Day Kenya chose its own stories over English literary tradition

Tradition that traces the origins of the Agikuyu to Ethiopia. “The myth proposes that the Agikuyu migrated from Ethiopia through Meru before eventually settling at Mukurwe wa Nyagathanga in Murang’a,” he writes.

He further examines key rites of passage among the Agikuyu, including circumcision, traditional marriage and the Ngurario (bloodletting) ceremony, as they evolved across the pre-colonial, colonial and post-colonial periods.

Chapters Four and Five focus on the social construction of gender and the relationship between oral literature, politics and governance.

Here, the author analyses various oral genres, including songs (oral poetry), narratives, proverbs and oral drama.

He argues that oral literature should be understood as a form of communication media, viewed from at least three perspectives: sharing, persuasion and as a system through which one mind influences another.

Chapter Six focuses on oral literature and HIV/AIDS communication. The author highlights the role of oral literature as a dynamic genre that continues to convey change and innovation in key social, cultural and political institutions.

He argues that the post-modern approach to knowledge production is not only scientific but also shaped by literary and cultural imagination, which, through oral discourse, can empower individuals and communities to confront the HIV/AIDS pandemic. He further presents oral performance as a tool for making complex information more accessible and understandable.

The final chapter serves as an appendix of texts from which the author derives his data. These include oral narratives, interviews with musicians and maps.

Overall, the book is a valuable contribution to the field of oral literature and is likely to be of particular interest to researchers, especially at postgraduate level.

Prof Waita is a renowned scholar in oral literature and communication and teaches Literature and Media Studies at Chuka University.

On a sad note, Wanjiru wa Rukenya, a celebrated oral artist and cultural custodian from Baricho in Kirinyaga, died on May 18, 2026.

Paying tribute, Prof Waita said she had been an “inexhaustible resource person” for students and researchers from local and international universities. He added: “May the good Lord rest her soul in eternal peace.”

Matundura is the translator of Barara Kimenye’s Moses series and teaches Kiswahili literature at Chuka University