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The main objects of this work are to place on record the results of investigations made among the native tribes in British East Africa, particularly among the Kikuyu and Kamba people, and to endeavour, from a study of their ceremonial with regard to sacrifice and taboo, to obtain a better insight into the principles which underlie the outward forms and ceremonies of their ritual.

It has long been customary, partly through narrow-minded prejudice and partly through ignorance, to class as Pagans all native tribes which have not yet embraced one of the great positive religions, such as Christianity or Mohammedanism. But the time has now come when such negative definitions, if seriously applied, will have to be abandoned. It must be admitted that all savages have a natural religion which is a survival of, and is analogous to, a stage of belief which existed among the ancestors of the civilised peoples of the present day. The admission is inevitable, however distasteful to those who are dogmatic in their religious beliefs and loath to admit that religious thought and the conception of a deity have passed through an evolutionary process and, furthermore, a process which has not ceased. For, after all, the development of mental and moral ideas is a part of the evolution of the living being as much as the development of limbs, cranial shape, or body markings. No positive system of religion descended from heaven as a completely new concept of the deity and with an absolutely novel code. Such a system could never have survived. Any new religious teacher could not fail to be, to a great extent, a creature of his environment and of the age in which he was born. He must necessarily graft his scheme on to what went before. As Robertson Smith so truly says, “a new scheme of faith can only find a hearing by appealing to religious instincts and susceptibilities that already exist in the audience.”

In East Africa, various tribes remain in a stage of belief very similar to that which prevailed in Arabia and Assyria from about 1500 B.C. and onward, and which continued till a dogmatic uniformity was forced on the bulk of the people by the teachings of Mahomed about A.D. 650.

Asiatic beliefs were introduced to Abyssinia by the Sabæans or Himyaritic invaders a few centuries before the Christian era, but it is doubtful whether they spread to any extent. For ancient religious influences on Central Africa, we must look more to the channel afforded by the Nile valley which had become a route of exploration as far back as the time of the Pharaohs. Although, however, we know that Egyptian influence was spasmodically exercised for a long distance up the Nile valley, little evidence of any spiritual effect has as yet come to light. This is natural, for the ancient expeditions were at long intervals and were not missionary enterprises, but were in search of material gain.

The only case of permanent settlement which appears to be beyond doubt is the invasion into Uganda, Unyoro, and Ankole, of a light coloured race, now known as the Ba-Hima or Ba-Huma. Some consider that these people came from the Abyssinian highlands; Sir Harry Johnston, on the other hand, believes them to be descendants of ancient Egyptian settlers; according to Dr Seligman they are probably descendants of what he terms Proto-Egyptians—the latter description being a more concrete definition based upon careful researches in the Nile valley, the result of which was not available when Sir H. H. Johnston made his suggestion.

But whatever the origin of the Ba-Hima, there appears to be no trace of this infusion of northern blood anywhere east of the Rift Valley, except, possibly, among the Masai who are believed to have migrated south-east from the valley of the Upper Nile. The Nandi, the Lako and Savei of Elgon, the Lumbwa and Elgeyo also came from the north-west, but did not cross the Rift.

The Kikuyu absorbed some Masai blood from time to time, and also intermixed to some extent with the aboriginal Oggiek, but they are mainly Bantu in blood and constitution. The Kamba people, whose ancestors flowed into their present habitat from the south and south-west, are believed to be pure Bantu.

We have, therefore, no evidence as to where the ancestors of the Kikuyu or Kamba lived about two thousand years ago, and, further, whether they were affected by Semitic culture in remote times.

It is, moreover, highly improbable that the ancient Semitic beliefs should have originated in East Africa. We must, therefore, decide whether such similarity as we find to-day is merely a case of parallel and unconnected development, or the result of an ancient invasion of a Semitic race or possibly of a race which had adopted Semitic beliefs. In the present state of knowledge it will be safer to assume that this similarity is due to parallel development, many examples of which may be found in other parts of the world.

