QUICK DELIVERY
Swift dispatch
-11%
Christian Missionary Education and Its Impact on Abagusii of Western Kenya 1909 -1963
£18.00 £16.00
This work focuses on Christian missionaries’ education in Gusii, western Kenya, between 1909 and 1963. It examines the socio-economic and educational aspects of Gusii society in the pre-Christian period. A key observation is that traditional African education was practical, mnemonic, and real; it was worthwhile for the culture of Abagusii. The missionaries introduced a largely theoretical education that was alien to Gusii.
Missionaries, through condemnation of the ways of life of Abagusii, inflicted a deadly blow to traditional education. Gusii educational processes (e.g. rites of passage such as circumcision) and venues of education (e.g. ebisarate) were termed ‘heathen’. Colonial government support for missionary education further weakened indigenous ways and practices, rendering traditional Gusii education helpless.
The alien education destroyed traditional structures and systems, and enabled the first modern elite classes to emerge. It produced clerical and administrative cadres for the colonial administration, in addition to commercial and political elites. Mission schools, further, produced teachers who, though not well educated, spread and planted modern education in Gusii society. All this submerged old elites: the rainmakers, medicine men, seers, and others.
The actions of missionaries and the colonial government shaped Gusii society anew. Their impact on Gusii culture, economy, healthcare and administration, among others, was irreversible.
What would have been the trajectory in Gusii had the foreigners integrated indigenous education into their schemes? To what degree would Gusii society, its culture and knowledge have been preserved? How prominent, for instance, would indigenous ways of life (e.g. medicine) be part of modern Gusii society?
Shipping
Reviews (0)
Vendor Info
Vendor Information
- Store Name: Nsemia Inc Publishers
- Vendor: Linda Kiboma
- No ratings found yet!
More Products
Beyond the Morning
Beyond the Morning touches on real life facets and their modulation on the rhythm of life. It has themes (life, death, loneliness, setbacks, success and more) that punctuate daily experiences across spaces (rural and urban), age (young and old), gender (men and women) and more.
What others say
“The author’s themes are clearly expressed in the context, as they soothe a wounded soul!” -Wilson Oluoch.
“Beyond the Morning is an epitome of art, the very repository of human soul. It contains gems of philosophy and snatches of lyric rhythm artistically put and laced with beautiful syntax. Grab a copy and enjoy a mouth- watering menu of poems resplendent in imagery” - Patrick Okoyo Awino, Journalist, Communications specialist & Media scholar.
Undeterred : The Rural Boy’s Journey to the Pinnacle of Academia
Undeterred is an insightful exposé of his distinctive life as an academic
and community leader in Africa. It shows that taking a strategic life path
of positive thinking, commitment and hard work can lead to success and
eventual achievement of cherished dreams and aspirations; even against
all odds that may stand on the way.
Prof. Akama grew up in a simple rural African setting in Kenya’s hinterland,
and was raised by a typical Kenyan peasant family with meagre resources
and limited frills. He went through early childhood enculturation and basic
education in rural Kenyan schools, characterized by limited educational
resources, scant infrastructure and minimal facilities.
Through high school and university, his path was characterized by daunting
challenges and setbacks. Being one who does not give up easily, and
notwithstanding the many odds encountered, he managed to succeed in
several fronts to get to the pinnacle of academia and university leadership.
Prof. Akama’s discourse is a vivid testimony that all of us, as human
beings, are capable of overcoming many life challenges that come our way,
if we are guided by principles of determination, selflessness, focus,
commitment and hard work
Kally the Pet
Kally the Pet is a story of a girl and her pet. Babby shows her devotion to her pet, Kally. She feeds, bathes, and plays with her. It hurts Babby to see Kally hurt and she learns to thank those who offer care for her pet
Kally the Pet is about caring, discipline and responsibility. It is a story about caring and lessons on being grateful.
Why We Tell Stories
Storytelling was an intrinsic activity in traditional African communities. Typically told by older people, usually grandmothers and grandfathers, stories were a way of life for the young and old alike, linking the past, present and future of those societies. Set as they were around a fire, the storytelling tradition strengthened communal ties between the old and the young, and as reinforced bonds among the young.
Stories emphasized shared culture, cultural values and history that were the foundation of the society’s ties. They underscored important societies’ traditions, beliefs and other norms.
