IX 



WA-KJKUYU. THE PEOPLE OF THE KIKUYU COUNTRY. 



THE area commonly known as the Kikuyu country, 

 though traversed by the Uganda Railway, is imper- 

 fectly delimited ; southward it abuts on the Athi 

 plains ; northward it is near the equator ; eastward 

 it extends towards Mount Kenia, and westward to the 

 Aberdare mountains and the edge of the Rift Valley. 

 Those parts of this country best known to Europeans, 

 sometimes termed the Kikuyu Highlands, are 6,000 feet 

 above the level of the sea, and were formerly covered 

 with thick forest, but the \Va-Kikuyu have gradually 

 cleared it with the help of fire ; now, with the excep- 

 tions of patches here and there of virgin forest, the 

 best part of the country consists of undulating land 

 dotted with villages and patches of cultivation. The 

 extremes of temperature experienced at this altitude 

 are trying ; in the dry season the temperature varies 

 from below freezing point at midnight to above 90 

 Fahr. at noon. The weather is unpleasant in the wet 

 season and hailstorms of great violence are fairly 

 common. 



The Wa-Kikuyu are agriculturists and grow maize, 

 millet, sugar cane, sweet potatoes, bananas, tobacco, 

 castor-oil trees, beans, and the arum lily. The work in 

 the fields is performed by the women. These people 

 also possess nocks and herds, chiefly goats and sheep, 

 and the care of the animals devolves on the men and 

 boys. The possession of flocks and herds excited the 



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