Glossary of Kikuyu and Swahili Terms used in Text
| ahoi | landless people among the Kikuyu |
| aruithia | surgeons who performed circumcision ritual |
| baraza | public meeting |
| bibi | wife/woman |
| borna | cattle pen |
| ciama | elders’ councils |
| ciondo | Kikuyu baskets |
| debe | tin container |
| Gigikuyu | the Kikuyu language |
| Gikuyu na Mumbi | mythical founders of the Kikuyu tribe |
| githaka | system under which land was acquired/Land acquired under such a system |
| gituiku | handleless blade often given to surgeon as a circumcision fee |
| guciarwo | adoption |
| gukaywo nyori | to pierce the upper ear lobes |
| gunias | gunny-bags |
| harambee | self-help |
| iganda | temporary huts |
| igweta | high social standing, fame |
| irua | circumcision |
| ithaka | plural of githaka (land) |
| jembe | hoe |
| kamuirigo | killer |
| kanyanga | trespass |
| karani | clerk |
| kiama | singular of ciama |
| kifagio | broom – signifying period when the squatters lost their livestock, i.e. it was swept away, or officials involved in de-stocking |
| kihiu-mwiri | the age-group circumcised between approximately 1914 and 1918 |
| Kikuyu karinga | pure Kikuyu |
| kipande | identification pass |
| kirore | fingerprint in lieu of signature – used on contracts |
| kuna | breaking up virgin land |
| Lumbwa | Kipsigis (in slang) |
| madaraka | affluence |
| maisha | lifetime |
| mashuka | piece of cloth worn wrapped around the body |
| maskini | poverty stricken, poor |
| mathace | skimmed milk |
| mbari | clan |
| migoma | she-goats |
| mubara | toy-wheel |
| muingi | community self-help group |
| muruithia | singular of aruithia (surgeons) |
| muramati | trustee of the land |
| mzungu | white man |
| ndarwa | skins |
| ndigithu | gourd |
| Ndundu Ya Hitho | Inner Secret Council of Mau Mau |
| nduriri | non-Kikuyu, especially from Western Kenya |
| ngoima | ram |
| njahi | black peas |
| nyakiburi | form of sweet potato |
| nyapara | foreman/farm overseer |
| posho | ground maize flour |
| purko | Maasai |
| rutere | frontier |
| saidia | helpers |
| shamba | plot of land |
| siasa | politics |
| siri | secret |
| thenge | he-goats |
| thigari cia bururi | soldiers or guards of the land |
| thu | enemy |
| totos | children |
| uhuru | independence |
| ungumania | hypocrisy |
| utuuro | dwelling place/permanent residence |
| Wamera | Kikuyu slang for Luo |
| wazungu | white men, plural of mzungu |
| weru | pasture-land |
Maps
Map 1 Location of the White Highlands
Map 2 Agricultural Districts of the White Highlands
Map 3 Nakuru/Naivasha Districts of the White Highlands
Introduction
The nature of the squatter problem is too familiar to require recapitulation. The way in which it should be solved has been a matter of controversy for many years, but in general it is true to say that the policy of evolution towards the cottage labourer has been accepted by both the farmer and the government.1
Establishing colonial rule in Kenya and attempting to turn the country into a white settlement area had a profound affect on the local African population. Not only did the alienation of African lands (for European settler occupation)2 disinherit and dislocate many Africans,3 but the subsequent development of settler plantations and mixed farms created a demand for a large number of wage labourers.4 But, since no African labour force was readily forthcoming, the colonial government adopted a combination of financial and political measures to create the required labour supply. Attempts to coerce Africans into seeking wage employment included imposing taxes, creating reserves, disrupting local economies and denying Africans the right to grow major commercial crops.
This is a study of the genesis, evolution, adaptation and subordination of the Kikuyu squatter labourers, who comprised the majority of resident labourers on settler plantations and estates in the Rift Valley Province of the White Highlands. The story of the squatter presence in the White Highlands is essentially the story of the conflicts and contradictions that existed between two agrarian systems, the settler plantation economy and the squatter peasant option. Initially, the latter developed into a viable but much resented sub-system which operated within and, to some extent, in competition with settler agriculture. This study is largely concerned with the dynamics of the squatter presence in the White Highlands and with the initiative, self-assertion and resilience with which they faced their subordinate position as labourers. In their response to the machinations of the colonial system, the squatters were neither passive nor malleable but, on the contrary actively resisted coercion and subordination as they struggled to carve out a living for themselves and their families
In collaboration with the European settlers, the colonial government set out to create a cheap, malleable and readily accessible African labour force.5 Most of the settlers were themselves rather poor and could only afford to hire labour if it was cheap and could be paid for mainly in kind, in the form of land for cultivation and grazing. The pioneer Kikuyu squatters, on their part, looked upon the opening up of the White Highlands