NATIONAL MUSEUMS OF KENYA

Thursday, 10 April 2014

Meru

The creation and further the establishment of Meru museum as one of the regional museums of the National Museums of Kenya was catapulted by a need to conserve the culture and traditional practices of the locals, the Meru speaking people.

Meru museum originated in 1974 in an old historic building that was vacated by the District Commissioner, whose office it had been since the colonial days. The building housing the Meru museum dates back to 1916. In the colonial era it served as an administrative node in the Mount Kenya region. The museum was a joint effort by the Meru Municipal and County Councils, together with the National Museums of Kenya in creating an attractive and formative center useful to the local people and to visitors.

Aspects of the cultural and diverse history of the Meru people are well illustrated by the numerous displays. Two rather unusual amenities of the Meru museum are a garden of indigenous medicinal shrubs and herbs together with a theatre. A compound of traditional huts has been constructed on the grounds, which are included in tours of the museum. An outdoor platform for dancing and musical programs along with sales kiosks complete the exterior construction.

The exhibitions serve largely in stimulating particularly among the young generation awareness of and appreciation for their cultural heritage and that of other communities as well as serving as an introduction to the region for visitors.

Njuuri Ncheke Council of Elders

Thirteen kilometers north of Meru town is Njuuri Ncheke the traditional high court for the area. Construction of the building began in 1962 on the site where elders met under trees, but due to differences between the Meru County Council (which was responsible for its construction) and the constructor, the building was abandoned before its completion.

Nonetheless, it was and is still used once a year by a Meru Council of elders as the venue for settling disputes arising within Meru communities which could not be resolved by the smaller traditional councils(njuuri). The smaller njuuri houses nominated their members to Njuuri Ncheke, the high court of the Meru people, which catered for the entire Meru community.

The Njuuri Ncheke house is located in Nyambene District, near the road leading to Meru National Park. Its shape is oval representing the traditional Meru architecture. In 1989, the building was entrusted to the NMK. The name Njuuri Ncheke is derived from the ritual oath that was taken by all the members of the traditional council; only the elders (judges) of the court knew this sacred and secret oath.

There are several njuuri houses (as they were popularly known) within one sub- location, and they deliberated over local cases within that area. These smaller njuuri were widely spread all over the former Meru District (currently Tharaka Nithi District), Nyambene and Meru Central Districts. Today the small njuuri houses are active only in Nyambene District.

Some of the cases dealt with by the sub-locational (smaller) njuuri houses were farm boundary disputes, personal debts and small theft cases. The members of the court decided on what type of punishment was to be imposed, and these ranged from ritual sacrifices to even death. The cases deliberated by the smaller njuuri houses were normally settled to the satisfaction of both parties. If one of the parties was not satisfied, he was allowed to appeal to the wider njuuri system: some members of all the njuuri houses in the location could be nominated to sit and listen to the appeal.

Njuuri Ncheke members met once a year to make new laws or review the old ones; it also determined bride prices. The smaller njuuri houses also used these laws, and it ensured uniform judgements throughout Meru. It was also the duty of the njuuri to bring rains.

Kapenguria

Location and Historical Background

The Kapenguria museum was opened in 1993. It is located in Kapenguria town, at the site where the six most influential leaders in the struggle for independence were detained. To preserve the history of the struggle for independence, the National Museums of Kenya with financial support from the Dutch funded Arid and Semi-Arid Lands project in West Pokot preserved and rehabilitated the prison.

The Kapenguria six were the founding fathers of the Kenyan Nation - Mzee Jomo Kenyatta, Kungu Karumba, Mr. Fred Kubai, Mr. Paul Ngei, Bildad Kaggia and the Hon. Ramogi Achieng Oneko. All of them have passed on although their legacy will always remain alive.

Displays in the Museum include books and documents in a memorial library in honour of all heroes who participated in the struggle for independence.

