Ruiki
Cultural Centre (Kenya
Cultural Tourism)
Nairobi
City Tour Program in Kenya
 Kikuyu
Woman
Traditional Dancer in Kenya
|
 Kikuyu
Traditionally Dancers
in
Kenya
|
 Kikuyu
Traditionally
built hut in Kenya
|
Tour
Duration
Departs
Nairobi 9.00a.m and returns back in Nairobi at 1.00
p.m.
Departs
Nairobi at 2.00 p.m. and returns back in Nairobi at
6.00p.m
Price
Per Person
Dates
From 1st January 2010 to 31st December 2010 |
Price
Per Person |
4
Hour Tour either in the Morning or Afternoon
Includes a guided tour of the village, traditional
doctor cleansing ceremonies, traditional dances,
traditional food tasting, a lecture on Kikuyu
traditional lifestyle, visits to tea/coffee
farms, factories, church, a local school, or
simply come for lunch at 12.00 p.m. and leave
at 2.30 p.m. (Return transportation from Nairobi
Included)
|
100 US Dollars |
Overnight
at Rioki Cultural Centre
A
guided tour of the village, traditional doctor
cleansing ceremonies, traditional dances, traditional
barbecue lunch, a lecture on Kikuyu traditional
lifestyle, visits to tea/coffee farms, factories,
church, a local school, time to include overnight
at Rioki Cultural Centre with evening experience
of culture with people. Accommodation on banana
fiber as in the past with a bonfire.
This
is a Homestay with a Kikuyu family for a complete
African experience where you interact and dine
with a Kikuyu family and enjoy African hospitality.
Guests meet with community and participate in
homestead activities by living and sharing with
them.
|
250
US Dollars |
Riuki Kikuyu
Culture & Traditional Centre
Riuki
Cultural Centre;
Riuki Cultural Centre is located about 25 km's outside
of Nairobi, Kenya in the Kikuyu Heartland of Kiambu.
Kenya is famous for its 42 cultures, but other than
the nomadic Masai and Samburu, not many of these are
widely known to the outside world. Riuki Cultural
Centre is devoted to the Kikuyu, Kenya’s largest
tribe (forming approximately 25% of the total population
or 7 million people) and offers a unique experience
of this tradition rich culture existing in a modern
world.
Riuki
Cultural Centre is run by Dr. Kinuthia Njoroge, who
built a traditional Kikuyu village homestead to show
local children the history and customs of the Kikuyu
community. The Kikuyu are the largest community in
Kenya, and have always played a central role in the
development of the independent Nation. For this reason,
many may believe that modern influence has eroded
the traditional way of life for the Kikuyu tribe who
mainly live around the capital city and the highlands.
Now visitors to Kenya can come to Riuki Cultural Centre
and spend a day learning more about the Kikuyu tribe
and their culture. Some of the cultural activities
available include a guided tour of the Kikuyu village,
Kikuyu traditional doctor cleansing ceremonies, Kikuyu
traditional food and drinks tasting, Kikuyu traditional
dances, a lecture on the Kikuyu tribe traditional
lifestyle.
Itinerary
for the Tour
Riuki Cultural Centre
tour departs daily in the morning (African Spice Safaris)
will pick you up from your hotel or residence in Nairobi)
and travel to Kiambu Town then through Ndumberi, Tinganga
and Ikinu Villages to Karia Village along lush and
green agricultural. The Kikuyu country is rich with
banana plantations and coffee trees. Upon arrival
you will be received by Dr. Kinuthia Njoroge in person,
the guide and a host of the Centre.
Riuki Cultural Centre
tour begins with exploring a traditionally built hut
with an explanation of how the traditional society
operated. Communities always remained bound by strict
and strong ties of clan loyalty and an even stronger
sense of tribal unity - There was an age set system
among young men, known as Mariika, but all clans and
villages (itura) always paid deference to the wisdom
and law of the tribe.
After
the hut tour follows Riuki Cultural Centre traditional
Songs, Proverbs, Dances, Myths and Legends of the
Kikuyu to life. A group of local women perform for
visitors, with a series of dances traditionally performed
at weddings and initiations and to sing songs. These
are simple love and courting songs, traditional hunting
songs and chants used when going to work in the fields.
The highlight of the tour is a chance to sample a
typical Kikuyu meal - delicious healthy food including
sweet potatoes, Githeri (a maize and bean stew), Mukimo
(a mashed combination of green peas and potato) with
roasted goat and Irio, a great Kikuyu favorite. Riuki
Cultural Centre food is prepared by Dr. Njoroge’s
two wives. Riuki Cultural Centre
also displays of traditional medicine, healing and
divination.
Riuki
Cultural Centre Tour can include extended programs
to visit local farms and schools, or even spend the
night under the stars by a campfire on a traditional
banana fiber mat, or to spend the night in a specially
arranged homestay in a typical Kikuyu home. For anyone
with a free day in Nairobi, the Riuki Cultural Centre
is an excellent way to discover more about the Kikuyu
culture as you make many new friends on your safari.
Kindly contact African Spice Safaris for a special
arrangement to the above excursion.
The
Kikuyu Culture History
Kikuyu
Woman
|
According
to Kikuyu mythology, all of creation began
at the summit of Mount Kenya. The icy
peak was the realm of Ngai, the Supreme
Creator, who descended from the heavens
to his mountainous throne to survey his
newly created lands. The mountain became
Kirinyaga, his resting place, and it was
from here that he called forth Gikuyu,
the father of the Kikuyu people. Ngai
told him that all of the lands around
Kirinyaga would be the home of Gikuyu
and his children forever. He sent Gikuyu
to grove of Fig trees, where he found
a woman called Mumbi. This grove would
become known as Mukuru wa Nyagathanga,
the birthplace of all Kikuyu, still revered
as a sacred place.
Among
the fig trees, Gikuyu and Mumbi produced
nine daughters - Wanjiku, Wanjiru, Wanjeri,
Wambui, Wangari, Wacera, Waithera, Wairimu,
and Nyambura. (Traditionally all Kikuyu
girls should be given one of these names)
The
girls grew into beautiful young women, who
each full moon wandered the lands around Kirinyaga
in search of men so that they could bear children |
.They
begged their father to appeal to Ngai for help. Finally
he bowed before the Mountain, and Ngai commanded him
to make sacrifice among the figs and light a fire.
The
sacrifice of a goat beneath a fig tree is still considered
a way to call rain in times of drought, but in this
first case it was a different form of life sustaining
rain that Gikuyu sought. After the sacrifice he plunged
nine sticks into a fire, and prayed. The fire erupted
into an inferno, from which nine strong young men
emerged. Giving thanks, Gikuyu took them back to his
daughters, and the nine marriages were blessed by
Ngai.
Each
of the daughters made her own homestead, and nine
separate clans of the Kikuyu were born. the unity
of these clans was known as the Nyumba ya Mumbi, in
honor of their Mother. The peak of Kirinyaga has since
remained the sacred home of Ngai. As at Riuki, all
Kikuyu homesteads were traditionally built to face
this Holy Mountain.
