THE KAMBA PEOPLE

INTRODUCTION

            The Kamba are a group of people whose origin has really been given in diverse version such that it is difficult to tell which of the versions is true.

During the early and mid 1900s the inhabitant’s of Machakos district in accordance to the census of 1962 which comprised of Makueni, Kitui and the new Machakos districts were 540,000 and were the largest Kamba people who linguistically and culturally, fall within the group of peoples known as the north-east Bantu.

            Some historians following H.E. Lambert’s suggestions have said that the Bantu-speaking peoples of eastern Kenya highlands including the Kamba and their close neighbors the Kikuyu and Embu migrated from the Shungwaya area. Lamberts evidence however is far from inclusive. It does not convince anyone to say authoritatively that the ancestors of the kamba, Kikuyu, and embu, whose movements into the highlands was probably more or less simultaneously formed part of a dispersal from Shungwaya. The Bantu speaking communities of the coast record in their traditions the migration of their ancestors from settlement area at Shungwaya in the general port Durnford, close to the modern Kenya-Somali boarder, who believe it was as a result of displacement due to the pressure by the Galla people in the 16^TH century and early 17^TH century. None of the coastal traditions suggest, leave alone affirming Kamba or Kikuyu traditions assert that by may be containing the name.

            A few Kamba accounts suggest an origin homeland to the northeast, sitting it variously in Abyssinia, Libya, or even Egypt. Most Kamba traditions, however point to a Kamba migration into the Machakos hills from the southeast, usually expressed as coming from the Kilimanjaro side. Kraph postulated an original Kamba settlement at kilimanjaro but no such precise siting can be made because the Kamba use the kilimanjaro to represent the southern points of the compass. Other claims are that they originated from central Tanzania where they lived with the Nyamwezi people. This also falls short of convincing evidence. Some other Kamba traditions claim that the Kamba came to the Machaklos area through kikumbuliu, in the vicinity of the chyulu hills. A period of residence in kikumbuliu may be connected with the belief that the name Kamba derives from an association with baobab tree. Kikumbuliu in an area of heavy concentration of the baobab tree, called mwamba by the kamba, the fruit being known as ngamba. The baobab served two purposes; one of which was that they made their most prized string and second, it was, and still is used in kikumbuliu as an Ithembo- a sacred tree or shrine.

             All Kamba traditions agree that their ancestors came to the Machakos area through its southeastern edge, through Makueni and nzaui. The land which they came is largely hill country, 4000-7000 feet above sea level, bounded in the west by the kapiti plains, and athi plains, and in the north and in the east by the athi-river which curves round the solitary hill known as the Ol Donyo sabuk (kyanzambi, to the kamba’s) to flow to the south-east, and in the south the dry plain which slopes through kikumbuliu to merge with the Nyika wastelands.

            The Machakos hills are gneiss formations covered with light red soil; in some places pronounced gneiss outcrops are completely bare soil. To the east and south east of the hills are plain with an elevation of approximately 4000 feet sloping gently to the athi-river and broken by occasional hills and rivers.

Names of clans were named after hills and after objects of importance in the Kamba cosmology, for instance Ambua named after mbua, which is rain, and Amwei named from Mwei, which in English is the moon. Others, however, derive their name from places for instance Atangwa derived from a place called Utangwa, Akitondo from a place called Kitondo, Akanga from the name of a place called Ukanga, Auwani from the name of a place called Iuani, Eumoni from a place called Kaumoni, and Anziu from the place called Nziu.

 

ECONOMY

They practiced crop farming and livestock grazing which was also incorporated with rearing bees for honey that they used both domestically and for commercial purposes. Others were involved in hunting and these left the Machakos area to cross the Athi-river into kitui, attracted by the plentiful open grazing and hunting opportunities offered by the Kitui bush country. As the Kamba populations grew they moved and occupied different places where a mans nuclear family extended into a larger family and named after him- for example if the man of the original nuclear family was called Mutua then his extended family would be called Mba-Mutua meaning Mutuas’ family. When the lineage reached a certain size usually three or four generations, members hived off to found their own Mba-groups. While an individual retained some sense of identification with his clan, it’s totem, and its rules of exogamy, such practical every-day matters as regulations of marriage and inheritance, the presentation of demands for judicial compensation, and the payment of compensation awarded by the courts, fell within the province of the Mba-group. They traded with the coast exchanging cattle, ivory and iron. Iron trade declined with growing demand for cattle, ivory and few minor items –goats, guards, and ghee in exchange for beds, wire and cloth.

SOCIAL LIFE

            They also had a social bond to join them together, which they called the ‘Ndundu oath’. It provided them with a sense of stability. Groups of neighbors formed a territorial unit known as Utui (hamlet) and any people from other neighborhoods would take the Ndundu oath, promising to live in peace and cooperation with their neighbors in the utui. An utui was a small area determined by the physical features of the land, which would have been a hill ridge, an outcrop, or an area between two streams. The kamba had a men’s club in each utui named Kisuka (occasionally shared with neighboring utui’s) in which young married men (nthele) and elders (atumia) met to discuss general affairs of their people. The kisuka was divided into six grades of membership, which were attainable after certain periods, and payments of livestock. This gave authority to those with age and experience.

The highest grades were atumia ma nzama, entitled to arbitrate in legal cases, and the atumia ma ithembo (elders of the shrine), who were entitled to conduct ceremonies at the mathembo tree shrines. When brought together, several utuis made up what was called kivalo and it was only functional at some special times, when tasks considered too great for a single utui had to be performed. The central of its operation was the representative group of elders called king’ole, which met to discuss and sanction actions to be taken by the inhabitants of the entire kivalo, including the punishment of sorcerers and persistent wrong doers and also the dispatch of raiding parties.

 

INITIATION

The kamba had no age-sets, only age grades through which they passed as individuals rather than members of a corporate body.

 

RELIGION

The Kamba community called their god Mulungu as the other Bantus but an interaction with the Masai caused to a change to Ngai from the Masai name for god En-kai that meant God, rain and sky. They had dreamers, or prophets, specialists among them; Andu awe (medicine men) that healed the sick, told fortunes, and prophesied events. One of the two most known prophets of the late 19^TH century were a woman known as Syokimau from Kitundu, south eastern Iveti and Masaku a man, who established a formidable reputation as a prophet, partly on his ability to foretell the rains and partly on his ability to provide information as to where elephants or masai cattle might be found.

 

ART AND CRAFT

They are widely known for their woodcarvings. At first they only made them as part of their leisure but as days advanced and they interacted with other people they realized the demand was high and that they could earn a living from them. It was mainly a men’s work until recently when a few women have learned the art.

Apart from carving they also did some clay work where they made vessels like cooking and water pots.

            They also decorated calabashes, which they used for religious purposes and also as utensils for taking their meals from.

Nicky Bita