Kanyuambora
Encyclopedia
Kanyuambora is an administrative division in Eastern Kenya
which is commonly known as a "Location". It lies on Latitude: 0° -29' 0 N, Longitude: 37° 43' 0 E and is about 90 miles North East of Nairobi
. Kanyuambora is one of the eight locations that form Siakago
constituency which is in turn is one of the two constituencies that form Mbeere District
.
". The area is named after Kanyuambora hill
, which is a conspicuous land mark in the region. The name most probably emanated from an age-old practice by the Ambeere people
. During the pre-colonial
days, elders would gather at the foot of Kanyuambora hill to drink home-made traditional brew which, in essence, was a concotion of honey and water. During this spree, they would give thanks and pray to their gods. They would also discuss important community matters, laying strategies as well as cursing any neighboring tribes planning to attack the Ambeere.
Kanyuambora is famed for being a pioneer in education
in the region.This is perhaps true because it is one of the first places to be visited by Christian Missionaries when they first set foot on the general Embu region. It has arguably produced some of the most educated people in the region. This is epitomized by the fact that three out of the five national Legislative members from the larger Siakago
Constituency, formerly known as Embu East, have come from Kanyuambora. They are former MPs Hon. Silvester Mate, Hon. Justin Bedan Muturi and the current legislative representative Hon. Lenny Kivuti Maxwell
Mr Maguu Mutie, a former administrative Chief who headed the then Evurore Location once famously said, "were it not for the fact that Kanyuambora's physical location is not as Central as Siakago
, the Divisional headquarters, read District Headquarters, would have moved there a long time ago". And Kanyuambora's quest for education got a big boost when, in 2010, the Archbishop of Canterbury
, who is the head of the Anglican Church announced from England
that the Church had settled on Kanyuambora as the site for its first ever Higher education
institution in the region
. Consequently, the head of the Anglican Church in Kenya
, Archbishop Eliud Webukhala, laid the foundation stone, signalling the beginning of the construction of the first ever Kenya Anglican University (KAU) in the country
.
during the 15th Century Bantu migration
. At first,they settled in the regions around Nyambene hills, north of Mt. Kenya. The Aembu and the Ambeere used to be one people. Their descendants moved from the Nyambene hills area, travelling in the South West direction to settle in the Runyenjes area of what is today Embu district. A legend
says that Mwene-Ndega, the first Embu ancestor
lived with his wife Nthara in a grove near the present day Runyenjes town. From here, his descendants
spread out and occupied other parts of what is Embu district today.
The Mbeere split from the Embu after an inter-clan war which the Embu clan won. After the victory, the Embu pushed the Mbeere to the drier and less fertile Kiangombe hills south of the Embu region. Despite this split, the two tribes co-existed peacefully. The Embu tribe often assisted the numerically smaller Mbeere tribe in times of drought, or when attacked by other tribes like the Akamba or Maasai. It was as a result of this alienation that a Kanyuambora came to be, thanks to the people who settled at the foot of Kanyuambora hill
.
- notably the drier Ishiara in the South - Kanyuambora has a fairly moderate
climate
, which makes it favourable for growing of Mango trees which virtually saturate the area
. Climatewise, it is considered the 'bridge' between the more fertile Embu region
in the North and the semi arid section of Mbeere region in the South. Other crops include maize, millet, sorghum, beans, cassava, and yams. They also rear small herds of domestic livestock
. Parts of Mbeere District
are known to experience drought and subsequent lack of food
quite often. The Mbeere therefore often rely on their Embu cousins for food supplies especially in times of drought. Kanyuambora people get their water from the nearby Thuchi river, which serves as the Eastern border between the Mbeere and the Chuka people. Other notable rivers include Rwiria and Ciaivuro both of which feed the bigger Thuchi river.
.
On 20th of June 2011, the Archbishop of Canterbury
, Dr. Rowan Williams
, visited Kanyuambora to attend the dedication of a site for the building of the proposed Kenya Anglican University (KAU), the first such University in Kenya.
, seemed to dwell more on the History of the Embu People in his published work. This is probably because during the time he wrote the books, Mbeere was itself part of Embu.
Elsewhere, most accounts indicate that the origins of the Mbeere were the same as those of the Bantu-speaking Kikuyu, Embu, Chuka and Meru peoples, namely that their ancestors moved eastwards from central Africa some time before the sixteenth century
, and had settled in the Nyambene Hills. From there, say the same sources, the people moved slowly southwards into the foothills of Mount Kenya, where they settled and gradually acquired their present-day tribal identities.
