Rabat). For the Digo see below.

14. For a more complete description of Mijikenda society see Spear, , “Kaya Complex,” pp. 89–134.Google Scholar

15. Vansina, J., Oral Tradition (London, 1965), pp. 77–80.Google Scholar

16. In this case, to our benefit, the tradition has been considerably slower to respond to change than the institutions it served. Elsewhere I have used the Singwaya tradition extensively to reconstruct pre-nineteenth century Mijikenda society. See Spear, , “Kaya Complex,” pp. 89–134.Google Scholar

17. This is a compendium based on Mijikenda traditions. See footnotes 36, 47, 48, 51, 52, and 54 below for specific citations.

18. Another example of this among the Mijikenda is the vestigial survival of the Singwaya tradition itself for nearly a century after the decline of the institutions it once served. The main recent deterioration of the tradition has been not through manipulation, but through neglect because it is no longer relevant. Today it is rapidly dying out completely; only a few old men can recount even parts of it in any detail.

19. For the Segeju, see: Hollis, A.C., “The Wasegeju,” 1899 [Colonial Records Project. Rhodes House, Oxford (CRP): MSS/Afr/s/1272b]Google Scholar; Dickson, T.A., “Notes on the Segeju,” Journal of the East Africa and Uganda Natural History Society, 11 (1917), pp. 167–8Google Scholar; Thompson, G.B., “Notes on the Wasegeju of Vanga District,” 1918 [Kenya National Archives (KNA): DC/KWL/3/5]Google Scholar; Sharpe, H.B., “How the Wasegeju Received Their Name,” 1925 (KNA: DC/KWL/3/5)Google Scholar; Baker, E.C., “Notes on the History of the Wasegeju,” Tanganyika Notes ana Records, 27 (1949), pp. 16–41Google Scholar; Hollis, A.C., “Notes on the History of Vumba, East Africa,” Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute, 30 (1900), pp. 275–298Google Scholar; Juma, Mohamed, Segeju, , “Mijikenda Historical Traditions,” p. 73.Google Scholar

For the Taita, see Prins, , Coastal Tribes, pp. 102–3.Google Scholar

For the Pokomo, see Darroch, R.G., “Some Notes on the Early History of the Tribes Living on the Lower Tana,” Journal of the East Africa and Uganda Natural History Society, 17 (1943-1944), pp. 250–1Google Scholar, and Werner, A., “Some Notes on the Wapokomo of the Tana Valley,” Journal of the Royal African Society, 12 (1913), pp. 361–4.Google Scholar

20. Guillain, C., Documents sur l'histoire, la géographic, et la commerce de l'Afrique Orientate (Paris, 1856), II/2:240–1Google Scholar; Lambert, H.E., Chi-Jomvu and Ki-Ngare, Subdialects of the Mombasa Area (Kampala, 1958), pp. 71–2.Google Scholar

21. The Kitab al Zanüj (Book of Zanj) is reproduced and translated into Italian in Cerulli, E., Somalia (Rome, 1957), 1:253–66.Google Scholar Neville Chettick has kindly allowed me to use his English translation. Translations of portions of a manuscript by Fathili bin Omari of Malindi are found in Elliot, J.A.G., “A Visit to the Bajun Islands,” Journal of the Royal African Society, 25 (1925-1926), pp. 150–2.Google Scholar A third manuscript, from Mambrui, The Shining Star, is in the possession of James Kirkman.

The manuscript Kitab al Zanüj was given to Cerulli by the Kadhi of Mogadishu in 1923 and the Fathili bin Omari manuscript was acquired by Alice Werner in Witu in the early 1920s. Both are apparently late nineteenth century redactions of earlier manuscript or oral sources. Personal communications from Neville Chittick and James Kirkman.

22. Interestingly, the Pokomo and Waata refer to the Mijikenda as Koshoro today.

23. The Mombasa Chronicle (in Guillain, , Documents, 1:618–20Google Scholar, and Owen, W.F.W., Narrative of Voyages to Explore the Shores of Africa, Arabia, and Madagascar [London, 1833], I:418–9n)Google Scholar, alluding to a representative Mijikenda delegation to Oman in 1729, names the Digo, Shimba, Lungo, Tiwi, and Krapf, Mtawe J.L. (Reisen in Ostafrika [Kornthal, 1858], 11:91–5)Google Scholar gives a similar list, omitting the Tiwi.

24. Kitab al Zanüj, p. 234. I am indebted to Joseph Paul Irwin for the transcriptions of the Arabic script; the attributions to contemporary peoples are my own.

