The vanishing tribes of Kenya : a description of the manners & customs of the primitive & interesting tribes dwelling on the vast southern slopes of Mount Kenya, & their fast disappearing native methods of life / by Major G. St. J. Orde Browne.

  • Orde-Browne, Granville St. John, Sir, 1883-1947.
Date:
1925
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: The vanishing tribes of Kenya : a description of the manners & customs of the primitive & interesting tribes dwelling on the vast southern slopes of Mount Kenya, & their fast disappearing native methods of life / by Major G. St. J. Orde Browne. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    poles joined together by a circle of woven creepers at the centre. If the hut is a big one, there may be one or more poles inside to support the roof. The size of the huts built varies so surprisingly that it is hardly possible to do more than generalize over such details. The roof is woven into a web with circles of withes, and the grass thatch is tied on in small bundles. In these details the construction is simply that of the Kikuyu hut, except that it is decidedly inferior in workmanship. Certain peculiarities exist among the various sections : the Embu use a grass filling in between the uprights to help to hold the mud with which the walls are plastered; while the Chuka, and to a less extent the Mwimbe, use uprights which are much closer together, so as to form a continuous wall, by which means they eliminate the mud plastering altogether; but this naturally requires far more wood, which is frequently a difficulty. In the whole construction the only means of securing the various parts of the frame is by lashing them with twisted bark; there are no bolts, hinges or other fittings, nor do pegs or nails take any part in the framework. If the hut is at all large it is usually divided up by one or more partitions of plastered wicker-work ; but as a rule the space inside is so very limited that it is quite impossible to subdivide it further. The Kikuyu “ annexe ” or outer partition for a house for the goats is not used; the animals have a hut of their own, or else sleep in the same place as their owner. No second storey exists, nor is there any sort of dug-out hi