Some Mbeere elders however believe quite the contrary, stating that some, if not all, of the Mbeere's ancestors came from the east, from the direction of Mombasa on the coast. All four Mbeere elders interviewed by H.S. Kabeca Mwaniki were unanimous that the Mbeere and Embu were once one people. This is strongly indicated by Mbeere oral history, which also includes the Embu ancestor Kembu (often referred to as 'Muembu'). The twist, though, is that his mother - whom the Aembu called Nthara - was called Cianthiga, and was herself the daughter
of someone called Mumbeere, or Mbeere. This would indicate that the two tribes are not only related, but that the Mbeere could in fact be considered ancestors of the Embu. This would perhaps explain their close, mutual
and amiable ties, which have persisted to the present day
.
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
which is commonly known as a "Location". It lies on Latitude: 0° -29' 0 N, Longitude: 37° 43' 0 E and is about 90 miles North East of Nairobi
Nairobi
Nairobi is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The city and its surrounding area also forms the Nairobi County. The name "Nairobi" comes from the Maasai phrase Enkare Nyirobi, which translates to "the place of cool waters". However, it is popularly known as the "Green City in the Sun" and is...
. Kanyuambora is one of the eight locations that form Siakago
Siakago
Siakago is a town in Kenya. It is the capital of Mbeere District of Eastern Province. It hosts Mbeere county council and is also headquarters of Siakago division of Mbeere District. Siakago division has a population of 34,330, of whom 2,312 are classified urban Siakago is a town in Kenya. It is the...
constituency which is in turn is one of the two constituencies that form Mbeere District
Mbeere District
Mbeere District is an administrative district in the Eastern Province of Kenya. Its capital town is Siakago. The district has a population of 170,950 and an area of 2,093 km². The district was split from Embu District in 1996...
.
Etymology
Loosely translated, the name Kanyuambora means "one who drinks honeyHoney
Honey is a sweet food made by bees using nectar from flowers. The variety produced by honey bees is the one most commonly referred to and is the type of honey collected by beekeepers and consumed by humans...
". The area is named after Kanyuambora hill
Hill
A hill is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain. Hills often have a distinct summit, although in areas with scarp/dip topography a hill may refer to a particular section of flat terrain without a massive summit A hill is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain. Hills...
, which is a conspicuous land mark in the region. The name most probably emanated from an age-old practice by the Ambeere people
People
People is a plurality of human beings or other beings possessing enough qualities constituting personhood. It has two usages:* as the plural of person or a group of people People is a plurality of human beings or other beings possessing enough qualities constituting personhood. It has two usages:*...
. During the pre-colonial
Colony
In politics and history, a colony is a territory under the immediate political control of a state. For colonies in antiquity, city-states would often found their own colonies. Some colonies were historically countries, while others were territories without definite statehood from their inception....
days, elders would gather at the foot of Kanyuambora hill to drink home-made traditional brew which, in essence, was a concotion of honey and water. During this spree, they would give thanks and pray to their gods. They would also discuss important community matters, laying strategies as well as cursing any neighboring tribes planning to attack the Ambeere.
Kanyuambora is famed for being a pioneer in education
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
in the region.This is perhaps true because it is one of the first places to be visited by Christian Missionaries when they first set foot on the general Embu region. It has arguably produced some of the most educated people in the region. This is epitomized by the fact that three out of the five national Legislative members from the larger Siakago
Siakago
Siakago is a town in Kenya. It is the capital of Mbeere District of Eastern Province. It hosts Mbeere county council and is also headquarters of Siakago division of Mbeere District. Siakago division has a population of 34,330, of whom 2,312 are classified urban Siakago is a town in Kenya. It is the...
Constituency, formerly known as Embu East, have come from Kanyuambora. They are former MPs Hon. Silvester Mate, Hon. Justin Bedan Muturi and the current legislative representative Hon. Lenny Kivuti Maxwell
Kivuti Maxwell
Kivuti Maxwell is a Kenyan politician. He belongs to Safina and was elected to represent the Siakago Constituency in the National Assembly of Kenya since the Kenyan parliamentary election, 2007.-References:...