25. In Elliot, , “Bajun Islands,” pp. 150–2.Google Scholar

26. Cerulli, , Somalia, 1:256–7.Google Scholar

27. Lewis, H.S., “The Origins of the Galla and Somali,” JAH, 7 (1966), pp. 27–46.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

28. Galla were reported in Pate and Malindi in 1624 and the archeological evidence confirms this dating. See Lobo, J., A Voyage to Abyssinia (London, 1735), pp. 7–9Google Scholar; Kirkman, J.S., The Arab City of Gedi (London, 1964), pp. 74–6.Google Scholar

29. Grottanelli, V.L., “A Lost African Metropolis” in Lucas, J., ed., Afrikanische Studien (Berlin, 1955), pp. 231–42Google Scholar; Prins, , “Shungwaya, die Urheimat der Nordost-Bantu,” pp. 273–81Google Scholar; Strandes, J., The Portuguese Period in East Africa (Nairobi, 1961), pp. 204, 206–7Google Scholar; Chittick, N., “An Archaeological Reconnaissance of the Southern Somali Coast.” Mzania, 4 (1969), pp. 115–30.Google Scholar

30. Kitab al Zanüj, pp. 256-65; Elliot, , “Bajun Islands,” pp. 151–2.Google Scholar

31. Lindschoten, J.H. van, Itinerario Voyage ofter Schipvaert van Jan Huygen van Lindschoten naer oost ofter PortugaelsIndien, 1579-1592 ('s-Gravenhage, 1910-1939), III:end, IV:endGoogle Scholar; Blaeu map of 1644 in Denucé, J., L'Afrique au XVIe Síecle et le commerce anversois (Anvers, 1937), p. 112Google Scholar;Dapper, O., Naukeurige Deschrijvinge der Afrikaensche gewesten (Amsterdam, 1668), frontpieceGoogle Scholar; Ogilby, J., Africa, Being an Accurate Description of the Regions of AEgypt, Barbary, Lybia and Billedulegrid, the land of Negroes, Guinee, AEthiopia, and the Abyssines (London, 1670).Google Scholar Interestingly, the same maps show ‘Macaia’ (makaya: the Mijikenda word for kayas) and ‘Marique’ (marika: age-sets) around Brava, possibly confirming the earlier migration south mentioned in the Kitab al Zanüj.

32. Guthrie, M., The Classification of the Bantu Languages (London, 1967), pp. 42–46Google Scholar; Bryan, M.A., The Bantu Languages of Africa (London, 1959), p. 125.Google Scholar Bryan also places Mijikenda in the Swahili group (pp. 126-9), but evidence for a genetic relationship is lacking here; all the Swahili dialects reflect the influence of their immediate Bantu neighbors.

33. Dyen, I., “Language Distribution and Migration Theory,” Language, 32 (1956), pp. 611–26.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

34. Prins, A.H.J., “The Somaliland Bantu,” Bulletin of the International Committee on Urgent Anthropological and Ethnological Research, 3 (1960), pp. 28–31Google Scholar; Andrezejewski, B.W., “The Position of Linguistic Minorities in Somalia,” paper presented at the School of Oriental and African Studies, London, 1970.Google Scholar

35. For a detailed historical reconstruction, see Spear, , “Kaya Complex,” pp. 59–73.Google Scholar

36. Kitab al Zanüj, pp. 256-7; Guillain, , Documents, 11/2:245Google Scholar; G.H. Osborne, “The Wadigo of Vanga District” (KNA: DC/KWL/3/5); E.C. Baker, “Origins of the Wadigo” (CRP:Micr/Afr/403); Dammann, E., “Zur Geschichte der Digo,” Zeitschrift für Eingeborenen-Sprachen, 34 (1944), pp. 45–6Google Scholar; Kayamba, H.M.T., “Notes on the Wadigo,” Tanganyika Notes and Records, 23 (1947), p. 80Google Scholar; Juma Bakari, Digo (MHT 71); Saidi Mwagumbo, Digo (MHT 72); Juma Zani, Digo (MHT 74); H.B. Sharpe, “Further Notes on the Wadigo” (KNA:DC/KWL/3/5).

37. Based on basic word lists of all the Mijikenda dialects compiled and calculated by Philip A.S. Sedlak, June 1971. Mr. Sedlak has kindly allowed me to use his unpublished data.