From the old, the young learnt lessons about their community that to affirmed their collective identity. They learnt and internalized moral values such as honesty, courage, respect, solidarity and caring for others. Invariably, stories discouraged greed and selfishness. Further, the tales captured the essence of the environment in which the people lived while reinforcing their core values. They contributed to character-building through appreciation of the moral of the stories.
In Why We Tell Stories, Dorcas Kiptoo and Arthur Dobrin bring their storytelling experiences and expertise to the fore through a selection of from the African folklore. Even as the two look back to societies of yore to dig up the tales, the inherent lessons remain as relevant in contemporary times as they were ages ago.
About the Authors
Dorcas Kiptoo was born in Mogotio, Kenya. She attended Kenyatta University where she earned her Bachelor of Education degree. She currently lives in New York.
Haughty Boys of Ngoroke by Imali J. Abala
Agoyi's afterschool argument with his step-mother sets off an unpredictable series of intriguing misadventures. The subsequent meandering journey is one of the choices between what is morally right and the lure of the 'attractive". Always a balancing act between what could be (success) and potential disaster, Ayoyi's life is a perpetual succession of dilemmas. The moral question of choices is the central theme of this work.
Biblical Wisdom in Proverbs of Abagusii of Kenya
Abagusii have a rich oral tradition that, among other things, is captured by the proverbs in their language of Ekegusii. The proverbs speak to a wide range of subjects and situations, and many of them capture their spiritual disposition. Indeed, like all communities across the world, Abagusii had very clear ideas of the world and how it worked, including any phenomena they encountered. This forms the core of Biblical Wisdom in Abagusii Proverbs. By means of illustration, using one hundred proverbs from Ekegusii, the author contrasts the proverbs and their meaning with situations captured in the Christian Bible. While the overlap in spiritual beliefs of Abagusii and the texts in various parts of the Bible may be wider than captured in this work, the author makes the case that Abagusii were deeply religious and likely as much spiritual as the Bible depicts.
Related products
Kikuyu District by Paul Sullivan
Brief Summary
Francis Hall's letters are among the earliest colonial record of daily life in British East Africa, now modern day Kenya. In 1892 Hall was posted to Fort Smith with orders to build 150 miles of road, to re-supply caravans between the coast and Uganda and to keep the peace between the Kikuyu and the Maasai.
His was a hard life in difficult, dangerous conditions and every day was an adventure. He was gored by a rhino and mauled by a leopard, which he strangled with his rifle, and survived bush surgery and frequent bouts of malaria.
While on leave in England he married Bee Russell, a colleague's sister, and they set up house together in Fort Smith. As the railway line approached, so the early European settlers started to arrive. But the railway was to change everything, and when Nairobi was established on their doorstep at the turn of the century, Fort Smith became redundant.
The government first moved the Halls to Machakos and then back to Kikuyuland to establish a new fort at Mbirri. Six months later Francis Hall was dead from black water fever aged 40. Mbirri was renamed Fort Hall in his memory and today the town is called Muranga. Kikuyu District is a fascinating account of the life of an early colonial administrator and settler.
Wisdom of the Elders Personal Reflections of Over 70 Kenyans who Have Lived Through Changing Times by Susan Wakhungu Githuku and Bobby Pall
"'Wisdom of the elders' presents conversations with over 70 elders of diverse background, education level, race and gender. One is none other than immediate former President Emilio Mwai Kibaki. Another is the widow of former freedom fighter Dedan Kimathi, while another is the grandmother of President Barrack Hussein.
Others are normal Kenyans living in villages, with no claim to fame or stature.
However, all those profiled have lived three score ten years and more and in the words of the Bible, have reached the age of wisdom.
Discussing how life was then and how it is today, their disparate views will inform and resonate as they provide a veritable history lesson."--Dust jacket flap.
Fan into Flame by John Gatu
"I returned to the hangar quite drunk and forgot to fasten my rifle to my waist. When I woke up in the morning, I realized that my rifle, loaded with six bullets, had been stolen. In the military, and especially during a state of war, losing one's rifle was considered a serious crime. It is tantamount to willingly handing over a weapon to the enemy to fight you ...'."- Rev. Dr John G. Gatti
From an early age, John Gan) yearns for and cherishes his independence. At the end of his primary school education, instead of joining a teacher training college, young Gaul opts to travel to Nairobi, believing a better world awaited him there.