Mr Maguu Mutie, a former administrative Chief who headed the then Evurore Location once famously said, "were it not for the fact that Kanyuambora's physical location is not as Central as Siakago
Siakago
Siakago is a town in Kenya. It is the capital of Mbeere District of Eastern Province. It hosts Mbeere county council and is also headquarters of Siakago division of Mbeere District. Siakago division has a population of 34,330, of whom 2,312 are classified urban Siakago is a town in Kenya. It is the...
, the Divisional headquarters, read District Headquarters, would have moved there a long time ago". And Kanyuambora's quest for education got a big boost when, in 2010, the Archbishop of Canterbury
Archbishop of Canterbury
The Archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and principal leader of the Church of England, the symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion, and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. In his role as head of the Anglican Communion, the archbishop leads the third largest group...
, who is the head of the Anglican Church announced from England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
that the Church had settled on Kanyuambora as the site for its first ever Higher education
Higher education
Higher, post-secondary, tertiary, or third level education refers to the stage of learning that occurs at universities, academies, colleges, seminaries, and institutes of technology...
institution in the region
Region
Region is most commonly found as a term used in terrestrial and astrophysics sciences also an area, notably among the different sub-disciplines of geography, studied by regional geographers. Regions consist of subregions that contain clusters of like areas that are distinctive by their uniformity...
. Consequently, the head of the Anglican Church in Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
, Archbishop Eliud Webukhala, laid the foundation stone, signalling the beginning of the construction of the first ever Kenya Anglican University (KAU) in the country
Country
A country is a region legally identified as a distinct entity in political geography. A country may be an independent sovereign state or one that is occupied by another state, as a non-sovereign or formerly sovereign political division, or a geographic region associated with a previously...
.
Historic Origin
Like most other Kenya Bantus, the Mbeere ethnic group is believed to have initially come from Central AfricaAfrica
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
during the 15th Century Bantu migration
Human migration
Human migration is physical movement by humans from one area to another, sometimes over long distances or in large groups. Historically this movement was nomadic, often causing significant conflict with the indigenous population and their displacement or cultural assimilation. Only a few nomadic...
. At first,they settled in the regions around Nyambene hills, north of Mt. Kenya. The Aembu and the Ambeere used to be one people. Their descendants moved from the Nyambene hills area, travelling in the South West direction to settle in the Runyenjes area of what is today Embu district. A legend
Legend
A legend is a narrative of human actions that are perceived both by teller and listeners to take place within human history and to possess certain qualities that give the tale verisimilitude...
says that Mwene-Ndega, the first Embu ancestor
Ancestor
An ancestor is a parent or the parent of an ancestor ....
lived with his wife Nthara in a grove near the present day Runyenjes town. From here, his descendants
Lineal descendant
A lineal descendant, in legal usage, refers to a blood relative in the direct line of descent. The children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, etc...
spread out and occupied other parts of what is Embu district today.
The Mbeere split from the Embu after an inter-clan war which the Embu clan won. After the victory, the Embu pushed the Mbeere to the drier and less fertile Kiangombe hills south of the Embu region. Despite this split, the two tribes co-existed peacefully. The Embu tribe often assisted the numerically smaller Mbeere tribe in times of drought, or when attacked by other tribes like the Akamba or Maasai. It was as a result of this alienation that a Kanyuambora came to be, thanks to the people who settled at the foot of Kanyuambora hill
Hill
A hill is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain. Hills often have a distinct summit, although in areas with scarp/dip topography a hill may refer to a particular section of flat terrain without a massive summit A hill is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain. Hills...
.
Climate
Compared to the rest of the regionRegion
Region is most commonly found as a term used in terrestrial and astrophysics sciences also an area, notably among the different sub-disciplines of geography, studied by regional geographers. Regions consist of subregions that contain clusters of like areas that are distinctive by their uniformity...
- notably the drier Ishiara in the South - Kanyuambora has a fairly moderate
Moderate
In politics and religion, a moderate is an individual who is not extreme, partisan or radical. In recent years, political moderates has gained traction as a buzzword....
climate
Climate
Climate encompasses the statistics of temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure, wind, rainfall, atmospheric particle count and other meteorological elemental measurements in a given region over long periods...
, which makes it favourable for growing of Mango trees which virtually saturate the area
Area
Area is a quantity that expresses the extent of a two-dimensional surface or shape in the plane. Area can be understood as the amount of material with a given thickness that would be necessary to fashion a model of the shape, or the amount of paint necessary to cover the surface with a single coat...
