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Periodical article Periodical article Leiden University catalogue Leiden University catalogue WorldCat catalogue WorldCat
Title:Revisiting Our Indigenous Shrines through Mungiki
Author:Nyatugah Wamue, GraceISNI
Year:2001
Periodical:African Affairs: The Journal of the Royal African Society
Volume:100
Issue:400
Period:July
Pages:453-467
Language:English
Geographic term:Kenya
Subjects:African religions
Kikuyu
Religion and Witchcraft
Peoples of Africa (Ethnic Groups)
External link:https://www.jstor.org/stable/3518589
Abstract:In recent years a new religious movement referred to as 'Mungiki' (from 'muingi', Gikuyu for 'masses') has emerged in Kenya. The movement's aspirations range from religio-cultural to political to socioeconomic liberation. Mungiki followers were initially part of the Tent of the Living God, a registered sect founded in 1987, with a large group of followers in Nairobi and in Central and Rift Valley Provinces. Most Mungiki followers are Gikuyu and victims of the land clashes in the regions that were affected by ethnic conflicts on the eve of the 1992 multiparty elections in the country. The main objective of Mungiki is to unite and mobilize the Kenyan masses to fight against the yoke of mental slavery. In particular it calls for re-conversion from foreign (Christian) worship to indigenous (Gikuyu) beliefs, arguing that through a return to the indigenous shrines Kenyans will achieve political liberation. On several occasions, the movement has clashed with the authorities and, as a result, it has been denied freedom of worship and assembly. The article is based on information derived from participant observation in religious gatherings and interviews with a number of followers, supplemented by reports from the Kenyan press. Notes, ref., sum.
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