Much later, after scratching hard, he discovers this `better' world when he joins the army. Serving in Ethiopia and Somaliland, and finally traveling to London for the Victory Parade, thrills young Gatti despite the dangers involved. It is at the peak of his career in the military and after receiving the most coveted awards that John Gatti makes another decision: to retire from the army and work closer home. Gatti, the civilian, engages in different jobs before working as a clerk at Kambili Mission Church.
"It had nothing to do with my Christian faith ... it was purely for the salary and my desire to work and live near my family," he confesses. It was during his service at Kambui that he encountered the 'flame' that continues to burn in him as he allows himself to be used to transform others.
Fan into Flame is a multilayered narrative with the nuances of a thriller as the author unveils dramatic events that took place when he was a soldier in Ethiopia and the serenity that he encounters after his 'rebirth'. The story spans through the history of colonial and independent Kenya. Rev. John Gata's passion for his work as a servant of God, brings out the best in everyone he interacts with, no matter what their station in life.
His role as an agent of peace and positive change in the church, his country and beyond, cannot be overemphasized.
The Politics of Betrayal: Diary of a Kenyan Legislator by Joe Khamisi
Brief Summary
The Politics of Betrayal: Diary of a Kenyan Legislator
In this provocative treatise, author Joe Khamisi catalogues the events that took place during one of Kenya's most important periods in history. This period began in 2002, when Daniel Arap Moi stepped down after twenty-four years as president of Kenya.
Khamisi reviews events up to the time when the country exploded in post-election violence in 2007 and the subsequent formation of the Grand Coalition Government between President Mwai Kibaki and Raila Amolo Odinga the following year.
Khamisi explores the leadership betrayals that he believes are responsible for the political, social, and economic rot that are pervasive in Kenya. He recounts how he helped a presidential poll loser in the 2007 elections, Stephen Kalonzo Musyoka, capture the coveted role of vice president.
He also presents an in-depth analysis of Senator Barack Obama's visit to Kenya in 2006, as well as his own personal experiences with Barack's late father, who he describes as a person who "chain-smoked contentedly, drank copiously, and partied spiritedly." The Politics of Betrayal is critical reading for anyone who is interested in the transformation of Kenya from a one-party dictatorship to a pluralistic nation.
Dedan Kimathi The Whole Story by Joseph E. Karimi
Brief Summary
Writer takes an honest look at the life and times of Dedan Kimathi, Kenya’s foremost freedom fighter at his Kimathi Street corner statue in Nairobi, a dreadlocked Dedan Kimathi is a small, frail, bent old man struggling to lift his rifle.
That is the public image of the greatest Kenyan ever to live. Old, frail, starved. The sculptors were not helped by a literature that portrays Mau Mau adherents as bloodthirsty, atavistic, rural, poor and illiterate.
Which child wants this for his grandpa? Yet image is everything.
ISBN:9789966229724
Author:Joseph Karimi
Mukami Kimathi Mau Mau Women Freedom by Alice Wairimu Nderitu
In 1964, a newly independent Kenya was facing the uphill task of reconstructing herself into an African State. That reconstruction was called "Africanisation”.
As part of the Africanisation policy, my father, Vincent Nderitu, was posted to Sasumua Dam in Kinangop to take over from the British superintendents who were leaving the country.
Not long after he had arrived, he asked the foreman, Harun Musungu, to find out where he could buy milk. That was how he met Mukami Kimathi. My father was thunderstruck. Back home in Tetu, Nyeri, his home and Mukami’s were within a walking distance. My father knew her as a legend. She was a Mau Mau heroine, the wife of Field Marshal Dedan Kimathi.
My father began treating Mukami like an elder sister, fixing her fences and installing a water tank for her among other duties. When I was growing up, Mukami was the auntie through whose home we passed on our way from school; the one who made my brothers and I porridge and gave us red plums. She was not a blood relative, but we always thought she was.
Mukami and her children, Nyambura and Waceke, would often come to our home in the afternoons and I would read the newspaper to her haltingly. She encouraged me saying; "When you grow up, you will write as well as you read. One day, you should write my karugano ( story) because what is not written is forgotten.”
She wanted me to remind Kenyans to take care of the country the Mau Mau fought for.
Her lowest point was the 2007-2008 post-election violence and often said: "Because we fought the colonialists, Kenyans now have arrow roots, sweet potatoes, bananas and yam on the table. But instead of eating, they are fighting! I wish this generation of Kenyans from all ethnic communities would rally as we did and this time emerge with, instead of independence like we did, national unity!