It is, however, necessary to make it clear that if there should have been any Semitic influence it cannot have been derived from the Arab settlements on the East Coast of Africa, founded during the last few hundred years. Their political hold of the country never extended much beyond the tidal waters, and their only social influence was the slight one exercised at intermittent intervals by a slave raiding or ivory trading expedition. No ancient trace of Mohammedanism can be found among the people under consideration, and their present stage of culture is pre-Islamic in point of time.

The religious beliefs of the tribes of Kikuyu and Ukamba generally consist of a rudimentary conception of a high god, corresponding more or less to the old Hebrew concept of Jahveh. To the bulk of the peasantry this idea is naturally very vague and practically subconscious. But the elders of what may be termed the “high place” are believed to have a clear conception of it, and their deity is apparently of the kind which can be influenced and appeased by material attentions. The belief in ancestral spirits—ngoma or aiimu—is the predominating spiritual factor in the minds of the great majority of the people. These are ever present, and the relations between men and spirits are in accordance with the actual patriarchal state of society. The spirits must not be ignored, for are they not of the blood kin? If neglected, they will be angry and punish their children. But naturally no rancour is felt when such punishments are inflicted. There is a total absence of religious intolerance about this cult; failure to worship or failure to contribute to a sacrifice brings its own retribution, and the spirits are swift in detecting a delinquent.

These spirits are not necessarily evil, but there is little doubt that the character of the spirit is believed to reflect to some extent the character of the person from whom it came, and the power of the spirit is intimately connected with the position of the person in the tribe. This explains to some extent why an ordinary person is cast out at death, whereas an elder, qualified to take part in sacrificial ceremonies, receives burial. The burial is probably pleasing to the spirit, and the spirit of an elder possesses more power than that of an uninitiated common person. All spirits, however, appear to be relentless and malignant when neglected, and remain so until they are appeased. At times they are said to assist their clients, and, through a suitable medium, to warn the people of an impending raid.

In old Semitic records the evil spirits or jinn loom very large; they are usually referred to as devils in the Old Testament. They have no continuous or fixed personal relations with mankind, but have their own particular haunts in desert places, caves, and so forth. They are, so to speak, outlaws; they appear to man either in human or animal form, and if one is killed, a solid carcase is believed to remain. Among the ancient Semites, the belief became very elaborate and survives to this day in out-of-the-way places. These unwholesome creatures were even classified more or less definitely as jinni, ghouls, mared, lilith, sedim, and so forth.

Among our African tribes this cult, however, has fortunately not developed to any great extent. It may, of course, have been forgotten, or it may have disappeared, but there are still a few traces of it left. A Kamba story, for instance, tells of two girls who took shelter in a cave during a storm. A centipede came in while they were there and the girls threw it outside. But the centipede was an evil spirit and revenged itself by closing up the entrance to the cave, so that the girls were starved to death. This story might have come straight from Central Arabia and be that of a jinni, the sedim of the Talmud, who were supposed to assume any form they wished. The deity or the ancestral spirit is appeased by means of sacrifice or libations, carried out either privately or communally according to the circumstances. A considerable amount of detailed information concerning these has been collected, which it may be interesting to compare with similar practices described in the Old Testament and other ancient literature.

The aiimu ya Kitombo referred to in “Ethnology of the A-Kamba” (p. 89), and the unnatural creature said to be seen at Manyani (p. 87, op. cit.), should also very probably be placed in this class.

The widespread prevalence of “taboo” among these tribes is very surprising, as it is a subject which is rarely mentioned and certainly never openly discussed. It has, nevertheless, reached a pitch of considerable elaboration. The reason for many of the prohibitions is obvious, but that of others is extremely obscure.

