07/04/2025
Agikuyu
A photo of Muranga Town in the 1910s. Then called Fort Hall . Francis Hall settled here and before then Murang'a was called Mbiri. Hall built a fort here ,and the place was effectively known as Fort Hall. For ease of admnistration,Muranga was divided into locations,...Location One,Location Two,Location Three.etc.
Murang’a is intrinsically linked to the history of the Kikuyu community. According to historians, the first progenitor of the Kikuyu tribe (Gikuyu) was instructed by God to go and settle at Mukurwe wa Nyagathanga in Murang’a. According to folklore, this happened after God had taken him to the top Mount Kenya (Kirinyaga), and shown the boundaries of the Kikuyu country, which was marked by four mountains. These are Mount Kenya (Kirinyaga), Ngong Hills (Kiri Mbiruiru), the Aberdares (Nyandarua), and Ol Donyo Sabuk (Kia Njahi).
After settling at Mukurwe wa Nyagathanga, Gikuyu and his wife were blessed with ten daughters and no sons. He prayed to God who sent nine young men who married nine of the Gikuyu daughters. It is not clear what happened to the youngest daughter, but she also became a mother of a Kikuyu clan just like the others. For this reason, the Kikuyu clans are named after the ten girls.
Due to a multiplicity of factors, some members of the tribe started migrating. Some of them migrated south towards and settled in Kiambu. Others travelled north to Nyeri (Gaki). There are others who travelled east to Kirinyaga.