ITUĨKA! The Management of Gĩkũyũ Generational Sets

The handing over of the reigns of governance from one generation to another is a natural process even in the world of nature that happens due to the very nature of life as a continuum ruled by birth and death. The Gĩkũyũ people managed the handing over of the reigns of power to conduct the political, judicial and religious functions in very elaborate ceremonies they referred to as ITUĨKA. The Gĩkũyũ have a deep sense  of history and tradition that embeds each member of the tribe in a rich context of age sets, and generational sets that is part of a long line; a continuum of ancestors, the living and the yet unborn. Age sets are formed yearly and are connected to circumcision rites of passage while generational sets are formed approximately every 30 to 40 years apart. These generational sets are so important that they form part of a man’s identification statement while introducing himself.  A man introduces himself as so and so, son of so and so, of such a clan and sub-clan, as well as belonging to such and such reigning or not reigning generational set. 

The handing over of the reigns of power rather than being a messy affair was a carefully managed thing of peace and cerebrations by the entire tribe devoid of any strife or contention. In fact according to the rules governing the conduct of the cerebrations, for a period of one year before and during the cerebrations, no human blood was to be spilt in strife or war, no debts could be collected and no judicial proceedings could take place. Once all peace had been established the ceremonies were started by a combined team of those ceding power and a team of those taking over. The detailed ceremonies were so intricate and deep that their description is far beyond the scope of this write-up.

The word “Ituĩka” in Gĩkũyũ translates to “parting ways” which means that the old is the mother of the new and the new carries characteristics of the old. It is a renewal or revitalization of the old giving it new blood and energy of the youth. It means a transformative system break for example from reliance of stone and wood tools to an age of iron thus the age of iron, cuuma, which also results in new farming methods. The verb “gũtuĩka” also means “to become” Ituĩka is a becoming where the same old ways are re-made and revitalised as the saying goes, “Wathi wakũra wongagĩrĩrwo ũngĩ.” The old benefits or is revitalised by the new.

The Gĩkũyũ performed these ceremonies  every 30 to 40 years with each new generation bearing a distinctive name. Many Gĩkũyũ people even some elders believe that that the names of the generations keep interchanging from Maina to Mwangi but these two names refer to a reigning generation and the one immediately before it. Once they are gone, a name is found that describes what they were about. Kabetu the clearest historian on ituĩka writes in “Kĩrĩra kia Aagĩkũyũ”, “Kũrĩ angĩ moigaga atĩ Mwangi wehera nĩ Maina macokaga, o ũguo o ũguo. No rĩrĩ, kĩrĩra-inĩ ti ũgwo hatariĩ nĩ ũndũ hatirĩ ituĩka rĩtuĩkagwo na rĩtigĩe na rĩtwa rĩarĩo kĩũmbe.” Sons adopt their grandfather’s Maina or Mwangi as the case may be before they know what they will ever become. Ũrĩa magatuĩka. Another historian, Wangũhũ Ng’ang’a writes, The moiety names Maina and Mwangi were only applicable to the living generation ~ those generations which had died off were given a definite name which encapsulated the most outstanding feature of their period or rule.”

How does this process begin?

As the time nears for the Ituĩka, it requires only one person to be filled with the spirit of Ituĩka. He or she then shares with two or three people and they then spread the fire to others. Once enough young people are caught up with the spirit of Ituĩka, they go around the country spreading and awakening others until it becomes a movement. It is interesting that Kabetũ uses the word “kwarahũra”, or awakening for indeed this is the way it happens even today in the various social, political and religious movements that spread using social media. Don’t we call the current social upheavals “woke” from “awaken”, or kwarahũra. Kabetũ also writes, “Maina maakũrirwo thĩ nĩ Mwangi,” meaning literally that Maina’s grip of the earth was lossened and uprooted by Mwangi. This is a very interesting use of language for what is the bottom line of this system’s reboot but control of the earth literally? Gũkũrwo means “to be uprooted.”

According to the Gĩkũyũ Ituĩka lists, (at the end of this article), the next Ituĩka should sweep through Gĩkũyũland and the world at large any time after 2030. The last traditional Ituĩka ceremony was held in 1897 when Maina wa Ngotho was uprooted by Mwangi. Mwangi was uprooted by Irũngũ around 1935 without the requisite ceremonies as the British colonial administration getting wind that a great ceremony of power change was under preparation in Gĩkũyũland banned the ceremony. Irũngũ gave way to Manduti in 1963 when the Gĩkũyũ people transformed the Ituĩka to a national Ituĩka incorporating other tribes to form the Republic of Kenya. Manduti were uprooted in the year 2000 when again the Ituĩka transformed dramatically to become a worldwide affair as the world entered into a digital era. The Gĩkũyũ of course are now deeply embedded in the world and that is why they recognise and appreciate that the coming Ituĩka that will shake the world cannot anymore be purely a Gĩkũyũ affair. The stirrings of this post 2030 transformation is being felt not just in Gĩkũyũland, not just in Kenya, but in the whole world. Some features of this coming Tsunami  seem to address the following points.

• A redefinition of the nature of government
• A redefinition of spirituality outside religiosity and church.
• A redefinition of the nature and our relationship to technology
• A redefinition of the meaning of family and humanhood.
•  A redefinition of life and reality beyond what we perceive with the senses.
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Below is the Gĩkũyũ Ituĩka lists from various historical and oral sources.

Marigarũ?   2000-2030

Manduti       1963 – 2000

Irũngũ (Maina Kanyi, Maina wa Nduti) 1936 – 1963

Mwangi         1898-1935

Maina wa  Ngotho   1862-1897

Iregi                1827-1862

Ndemi             1792-1826

Mathathi        1757-1791

Ciĩra                1722-1757

Cuuma            1762-1797

Manduti (Kiyĩ?) 1652-1686

Aagu                1617-1651?

Tene                 1582-1616?

Mamba             1547-1581?

Manjiri               1512-1546?