38. The degree of difference, and consequent time depth, between Mijikenda A and C indicated by these percentages is probably exaggerated by continued borrowing among the contiguous A group, thus artificially maintaining a high degree of agreement among this group. For more on this phenomenon, see Ehiet, C., “Bantu Origins and History: Critique and Interpretation,” Transaftiam Journal of History, 2 (1972), pp. 1–3.Google Scholar

39. See Vansina, J., “The Use of Ethnographic Data as Sources for History” in Ranger, T.O., ed., Emerging Themes in African History (Nairobi, 1968), pp. 97–124Google Scholar; idem, “The Use of Oral Tradition in African Culture History” in C. Gabel and N.R. Bennett, eds., Reconstructing African Culture History (Boston, 1967), pp. 55-82.

40. See footnotes 36, 47, and 54.

41. Stigand, C.H., The Land of Zinj (London, 1913), p. 56Google Scholar; Guillain, , Documents, 11/2:240.Google Scholar

42. The Segeju were “known to the Portuguese as ‘Mossequejos’. See Monclaro in Freeman-Grenville, G.S.P., The East African Coast (Oxford, 1962), p. 141Google Scholar; Santos, J. dos, Ethiopia Oriental (Lisbon, 1891), 1:245-7, 436Google Scholar; Burton, R.F., Zanzibar: City, Island and Coast (London, 1872), 11:119–121.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

43. Lobo, , Voyage to Abyssinia, p. 9.Google Scholar

44. Thompson, “Notes on the Wasegeju”; Dundas, C.C.F., “History of Kitui,” Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute, 43 (1913), pp. 480–1Google Scholar; Lindblom, G., Notes on the Kamba Language (Uppsala, 1926), pp. 9–11Google Scholar; Champion, A.M., “The Atharaka,” Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute, 42 (1912), pp. 69–70Google Scholar; Lambert, , Kikuyu Land Unit, p. 2Google Scholar; idem, Ki- Vumba: A Dialect of the Southern Kenya Coast (Kampala, 1957), p. 10.

45. Dammann, E., “Sprachproben aus dem Segedju,” Zeitschrift für Eingeborenen-Sprachen, 27 (1936-1937), pp. 223–33Google Scholar; Guthrie, , Classification of Bantu Languages, pp. 42–6Google Scholar; Lambert, , Ki-Vumba, p. 10Google Scholar; Bryan, , Bantu Languages of Africa, p. 116.Google Scholar While the earlier use of Dhaicho and more recent adoption of Digo are well documented, the apparent linguistic promiscuity of the Segeju is as yet unexplained and requires further research.

46. The Waata, also known as Langulo, Laa, or Sanye, had long been resident along the coast when the Mijikenda arrived.

47. For the Giriama traditions, see New, C., Life Wanderings and Labours in Eastern Africa (London, 1873), p. 93Google Scholar; Taylor, W.E., Giriama Vocabulary and Collections (London, 1891)Google Scholar; Champion, A.M., “History of the Wa-Giriama,” 1914 (KNA:DC/KFI/3/3)Google Scholar; idem, The Agiryama of Kenya (London, 1967), pp. 4-5; MacDougall, K., “Notes on the History of the Wanyika,” 1914 (KNA:DC/KFI/3/3)Google Scholar; Werner, A., “The Bantu Coast Tribes of the East African Protectorate,” Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute, 45 (1915), pp. 329–30Google Scholar; J.M. Pearson, “Early History of the Giryama Tribal Organization” (KNA: Coast Prov. Orig. List, 2/2/73); Joseph Denge, Giriama (MHT 1); Mwinga Gunga, Giriama (MHT 2); Bukardi Ndzovu, Giriama (MHT 3); Johnstone Muramba, Giriama (MHT 13); Kaya Giriama Group (MHT 23); Toya Kiti, Giriama (MHT 58).

For the Waata: Dadi Saidi, Waata (MHT 46); Masindini Saidi, Waata (MHT 60).

48. For the Chonyi traditions see Weaving, L.A., “Brief Notes on the Origin and Movements of the Wachonyi and Wajibana,” 1926 (KNA:DC/KFI/3/l)Google Scholar; Chimbugwa Kadosho, Chonyi (MHT 16); Chibo Mundu, Chonyi (MHT 65); Joseph Sanga, Chonyi (MHT 27); Thomas Govi, Chonyi (MHT 21); Ambari Lewa, Chonyi (MHT 31).

For the Jibana: J.M. Pearson, “Wajibana Customs” (KNA: Coast Prov. Orig. List, 2/2/73); Ronald Mwavita, Jibana (MHT 8); Mohamed Chidende, Jibana (MHT 9); James Sanga Mwavita, Jibana (MHT 10); Michael Chirongo, Jibana (MHT 12).

