IX 
WA-KIKUYU. THE PEOPLE OF THE KIKUYU COUNTRY. 
The area commonly known as the Kikuyu country, 
though traversed by the Uganda Eailway, 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 Eift 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 Wa-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 flocks and herds, chiefiy 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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