The Kikuyu are a Bantu-speaking people who make up the largest tribal group in Kenya. They live mainly in the highland area in the south central part of the nation. An agricultural people, the Kikuyu long resided in separate family homesteads raising their crops of millet, beans, peas, and sweet potatoes. Some groups also raised animals to supplement their diet, but little or no hunting or fishing was carried on. The basic social unit is a patrilineal group of males, who are polygamous, their wives, and their children. In the 1950s the Kikuyu, under the leadership of Jomo Kenyatta, launched a campaign of terrorism against the British colonialists who controlled the country. The resulting warfare was known as the Mau Mau Rebellion. During that time, the Kikuyu were moved by the government into villages, where many have chosen to remain because of the economic advantages of village life. Research Kikuyu
Abbreviations
People
Research Kikuyu