May-June-issue

TRAVEL
Riuki kikuyu traditional culture.
Century, and for hundreds of years before
that.
Over the years since Riuki Cultural
Centre was established, there has been a
lot of development on the 30 kilometre
route from Nairobi city centre to Riuki,
but it is still one of the most pleasant
drives in Kenya, and well worth the few
minutes that it takes to get there, and be
transported back to a priceless bygone age.
Inside the centre is what would
have been a typical traditional Gikuyu
homestead comprising five houses. One
house is for the male head of the family,
the other three are for his wives, the fourth
one is for his son muramati and in the fifth
lives the homestead assistant ndungata.
The wives houses being the most complex,
are each partitioned into seven parts:- the
woman’s sleeping place, uriri, a place for
storing food thegi, a place where girls sleep
kiriri, the uncircumcised boys share their
sleeping places with goats in thingira
(man’s hut). Goats which feed in the
fields were kept on the left side of the
woman’s bed. At the centre of the house
is a cooking place with a traditional
hearth of three stones, riuki.
A small verandah next to the main
entry provides safety for the children
in case of emergency such as when a
pot falls from the fire. The man’s house
thingira faces both his elder son and
wive’s houses.
Inside his house is the bed which is
covered with goat skin. Facing the entry
is a gichegu where goats for mating,
fattening and slaughtering are kept.
The son’s house did not have partitions
until he married. Then he would require
privacy for his wife and female children.
Only at this time he would own such
wealth as goats, and sheep. Guarded by
warriors, the big mud house boini facing
the other houses, and which is open at the
front thereby making up a large verandah,
is owned by the elder of the homestead
for entertaining visitors. Sitting in
boini the visitors are entertained by
traditional Gikuyu dancers, story tellers
and dramatists. Meanwhile they are fed
on traditional dishes: irio – maize and
vegetable mash, nyama choma – roasted
meat, ucuru – porridge and rukuri, a meat
of Agikuyu. Other houses at the centre
include meat roasting – kirugu house and
the guard house itara. At Riuki Cultural
Centre the latter is used as traditional
theatre, the museum of Agikuyu history
and culture, as well as lecture and film
hall.
Visitors find the centre most
stimulating and interpreting, providing
a great opportunity to take photographs
at close quarters without harassment
or interference. The day out at Riuki
is one of Kenya’s best. Get there via
Kiambu District Headquarters, through
Ndumberi, Tinganga and Ikinu Villages
to Karia Village along lush and green
agricultural Gikuyu country with banana
plantations and coffee trees untill you
reach Riuki Cultural Centre. You will
be received by Dr. Kinuthia Njoroge in
person, the guide, and a host of children.
You will be given a brief lecture of
Gikuyu rural life and invited to taste
the Gikuyu brew, Njohi Muratina,
Gikuyu porridge and view the farmers’
preparations. Gikuyu dancers will
entertain you with dances, songs and
cleansing ceremonies, while being served
with a delicious African Barbeque
complete with Gikuyu traditional meat,
rukuri, and delicious marinated steak,
Agikuyu mash, sukuma wiki, irio, salads,
fruits and more traditional wine.
You will leave with the sinking sun,
having enjoyed a day full of interesting
experiences. The food will be well prepared
and with great care by Dr. Njoroge’s two
wives, who will be dressed in traditional
garb for authenticity. You will be sent
away with blessings and goodwill, ‘come
back some day’ with a request to tell your
friends to visit Riuki Cultural Centre and
share a day of Gikuyu customs, meats,
dances and music.
After visiting Riuki Cultural Center,
you cannot fail to see the potential of
a fully-fledged cultural institute in the
small village of Karia village. It is Dr.
Kinuthia Njoroge’s worthwhile dream
that is on the way of becoming a reality.
MAY - JUNE 2018 67