The cells, the ethnographic galleries and the Pokot homestead provide the foundation of Kapenguria museum. The Pokot gallery houses artifacts and photographic collections on the Pokot people. The creation and establishment of this gallery is credited to Mrs. Anny Mulder, an anthropologist who carried out work in this area among the Pokot people.

Other sections of the museum are the political development exhibits, a section containing exhibits revealing pre-colonial Kenya, slavery, the arrival of Europeans, African resistance to colonial rule and activities of pioneer nationalists.

Gede

Historical Background
Gede ruins are the remains of a Swahili town, typical of most towns along the East African Coast. It traces its origin in the twelfth century but was rebuilt with new town walls in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. This rebuilding is connected with the emigration of many citizens of Kilwa to Mombasa, Malindi and other places along the coast.

With its numerous inhabitants, the town became wealthy and it reached its peak in the fifteenth century. This enormous wealth is evidenced by the presence of numerous ruins, comprising of a conglomeration of mosques; a magnificent palace and houses all nestled in 45 acres ofprimeval forest. But in the first half of the seventeenth century the last
families left the town.

Gede's eventual abandonment to nature is believed to be as a result of a number of factors. Namely, the Wazimba raid along the East African coast in 1589. The removal of the Sheikh of Malindi and the Portuguese to Mombasa in 1593. The falling water table as shown by the deepening of the well outside the Great Mosque and finally the overhanging menace of the Galla, a hostile nomadic ethnic group from Somalia. Gede remains the first intensively studied site on the coast. It was first visited by Sir John Kirk, a British resident of Zanzibar in 1884. Over forty years later in 1927, it was gazetted as a Historical Monument. Two years later in 1929, it was declared a "protected monument" and in the late thirties, the Public Works Department carried out work on preservation of its crumbling walls. Gede was soon after the repairs in 1948 declared a National park and an Archaeologist appointed as warden. Thus, the first archaeological work at Gede began under the direction of James Kirkman followed by the first publication of the site. In 1969, Gede's administration was taken over by the Museum Trustees.

Currently the Monument is under the care of the National Museums of

Gede Ruins

Kenya and in addition to being avery important archaeological site; Gede indigenous forest is a sacred site for traditional rituals and sacrifices for the surrounding community.

Kariandusi

Historical Background

The Kariandusi archaeological site is amongst the first discoveries of Lower Paleolithic sites in East Africa. There is enough geological evidence to show that in the past, large lakes, sometimes reaching levels hundreds of meters higher than the Present Lake Nakuru and Elementaita, occupied this basin.

Dating back between 700,000 to 1 million years old, Kariandusi is possibly the first Acheulian site to have been found in Situ in East Africa. Dr. Leakey, a renowned paleontologist, believed that this was a factory site of the Acheulian period. He made this conclusion after numerous collections of specimens were found lying in the Kariandusi riverbed.
This living site of he hand-axe man, was discovered in 1928. A rise in the Lake level drove pre-historic men from their lake-side home and buried all the tools and weapons which they left behind in a hurry. The Acheulian stage of the great hand-axe culture, to which this site belongs, is found over a very widespread area from England, France, and Southwest Europe generally to Cape Town.
Tourist attractions within the site include:

Camp Site
Nature Trail
Archeological Site
Museum
Picnic Site
Diatomite Mining Site
Caves
Monumental Church Building

Geographical Location

Kariandusi lies on the eastern side of the Rift Valley, about 120-km north north west of Nairobi; and about 2 km to the East Side of Lake Elementaita. It is situated at 0°, 28s, and 36° 17E. The site rests on the Nakuru-Elementaita basin which occupies the width of the Rift valley, flanked by Menengai crater on the north and the volcanic pile of Mount Eburru, on the south.