In her story, Mukami shows us who Dedan Kimathi was as a father and husband. Her experiences provide an important complement to existing written records on Kenya’s history.
Mukami Kimathi’s prophesy that I would write her karugan is now a reality. The book, Mukami Kimathi: Mau Mau Freedom Fighter, was launched at the National Museums of Kenya in Nairobi last evening. She was also proved right on another front; my sister Consolata Wakonyo became a pilot.
Histories of the Hanged by David Anderson
In "a gripping narrative that is all but impossible to put down" (Joseph C. Miller), Histories of the Hanged exposes the long-hidden colonial crimes of the British in Kenya.
This groundbreaking work tells how the brutal war between the colonial government and the insurrectionist Mau Mau between 1952 and 1960 dominated the final bloody decade of imperialism in East Africa.
Using extraordinary new evidence, David Anderson puts the colonial government on trial with eyewitness testimony from over 800 court cases and previously unseen archives.
His research exonerates the Kikuyu rebels; hardly the terrorists they were thought to be; and reveals the British to be brutal aggressors in a "dirty war" that involved leaders at the highest ranks of the British government.
This astonishing piece of scholarship portrays a teetering colonial empire in its final phase; employing whatever military and propaganda methods it could to preserve an order that could no longer hold.
The trial of Dedan Kimathi by Ngugi wa Thiongo and Micere Githae Mugo
The Trial of Dedan Kimathi, written in collaboration with Micere Githae-Mugo, is Ngugi’s response to colonialist writings about the Mau-Mau movement, which traditionally depicted the movement and its leader, Dedan Kimathi, as mentally unbalanced and vicious.
Ngugi and his collaborator choose to counter this image with a portrait of Kimathi as a man of great courage and commitment. This was how he was seen by many of the peasants and laborers of Kenya.
Dedan Kimathi The Real Story
Brief Summary
"To most people, Dedan Kimathi, the man who led the Mau Mau movement in Kenya’s forests in the 1950s to win freedom from the British Empire, has remained a shadowy and enigmatic figure.
Attempts to portray his heroic and fascinating life have produced varying results, ranging from historical distortion to artistic idealism.
ISBN:9789966498151
Author:Samuel Kahiga
Looters and Grabbers by Joe Khamisi
This book is about unbridled corruption, bribery and scandalous financial skullduggery in one of Africa's most promising countries, Kenya.
It is a narrative of money-laundering, mega scandals, and international wheeler-dealing, and describes how Mafia-like lobbyists have been devouring the country's resources with blatant impunity over four regimes since independence in 1963.
It is an important resource for historians, students, researchers, social and political scientists, non-governmental organizations, development and anti-corruption agencies.
Dash before Dusk: A Slave Descendants Journey in Freedom by Joe Khamisi
Brief Summary
Dash before Dusk: A slave descendant's journey in freedom is an account of the life and times of Joe Khamisi, a Kenyan slave descendant whose ancestors were taken captive by Arab traders from Nyasaland and Tanganyika, rescued at sea by the British, and settled at Rabai, a slave encampment along the East African coast.
Khamisi, a former journalist, diplomat and politician, narrates the significant contributions former slaves and their descendants made in the transformation of Kenya into an independent state and their continuing struggle for recognition.
Imperial Reckoning The Untold Story of Britains Gulag in Kenya by Caroline Elkins
Brief Summary
Britain fought in the Second World War to save the world from fascism. But just a few years after the defeat of Hitler came the Mau Mau uprising in Kenya - a mass armed rebellion by the Kikuyu people, demanding the return of their land and freedom. The draconian response of Britain's colonial government was to detain nearly the entire Kikuyu population of one-and-a half-million - to hold them in camps or confine them in villages ringed with barbed wire - and to portray them as sub-human savages.
From 1952 until the end of the war in 1960 tens of thousands of detainees - and possibly a hundred thousand or more - died from the combined effects of exhaustion, disease, starvation and systemic physical brutality. Until now these events have remained untold, largely because the British government in Kenya destroyed most of its files. For the last eight years Caroline Elkins has conducted exhaustive research to piece together the story, unearthing reams of documents and interviewing several hundred Kikuyu survivors.