. Climatewise, it is considered the 'bridge' between the more fertile Embu region
Region
Region is most commonly found as a term used in terrestrial and astrophysics sciences also an area, notably among the different sub-disciplines of geography, studied by regional geographers. Regions consist of subregions that contain clusters of like areas that are distinctive by their uniformity...
in the North and the semi arid section of Mbeere region in the South. Other crops include maize, millet, sorghum, beans, cassava, and yams. They also rear small herds of domestic livestock
Livestock
Livestock refers to one or more domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to produce commodities such as food, fiber and labor. The term "livestock" as used in this article does not include poultry or farmed fish; however the inclusion of these, especially poultry, within the meaning...
. Parts of Mbeere District
Mbeere District
Mbeere District is an administrative district in the Eastern Province of Kenya. Its capital town is Siakago. The district has a population of 170,950 and an area of 2,093 km². The district was split from Embu District in 1996...
are known to experience drought and subsequent lack of food
Food
Food is any substance consumed to provide nutritional support for the body. It is usually of plant or animal origin, and contains essential nutrients, such as carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, or minerals...
quite often. The Mbeere therefore often rely on their Embu cousins for food supplies especially in times of drought. Kanyuambora people get their water from the nearby Thuchi river, which serves as the Eastern border between the Mbeere and the Chuka people. Other notable rivers include Rwiria and Ciaivuro both of which feed the bigger Thuchi river.
Religion
Like the Agikuyu and their cousins the Aembu, Kanyuamborans believed that their god, Ngai, lived on the top of Mount Kenya. Prayers and sacrifices were therefore traditionally made to this God. Today, most Kanyuambora people, indeed most Ambeere people are predominantly ChristianChristian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
.
On 20th of June 2011, the Archbishop of Canterbury
Archbishop of Canterbury
The Archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and principal leader of the Church of England, the symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion, and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. In his role as head of the Anglican Communion, the archbishop leads the third largest group...
, Dr. Rowan Williams
Rowan Williams
Rowan Douglas Williams FRSL, FBA, FLSW is an Anglican bishop, poet and theologian. He is the 104th and current Archbishop of Canterbury, Metropolitan of the Province of Canterbury and Primate of All England, offices he has held since early 2003.Williams was previously Bishop of Monmouth and...
, visited Kanyuambora to attend the dedication of a site for the building of the proposed Kenya Anglican University (KAU), the first such University in Kenya.
The Ambeere People
Little is documented about the Mbeere People. Mr H.S. Mwaniki Kabeca, a renowned Kenyan HistorianHistorian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
, seemed to dwell more on the History of the Embu People in his published work. This is probably because during the time he wrote the books, Mbeere was itself part of Embu.
Elsewhere, most accounts indicate that the origins of the Mbeere were the same as those of the Bantu-speaking Kikuyu, Embu, Chuka and Meru peoples, namely that their ancestors moved eastwards from central Africa some time before the sixteenth century
Century
A century is one hundred consecutive years. Centuries are numbered ordinally in English and many other languages .-Start and end in the Gregorian Calendar:...
, and had settled in the Nyambene Hills. From there, say the same sources, the people moved slowly southwards into the foothills of Mount Kenya, where they settled and gradually acquired their present-day tribal identities.
Some Mbeere elders however believe quite the contrary, stating that some, if not all, of the Mbeere's ancestors came from the east, from the direction of Mombasa on the coast. All four Mbeere elders interviewed by H.S. Kabeca Mwaniki were unanimous that the Mbeere and Embu were once one people. This is strongly indicated by Mbeere oral history, which also includes the Embu ancestor Kembu (often referred to as 'Muembu'). The twist, though, is that his mother - whom the Aembu called Nthara - was called Cianthiga, and was herself the daughter
Daughter
A daughter is a female offspring; a girl, woman, or female animal in relation to her parents. The male equivalent is a son. Analogously the name is used on several areas to show relations between groups or elements.-Etymology:...
of someone called Mumbeere, or Mbeere. This would indicate that the two tribes are not only related, but that the Mbeere could in fact be considered ancestors of the Embu. This would perhaps explain their close, mutual
Mutual
Mutual may refer to:*Mutual organization, where customers derive a right to profits and votes*Mutual information, the intersection of multiple information sets*Mutual insurance, where policyholders have certain "ownership" rights in the organization...
and amiable ties, which have persisted to the present day
Day
A day is a unit of time, commonly defined as an interval equal to 24 hours. It also can mean that portion of the full day during which a location is illuminated by the light of the sun...
.