Research source

If a man has several huts it is considered extremely unlucky if the fire goes out in all of them in a single…

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 69
Rights: public_domain
Language: English
Record updated: 2026-08-25

Record summary

If a man has several huts it is considered extremely unlucky if the fire goes out in all of them in a single night

Published source text

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Source passage

Source text · mention only

If a man has several huts it is considered extremely unlucky if the fire goes out in all of them in a single night. He must at once summon the elders, who kill a male sheep and sprinkle some of the stomach contents or tatha on each fireplace. If his nearest neighbours live some little way off, he relights the fire by means of a fire stick, mwaki ku-thegetha, but if they live near by he begs some fire from them. When the sheep is killed they also fry the fat in a cooking pot and sprinkle some of it in the village and pray to Engai (God)—“We give thee fat to drink, and beg thee not to extinguish the fire again.”

Historical context

Contextual commentary · mention only

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Modern context

Contextual commentary · mention only

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