For the Ribe, and Kauma, : New, , Life, p. 93Google Scholar; Weaving, L.A., “Notes on the History and Movements of the Waribe and Wakauma,” 1926 (KNA:DC/KFI/3/l)Google Scholar; Mandwiga Mwachai, Ribe (MHT 32); Chimwenga Ndoro, Ribe (MHT 38); Ezechiel Hanga, Kauma (MHT 64); Mbitsi Musuku and Chai Kamunenzi, Kauma (MHT 63); Frank, W., Habari na Desturi za Waribe (London, 1953), pp. 1–2.Google Scholar

49. Emery, J., “Short Account of Mombasa and the Neighboring Coast of Africa,” JRGS, 3 (1833), p. 280Google Scholar; Gray, J., “Rezende's Description of East Africa in 1634,” Tanganyika Notes and Records, 23 (1947), pp. 2–29Google Scholar; Burton, , Zanzibar, 11:121Google Scholar; Strandes, , Portuguese Period in East Africa, pp. 142–306.Google Scholar

50. Interestingly, rough dating of the Mijikenda age-sets also places the migration in this period. Mqikenda age-sets lasted an average of 52 years (each set embraced two generations). Since the seventh set was initiated about 1870, the first set would have started at Singwaya around 1558 and lasted until 1610, encompassing the whole migration, just as the Giriama naming of that set The Travelers' implies. For more on the calculations relating to the age-sets, see Spear, , “Kaya Complex,” pp. 114–5.Google Scholar

51. Johnstone, H.B., “Notes on the Customs of the Tribes Occupying Mombasa Subdistrict,” Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute, 32 (1902), p. 263Google Scholar; Werner, , “Bantu Coast Tribes,” p. 330Google Scholar; Weaving, L.A., “Brief Notes on the Origin and Movements of the Wakambe,” 1926 (KNA:DC/KFI/3/l)Google Scholar; Kaya Kambe Group (MHT 45). For more on the Kambe and Ribe, see Spear, , “Kaya Complex,” pp. 73–6.Google Scholar

52. Krapf, J.L., “Journal…,” 1847-1948 [Church Missionary Society Archives (CMS):CA5/0/16/172]Google Scholar; Rebmann, J., “Accounts of a Journey to Madshame in Kiriama,” 1848-1849 (CMS: CA5/0/24/53); pp. 18–9Google Scholar; New, , Life, p. 93Google Scholar; W.A.F. Platts, “Notes on the Tribes of Rabai District,” (KNA: Coast Prov. Orig. List, 2/2/73); Werner, , “Bantu Coast Tribes,” pp. 329–30Google Scholar; Befukwe Kagumba, Rabai (MHT 43); Nzaka Kunya, Rabai (MHT 44).

53. That a people other than the Waata hunters lived along the coast prior to the Mijikenda arrival is suggested by Portuguese accounts of 1,500-5,000 African archers as allies of Mombasa against them in 1505-06 and 1528-29. From their earlier settlement behind the coast and their proximity to Mombasa, these may have been the Rombo forerunners of the Barros, Rabai. J. de, Asia, Da, and Mayr, H. in Fteeman-Grenville, , East African Coast , pp. 98-103,109–10Google Scholar; Burton, , Zanzibar, 11:29.Google Scholar

54. Guillain, , Documents, 11/2:241Google Scholar; Johnstone, , “Notes on the Mombasa Subdistrict,” p. 263Google Scholar; Sharpe, , “Further Notes on the Wadigo,” p. 238Google Scholar; Platts, “Notes on Rabai District”; Griffiths, J.B., “Glimpses of a Nyika Tribe (Waduruma),” Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute, 65 (1935), pp. 267–8Google Scholar; Mwachiti Nyawa, Duruma (MHT 67); Chikove Nyiro, Duruma (MHT 69); Dete Kuri, Duruma (MHT 70).

55. It has also been pointed out that Mijikenda age-sets, traditionally acknowledged to have originated just prior to their migration, might have been derived from Galla age-sets, thus accounting for the timing of their adoption. This seems improbable, however, as the two forms are radically different. See Prins, A.H.J., East African Age-Class Systems (Groningen, 1953).Google Scholar Their development thus remains a mystery.

The alternate explanation given for the war, sexual intercourse, is a common cliché used throughout Mijikenda traditions. For example, Cynthia Brantley found Giriama resolute in their attribution of the Rising of 1913-14 against the British to the rape of a Giriama woman by one of the British Kamba troops, in spite of more likely causes (taxes, forced evacuation of land north of the Galana, forced labor, and forced induction into the Carrier Corps) which they knew about and could have used. C. Brantley, personal communication.

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58. Even though, in fact, Swahili relations with Mijikenda were evenly balanced and reciprocal. See Spear, , “Kaya Complex,” pp. 126–33.Google Scholar

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