Agĩkũyũ - Music, Song and Dance

Music, Song And Dance:

The Gĩkũyũ were and still are a musical folk. Music and dance played an important role in traditional life and during the mau mau (Kenya Land Defence Army) freedom war. The dancing seemed to have captured the imagination of early white anthropologists and missionaries. The missionaries deemed some of the dancing as being too provocative, and condemned them along with many things associated with tribal life as demonic. This is especially true with the dances held after initiation. Sadly most of these dances disappeared alongside with many things Gĩkũyũ during and after colonialism. Initiation is no longer a shared experience that bonds a given group of the same age for life but a private affair for young men in a clinic somewhere. How useful a video camera would have been in those days! Gĩkũyũ of nowadays is transported through normal mode of recorded sound and video.

Gĩkũyũ musical Instruments:

The Agĩkũyũ had very few musical instruments, most songs being done vocally. Kenyatta, in facing Mt. Kenya identifies only four kinds of musical instruments in the whole of the Gĩkũyũ country. These are

1. Drum (Kĩihembe), was restricted in use to very few ceremonial songs and dances. It is used to supply rhythms to particular swinging dances and songs called njong’wa. The only other occasion when the drums are used is in a procession of young men and young women when they are in a parade, kĩonano., which takes place at the opening of seasonal day of dances and songs called gĩichukia kĩa mũthenya or kĩbata.

2. Large rattle (Kĩgamba): These was worn chiefly by men, women only wearing during initiation ceremonies. It’s main purpose was to provide rhythm to dances. It was made of an oval metal sheet folded and resembling a banana fruit and was filled with bullets, ng’arang’ari, which produced musical sound according to the movements of the person wearing them. It was fastened below the knee, with a strap which extended above the joint. It was worn only during special occasions , such as war dances and initiation ceremonies.

3. Small rattle (Njigiri) are made of the same material as the large ones and are of similar shape, the only difference being in size. The Njigiri is between one and two and a half inches. It’s chief use was as an ornament and to provide walking rhythm. It was worn on the lower part of the ankle. Some people preferred only one of this rattles but some others wore more than a dozen threaded together on leather straps. This rattles were also used in training children in the proper use of the right hand. The rattles were tied to the childs right hand and by tinkling the rattles a childs hand was strengthened.

4. Flute (Mũtũriro) made of bark or shrub and is of temporary nature. A certain shrub called mũkeo or mũgio, is cut according to the size of the flute required. Several holes are cut for producing several notes. Some people prefer four holes, others six or eight. Materials also vary from bamboo or the shrubs named above, which means a new flute every day.

The Gĩkũyũ flute was never used to lead a dance, only for leisure, or as comfort when a man was in grief or feeling lonesome. The flute was also played when a man was guarding the millet crop from the birds. A high platform called gĩtara is built in the middle of the field, where a man scares away the birds with a sling. The art of playing the flute was not practiced by women but they are keen listeners and it was also played by the men folk for them. In fact the flute was mostly played by boys and young men.