The tribes under review have a very definite idea of prayer. Their appeals to the deity take place regularly at the sacred place, either on the occasion of sacrifice or when pouring out libations to the spirits. Examples of these are given later. This form of supplication is probably much more common than we are inclined to think. But it is no easy matter to induce people to give a definite enumeration of minor rites which they perform constantly and as a matter of course. The A-Kamba, for instance, when on a journey, and when leaving a spot where they have camped, throw a firebrand on their path and pray that the party should reach its destination in safety and proceed together in amity. This is done by the head of the party, the next man throwing a few leaves on the firebrand and stepping on it. It is a pretty custom, although a European of the present day might consider it a somewhat strenuous method of expressing gratitude! But when people are constantly travelling through parts of a country infested with lions, and when their only protection from wild animals is a small camp fire, one can perhaps understand that they should think it advisable to keep on the right side of the deity.

At Kikuyu, a man was once seized with a sudden fit. When he recovered consciousness, he was given a little water. Before drinking it, he promptly poured a few drops in front of him, then on his right side, then on his left. This was meant as a kind of silent prayer of thanksgiving for recovery. He stated that it was his muungu who had attacked him thus.

Charms are also very common. Many of them are in the nature of sympathetic magic, whilst others are merely a form of perpetual prayer, or rather, of materialised prayers. A German missionary, named Brutzer, gives a good example, and describes the charms worn by a Kamba friend; one was worn round his neck to protect him against witchcraft in general; on his wrist was a bracelet containing a charm which would warn him should there be poison in any beer which might be offered to him; if his hand shook on raising the gourd to his lips, it would be a sign of poison. From his elbow two pieces of wood were suspended to protect him from snake bites. And hanging from his waist was a chain to ensure riches.

There are also charms against infection; these are carried by a man when visiting a sick friend. There are charms worn when going to war, charms worn when love-making, to ensure the return of affection. The charms usually consist of powdered wood, roots and herbs. The advice of a medicine man is sought and he recommends a certain plant or tree. Grain is taken to the plant or tree indicated, and six times a single grain is thrown at the tree, the remainder of the grain being thrown the seventh time only. This possibly signifies a sacrifice to the spirit of the tree. The plant is then dug up, or a piece of wood cut off the root of the tree and dried and powdered. Sometimes a firebrand and water are taken to the tree; in this case, the water is placed on the ground, and the supplicant, closing his eyes, walks six times round the tree, then stands under it, facing east, and prays, with eyes still closed: “Tree, I have a favour to ask—I have a sick child or wife or brother”—as the case may be—“and know not the origin of his sickness, as he has no trouble with anyone. I come to ask a favour. I come to you, O Tree, to treat him for it that he may be cured.”

According to some of the missionaries, the natives believe that the fate of each individual from birth to death is decided beforehand; they believe, in fact, in predestination. I myself have discovered no trace of this. A native will sometimes say of a bad character, “Oh, he was born a bad lot,” but this seems to me too vague a statement to serve as the basis of a theory. Conscience does not loom very large as a rule. The Reverend Hoffman, who lived for many years in Kitui, however, quotes a saying which undoubtedly shows that the natives have some faint notion of the meaning of it: “Aka nwa Engai” or “God will find him.” Thus do the Kamba refer to an evil-doer.

The Kamba account of creation is very vague. The first man is said to have been produced by the high god Engai out of an ant-hill by the sea, and from him all men are descended. He is referred to as imuuma ndi (he who came out of the earth).

According to the Reverend Hoffman, there is a saying that “the bird was created on the fifth day, and the imundu mwei on the sixth day.” No further explanation of this curious saying is given. The ordinary meaning of mundu mwei is “man of power or wisdom,” and it is used of the medicine man. But in the saying above quoted, it probably refers to mankind generically as opposed to other animals.

Generally speaking, the tribes under consideration attribute the existence of the world and of its inhabitants to creation by Engai. Very little abstract spirituality is to be found in their religion. Almost everything is concrete, and, according to their point of view, strictly logical. The same is probably true of all religions appertaining to human beings on a similar plane of culture.

This aspect of religion is a great snare to the European student. Being the product of a far more complex environment and having been brought up under the influence of religions of a higher type, he finds it extremely difficult to avoid either reading more into a ceremony than actually exists, or, on the other hand, he is apt to overlook some apparently trivial point which may be of deep significance to the worshipper.