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Social organization of the Mijikenda

The Mijikenda were organized in clans comprising of related families.
~ The Mijikenda practiced circumcision. Only boys circumcised. Circumcision marked
an entry into an age set whose functions included building huts and advising junior age -
sets on how to raid.
~ They believed in the existence of a supernatural power that controlled their destiny.
They called their God Mulungu.
~ The Mijikenda worshipped ancestral spirits. Prophets among the Mijikenda were
called wafisi.
~ Marriage among the Mijikenda was exogamous (no one was allowed to marry from
their clan). They practiced polygamy
~ There was division of labour among the Mijikenda. Children looked after livestock,
young men built houses, cattle sheds, hunted and cleared bushes for cultivation..
~ The Mijikenda celebrated social ceremonies in song and dance. There were songs for
initiations, childbirth, marriage, harvest and funeral..
Political organization
~ The Mijikenda had a strong clan system. Administration was based on a strong clan
system. 4-6 clans lived in a fortified village known as kaya.
~ The existence of a council of elders(Kambi) at clan level to settle disputes and the
general administration of the clan
~ An age set (riika) system formed by young men after circumcision and which provided
the base from which warriors were obtained.
~ Social and political unity was strengthened through intermarriage between different
clans.
~ Judicial matters were handled by the elders’ council which was final court of appeal.
~ The council of elders declared war on warring neighbors.
Economic organization
~ The Mijikenda kept Livestock like sheep, cattle and goats for milk, meat and skin.
Hunting and gathering was also done to supplement their food
~ They traded in the coastal trade with the Arabs and with the Akamba from interior.
~ The Mijikenda practiced salt mining which the used as a trading item.
~ The Mijikenda engaged in fishing along the coast as well as on rivers.
~ They practiced crop growing. They grew grains like millet, yams, sweet potatoes,
arrowroots, sorghum, coconut and cassava among other crops mainly for food while the
excess were sold to neighbours.
~ They practiced craft making pots and weaving baskets using coconut leaves.
NILOTES
The second largest group in Kenya.