Gakaara wa Wanjau
Encyclopedia
Gakaara wa Wanjaũ was born in Nyeri District
in 1921 and attended a local primary school in colonial Kenya. He never finished high school and never received tertiary education
.
Nonetheless, he began a career as a writer which, although undulant and circuitous, and hampered severally throughout his life, contributed to the preservation of indigenous languages. During the Mau Mau Uprising
, for example, he spent eight years gaoled in British detention camps. During this period of detention, he wrote songs and plays, authored an ethnography of Kikuyu clans, edited a newspaper, and served as Education Committee Secretary for his detention camp.
It was at this time that he started documenting events in his life, albeit discreetly. Later, his books after having been banned and causing him to be arrested, were passed to be included as part of various syllabi for Gĩkũyu language instruction in the lower grades of primary school—mostly standard one, two, and three. These books mainly included children's short stories—often a collection of folk-lore. Teachers often used the popular introductory texts by writer Fred Kago titled "Wĩrute Gũthoma (Foundations of Learning)" for the basics and supplemented them with Gakaara's stories.
He died on March 30, 2001, and was interred in Karatina
. Gakaara left a personal archive of over 7,000 pages, a large proportion of which had been composed during his detention in the 1950s.
Nyeri District
Nyeri District is a district in the Central Province of Kenya. Its headquarters is in Nyeri town. It has a population of 661,156 and an area of 3,356 km².The district is located on the southwest flank of Mount Kenya...
in 1921 and attended a local primary school in colonial Kenya. He never finished high school and never received tertiary education
Tertiary education
Tertiary education, also referred to as third stage, third level, and post-secondary education, is the educational level following the completion of a school providing a secondary education, such as a high school, secondary school, university-preparatory school...
.
Nonetheless, he began a career as a writer which, although undulant and circuitous, and hampered severally throughout his life, contributed to the preservation of indigenous languages. During the Mau Mau Uprising
Mau Mau Uprising
The Mau Mau Uprising was a military conflict that took place in Kenya between 1952 and 1960...
, for example, he spent eight years gaoled in British detention camps. During this period of detention, he wrote songs and plays, authored an ethnography of Kikuyu clans, edited a newspaper, and served as Education Committee Secretary for his detention camp.
It was at this time that he started documenting events in his life, albeit discreetly. Later, his books after having been banned and causing him to be arrested, were passed to be included as part of various syllabi for Gĩkũyu language instruction in the lower grades of primary school—mostly standard one, two, and three. These books mainly included children's short stories—often a collection of folk-lore. Teachers often used the popular introductory texts by writer Fred Kago titled "Wĩrute Gũthoma (Foundations of Learning)" for the basics and supplemented them with Gakaara's stories.
He died on March 30, 2001, and was interred in Karatina
Karatina
Karatina is a town in Central Province, Kenya. It hosts a municipal council and the headquarters of Mathira East district. Karatina municipality has a total population of 6,852, all classified as urban . Karatina municipality has six electoral wards, all falling in the Mathira Constituency...
. Gakaara left a personal archive of over 7,000 pages, a large proportion of which had been composed during his detention in the 1950s.