1964 Awake! - Theocratic Collector.com

THE
,..,AKIKUYU
MAKE A
8"
INHABITING approximately
one
million acres in the East African country
of Kenya, the Wakikuyu tribe has recently
been compelled, by circumstances, to undergo
a change that is vital to its economic
survival. They are an agricultural people
and the cha,nge has affected what they depend
upon for their livelihood-their land.
Before the Europeans came to Kenya all
the land of the Wakikuyu belonged to
clans. Each clan laid claim to certain land
areas. Through the clan elders, land was
apportioned to individual members of the
tribe, making them the lawful owners. The
binding of their ownership was by means
of a sacrificial goat, which was divided
among the elders. In some clan areas, a
plant called a "matoka lily" was planted as
a boundary marker after its roots had
heen dipped in the intestines of the slain
goat. The new landowner then built his
house on the land with its door facing
Mount Kenya, where the tribe believed
that their god resided.
Over the years these landholdings became
fragmented, because many members
of the tribe desired to have land at various
altitude levels and also because Of the
tribe's inheritance system. For example,
the sons of a family always inherited their
father's land, but the land they inherited
would not necessarily be in the same area
as that already owned by the sons. Thus
NOVEMBER 8, 1964
By "Awakel" correspondent in Kenya
the sons would come to own two portions
of land in different areas. With the passing
of successive generations landownership
could involve numerous pieces of widely
scattered land. In one case a landowner
possessed five and a half acres, but this
was composed of forty-two widely scattered
fragments.
A serious problem confronted the Wakikuyu
when their growing population became
faced with a shortage of land. With
the land they had fragmented, it was not
possible for them to produce enough for
their growing numbers. A change in the
tribal land system became an economic
necessity.
The Objective of Land Reform
The primary objective in changing the
tribal system of land tenure was to bring
about a balanced economy. By consolidating
landholdings, it was hoped that a better
standard of living could be achieved,
because soil conservation measures could
be practiced, crop rotation could be carried
on as well as other farming methods
that have proved practicable. It should
seem obvious that a landowner could do
more with his land, making it more productive,
if it were all in one piece rather
than fragmented into many widely scat-
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