13/11/2024
Kanyuri ( The Hidden one)
_You visited your rural home and you got too busy and stingy that you refused to buy your uncle kinya of muratina. You also refused to get UNGA ya Chapo and a firirinda dress for Aunt Njeri who would have told you about a kid called kanyuri in the family . You could also be a kanyuri ni your family and you don't know but uncle Kariuki and Aunt Njeri know_
1. In the Agîkûyû community there was a kid who was called Kanyuri. Could be one, could be many
2. Kanyuri was specifically an arrangement by the wife (had no biological relationship with her husband).
3. Kanyuri was a child born out of wedlock to widen the gene pool. Often, as a safeguard too to the family in case of witchcraft or a pandemic that could be genetic
4. Kanyuri was a name derived from " kûnyura". Kûnyura means revealing a secret.
5. Those days men would marry many wives. And because women are the natural DNA experts ,the cowives would say, " _Gaka anga kahana ng'ania tiga gûkû"_ ( this kid is not from our husband and resembles so and so ).
6. It's then the mother would say , " _ii niguo, no icio kimi ndûkananyure"_ ( it's true but never reveal it to anyone). And the co-wives would keep it a secret coz they too had own kanyuris in their households
7. Then the mother would be advised to let the kid remain at home so that he or she is saved from the village gossip
8. This is the reason why Agîkûyû say , " _nyuma kûu na ndinakora ona Kanyuri''_ )I was in that homestead and didn't find even Kanyuri)
9. And because it was common knowledge that a wife can make her own local arrangements and even sire with a person from a different tribe , the Agîkûyû decided to use their own DNA called " Rûrîra" ( umbilical cord) to follow their lineage
10. This is the reason why when a Gîkûyû boy is ready for circumcision, he is sent to the mother's eldest brother( his uncle) for blessings because it's a fact that the son and the uncle have a similar DNA since the mother and uncle are from the same rûrîra.
11. A Gîkûyû boy can't be sent to seek permission from his father's side because they boy could be a kanyuri and is not related to the father.
12. It's against this background that Agîkûyû women were allowed to always make local arrangements to protect their family name in case of a disaster......👀