Desert Museum

Geographical Location and Historical Background
Located on top of a hill, with a backdrop of the picturesque Lake Turkana, also known as the "Jade Sea", the Desert Museum, Loiyangalani was opened in June 2008.
The National Museums of Kenya in realizing the unique cultures in this region and following its mandate to preserve and promote Kenya's rich cultural and natural heritage, presents you with rich heritage of the eight communities living around Lake Turkana.
Loiyangalani is a small town located on the southeastern coast of the lake. The name Loiyangalani, means "a place of many trees" in the native Samburu Language and is also home to the El Molos, an almost extinct community.

Desert Museum Exhibition

The town was formed from a freshwater spring and can be termed as an Oasis in the desert. It is fast becoming a tourist attraction due to the unique desert environment coupled with the rich cultural lifestyle of the peoples of Lake Turkana. Some of the amenities in the town include:

Airstrip
Post Office
Fishing Station
Campsites
Lodges

The communities living in this area include the; El Molo, Turkana, Pokot, Rendile, Samburu, Gabbra, Watta and Dassanach.
Activities and attractions:

Desert Museum
Rock Art
El Molo Village Tours
El Molo Shrines
Lake Turkana
Beach
Local Market
Camping

In a bid to promote both local and international tourism, the National Museums of Kenya in collaboration with other patners, organize the Lake Turkana Festival, a cultural festival held annually in Loiyangalani, to celebrate the culture in this region.

Kitale

Historical Background

The museum was the first of the Inland museums to be developed in Kenya. It used to be known by the name the Stoneham Museum. It got its name from an amateur naturalist who lived in Kitale, by the name Lieutenant colonel Hugh Stoneham. He had a collection of insects, other animals and books from 1894 when he was only five years old. He continued his collection until 1966 when he died. Mrs. Linda Donley a peace Corp volunteer was the first curator in 1974.

In 1926, he founded the Stoneham Museum, a private museum and later willed his collections as well as funds for a new museum building to the Kenya Nation. A new building was erected on five acres of land on the outskirts of Kitale town. In December 1974, the National Museums of Western Kenya was opened and became the first regional museum in the Kenya Museum Society.

The Kitale Museum has a lot of ethnographical materials collected from surrounding ethnic groups in addition to Stoneham's collections.

The museum now practice environmental conservation. It has a nature trail and Olof Palme Memorial Agroforestry - center, which was started in 1983. Its aim (the center) was to promote agroforestry in West Pokot district.

Kitale Museum

The museum's nature trail was worked on beginning in August 1977. The work involved building bridges and cutting steep sides of the stream bank through which the trail runs.

The period from July 1974 until June 1975 had been spent in acquisition of materials for the museums exhibits. In April 1987, the museum acquired 30 acres of a natural riverine forest. The forest has been used for conservation of various plant species and wild animals.

From Col. Stoneham's extensive Lepidoptera collection, scientists in Western Kenya specimens can access them in study given the excellent manner and organization that they have been handled with.

The Education department in Kitale museum has been organizing programs for Secondary schools and colleges where various people have given lectures and relevant films have been screened.

Kisumu

Location and Historical Background
Kisumu Museum is located in Kisumu town along the Kisumu - Kericho highway. It was opened to the public in 1980. The museum stores and disseminates information on cultural and scientific issues with emphasis on Western Kenya. Exhibits include cultural history. The museum provides educational services to schools in its neighbourhood.

Striking features of the museum include a diverse collection of flora and fauna species. The most notable animals are reptiles and amphibians, collected from Nyanza and neighbouring provinces. A traditional Luo homestead and other traditional Luo artifacts constitute part of the exhibits the museum keeps.

Kisumu Homestead

Research activities also feature prominently. In recent years, the Kisumu museum has participated in multinational investigation on limnology (a scientific characteristic of fresh water lakes) of Lake Victoria conducted from the International Center for Insect Physiology and Ecology (ICIPE) at Mbita in Kisumu.

Kisumu museum is also a gravity point for seminars and workshops both international and local. Attached to Kisumu museum are a number of sites and monuments of historical significance including Fort Tenan, Songhor, Thimlich Ohinga and Rusinga Islands.