Research source

The owner of the stone will then kill a sheep, and place strips of the skin, rukwaru, upon the right wrist of…

Date of account: Published 1922
Source: Bantu Beliefs and Magic With particular reference to the Kikuyu and Kamba tribes of Kenya Colony; together with some reflections on East Africa after the war
Reference: Bantu Beliefs and Magic With particular reference to the Kikuyu and Kamba tribes of Kenya Colony; together with some reflections on East Africa after the war · selected passage 29
Rights: public_domain
Language: English
Record updated: 2026-08-25

Record summary

The owner of the stone will then kill a sheep, and place strips of the skin, rukwaru, upon the right wrist of all the men, and upon the left ankle of all the women in the thief’s village

Published source text

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Source passage

Source text · mention only

The owner of the stone will then kill a sheep, and place strips of the skin, rukwaru, upon the right wrist of all the men, and upon the left ankle of all the women in the thief’s village. After this, they all go to a river and are purified on the bank of it by a mundu mugo, or medicine man. They then bathe in the river and are marked on their foreheads by a vertical mark made with ira, or white earth, and return home. The owner of the stones now presents a ram or male goat to the elders of kiama, to show that the trouble is over. It is said that no theft of this kind has occurred in recent years.

Historical context

Contextual commentary · mention only

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Modern context

Contextual commentary · mention only

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