What it takes to serve as an elder in Kuria shrine

Paul Marwa, a village elder in Kuria. [Caleb Kingwara, Standard]

The Kuria consider their shrines sacred, and any person who wishes to visit them must be vetted.

The vetting is conducted by elders who witnessed some traditions, such as piercing of the earlobes, that have since been done away with due to modernisation.

But even with the Western culture, the community still maintains a raft of requirements for one to be appointed a clan elder.

The individuals picked to represent the community at the shrines must be from the lineage of elders; their fathers or grandfathers must have also served at the shrines.

For David Mwita, he inherited it from his grandfather, who was a clan elder. Mwita is also Nyabasi clan elder vice secretary.

“To be considered a clan elder, one must be married, have a son and traditionally circumcised,” said Mwita.

The community believes that women cannot enter the shrine or become an elder since they get married and move to other communities.

Clan’s secrets

According to the Kuria culture, the clan’s secrets are important, and hence men are preferred for the role.

“We avoid having female elders because we believe it is men who can keep the secrets of our clan,” Mwita says.

Young men are also not allowed to sit with the elders in the shrines. 

David Mwita, assistant secretary of the Nyabasi clan, Kuria East Sub-county. August 13, 2021. [Caleb Kingwara, Standard]

The Kuria community is divided into four clans, Nyabasi and Bwiregi clans in Kuria East and Bugumbe and Bwakira clans in Kuria West.

The clans hold almost the same beliefs, and they all have mountains that they use as shrines.

For the Nyabasi clan, it’s the 26 elders who visit the two mountains, Nyakihomo in Nyabasi East and Kebongoyo in Nyabasi West, once in a while.

While visiting the shrines, the elders clad in traditional regalia sit on the ground with their heads bent to discuss matters affecting their clans, solve disputes and perform rituals to avert calamities and drive away diseases.

Mwita says the elders ensure that cases brought to them at the shrines are resolved instantly.

It is believed that when someone commits an offence and denies it, he risks carrying a curse that can be passed on to his generations.

The elders perform a ritual and ask the person to walk over a stick.

“When you come before the elders, it is dangerous to deny an offence when you know you committed it,” Mwita says. When the elders detect a calamity, they perform rituals and warn the people.

Last year, in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, the community converged at their shrines and offered sacrifices to drive it away.

Nyagusuka Magige, the Chairman of Kuria elders, says that in case of a calamity or disease, they slaughter a white male goat in the shrines, burn specific herbs as offerings and pray to their forefathers.