Britain's Gulag reveals what happened inside Kenya's detention camps, as well as the efforts to conceal the truth. Now, for the first time, we can understand the full savagery of the Mau Mau war and the ruthless determination with which Britain sought to control its empire.
ISBN:9780805080018
Author: Caroline Elkins
Britains Gulag The Brutal End of Empire in Kenya by Caroline Elkins
Britain fought in the Second World War to save the world from fascism. But just a few years after the defeat of Hitler came the Mau Mau uprising in Kenya - a mass armed rebellion by the Kikuyu people, demanding the return of their land and freedom.
The draconian response of Britain's colonial government was to detain nearly the entire Kikuyu population of one-and-a half-million - to hold them in camps or confine them in villages ringed with barbed wire - and to portray them as sub-human savages.
From 1952 until the end of the war in 1960 tens of thousands of detainees - and possibly a hundred thousand or more - died from the combined effects of exhaustion, disease, starvation and systemic physical brutality.
Until now these events have remained untold, largely because the British government in Kenya destroyed most of its files. For the last eight years Caroline Elkins has conducted exhaustive research to piece together the story, unearthing reams of documents and interviewing several hundred Kikuyu survivors.
Britain's Gulag reveals what happened inside Kenya's detention camps, as well as the efforts to conceal the truth.
Now, for the first time, we can understand the full savagery of the Mau Mau war and the ruthless determination with which Britain sought to control its empire.
Coming of Age Strides in African Publishing Essays in Honour of Dr Henry Chakava at 70
The sixteen chapters in this book form a Festschrift in honour of Henry Chakava, the distinguished Kenyan publisher. With a Forward by Tanzanian publisher Walter Bgoya , his long-time collaborator in furthering the causes of independent African publishing, the topics cover the full range of issues in which he has been central over more than forty years.
His notable achievements include the first local buy-out of a British multinational publishing house, being one of the founders of African Books Collective and the African Publishers' Network, and participation in international counsels such as the Bellagio Publishing Network.
Amongst the contributors are prominent Kenyan authors Ngugi wa Thiong'o, Simon Gikandi and Micere Githae Mugo; Kenyan colleagues from the book trade world; close collaborators in Uganda and Nigeria, and some international colleagues.
The greatest range of the contributors are from within Africa. There are subject specific chapters on such issues as training, copyright, publishing in the digital age, and an overview of publishing at Codesria including the vexed issue of marginalisation of African language publishing.
Shades of Benga The Story of Popular Music in Kenya 1946-2016
Brief Summary
Shades of Benga: The Story of Popular Music in Kenya delves into the foundations of modern Kenyan music, examining external influences from the English waltz to Afro Cuban Rumba and how they helped mould new music styles across Africa. Rumba was brought to Eastern Africa via the itinerant Congolese musicians Edouard Masengo and Jean Bosco Mwenda who’s intricate guitar-picking styles largely shaped the present Kenyan sound, with the Benga playing a dominant role.
Although dozens of works have been published over the years on various characteristics of popular music in Kenya – from conventional folk to hip hop – none captures the history of music and its players as authoritatively as Shades of Benga: The Story of Popular Music in Kenya. An informed study of some literary publications and academic papers on music immediately reveals that the writers, who frequently tend to be foreign ‘experts’, do not seek the opinions of pioneer musicians who helped shape the various genres of music.
Their research is largely based on information obtained from sources that are readily available on the Internet but often not easily verifiable. As we wrote this book, we made every possible effort to engage with practitioners directly involved in creating and shaping benga in order to ensure that their collective voice remains the sole critical factor to placing the music in its proper perspective while simultaneously giving the other genres in Kenya their correct definition. We undertook the arduous task of meticulously putting together the content that would faithfully recount the remarkable story of the development of our music in a manner previously not attempted.
In an effort to make this 678-page book an easy read as well as eye catching, Shades of Benga: The Story of Popular Music in Kenya features over 400 pictures.
"
ISBN:6164001943132
Author:Ketebul Music
Moving the Maasai A Colonial Misadventure by Lotte Hughes
This is the scandalous story of how the Maasai people of Kenya lost the best part of their land to the British in the 1900s.
Drawing upon unique oral testimony and extensive archival research, Hughes describes the intrigues surrounding two enforced moves and the 1913 lawsuit, while explaining why recent events have brought the story full circle.
Reviews
Clear filtersThere are no reviews yet.