Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Photographs
- Acknowledgments
- 1 Introduction
- 2 Clans and Councils, Caravans and Conquest, Cosmology and Colonialism
- 3 Understanding Uoi, Uwe, and Kithitu in Ukambani
- 4 The “Cosmology” of the Colonial State
- 5 The Wakamba Witch Trials
- 6 Witchcraft, Murder, and Death Sentences after Rex v. Kumwaka
- 7 The World of Oathing and Witchcraft in Mau Mau–era Machakos
- 8 Cleansing Ukambani Witches
- 9 Epilogue
- Glossary
- Bibliography
- Index
- References
7 - The World of Oathing and Witchcraft in Mau Mau–era Machakos
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 07 October 2011
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Photographs
- Acknowledgments
- 1 Introduction
- 2 Clans and Councils, Caravans and Conquest, Cosmology and Colonialism
- 3 Understanding Uoi, Uwe, and Kithitu in Ukambani
- 4 The “Cosmology” of the Colonial State
- 5 The Wakamba Witch Trials
- 6 Witchcraft, Murder, and Death Sentences after Rex v. Kumwaka
- 7 The World of Oathing and Witchcraft in Mau Mau–era Machakos
- 8 Cleansing Ukambani Witches
- 9 Epilogue
- Glossary
- Bibliography
- Index
- References
Summary
The colonial state in Kenya confronted the ultimate challenge to its authority during the Mau Mau rebellion. From October 1952 to December 1959, Kenya was officially under a state of emergency resulting from a violent, anti-colonial insurgency conducted by (largely) Kikuyu guerrilla fighters. In much the same way that witchcraft carried multiple meanings, “Mau Mau” came to refer to the insurgent movement itself, to the guerrilla fighters and the rebellion’s more passive adherents, and also to the oaths of allegiance that fighters and adherents took, or were forced to take.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Witchcraft and Colonial Rule in Kenya, 1900–1955 , pp. 158 - 182Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2011