ABSTRACT

The fabric of Kikuyu social organization was a complex one in which two distinct patterns can be clearly traced. On the one hand there was an organization founded upon a patriarchal system in which the basic unit was the extended family. This system was closely linked with land ownership. We have already seen that as the Kikuyu moved into transC hania-a process which started probably in the sixteenth century-individuals bought land with a view to becoming the founders of sub-clans or mbari as they are called. By the end of the nineteenth century these mbari, tracing their origin to a single individual land-owner, were each represented by a large number of people. Such a land-owning sub-clan, which might consist of a thousand adults or more, was regarded as a social unit which was bound together not only by ties of consanguinity, but by complex rules and regulations. The head of a group, during the lifetime of the original founder, was of course the founder himself, but thereafter he was appointed by the adult male members of the sub-clan, not by an election on a voting system such as would be used in western countries, but on a basis of dis­ cussion until unanimity was reached.