The Tales of the Mugumo Tree

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The Mugumo tree as it is known was used as a place of worship by the kikuyu community to their God ‘Ngai’. It is still considered a sacred place up to date despite the fact that the coming of the western culture introduced churches as places of worship. Long ago when people went to offer their sacrifices under the tree, they had to undergo a cleansing ritual for 8 days so that when they offer their sacrifices, God will answer their prayers. Sacrifices would be offered in times of calamities such as famine, drought, during an outbreak of a disease or a pandemic. They also offered sacrifices as a way of giving thanks after a bountiful harvest or when a baby is born.

Unlike other trees it is not planted but grows on its own. The tree has a dating age of 200 years. When it dries up, the tree is soothed. If the tree is to be transferred to grow to another place, a special sacred event is performed so that no curse befalls on the place the tree will be planted. When the tree falls it is left to dry on its own.

But what does the falling of the Mugumo tree today signify? Does it signify the change of guard or is it the end of a dynasty or are just creating a big fuss over nothing? Back in the days when Kenya was still under the colonial rule, a well-known and respected seer Chege wa Kibiro prophesied that when the Mugumo tree in Thika town falls, the colonial rule will come to an end. When the whites

came to hear about his prophesy, they built a metal casing around the tree with poles of support so that the prophesy may not come true. The tree began to wither when the maumau fighters were fighting for independence. In 1952, when Kenyatta and the kapenguria six were captured and imprisoned, the first branch of the tree fell. In 1961, when they were released the second branch fell. And true to the prophesy, in June 1963 the tree fell and Kenya gained its independence.

Since then several other Mugumo trees have fallen and marked different events according to the Agikuyu elders. Some have marked political change in the government while others were as a result of aging of the tree. The trees are still considered sacred up to today as their falling signify special communication from the kikuyu ancestors. This are still one of the many cultures still upheld by the Kikuyu community.