![]() We think that her birth name was Mnyazi wa Menza. We know very little about her childhood, unfortunately. ![]() They also have a reputation as resistance fighters in the past, before Mekatilili’s story starts, they had successfully resisted, quote, “the Galla, the Swahili, the Maasai, the Arabs… under pressure at times they have migrated to new lands, other times they have negotiated with their oppressors, and they have occasionally violently resisted.” 3 Knowledge was passed down orally, from Giriama spiritual leaders, who would have told these stories as Mekatilili was growing up. Historically, the Giriama were a strong agricultural community, and they traded their crops internationally. They live along the coast of Kenya and Tanzania, between the Sabaki River north of Mombasa and the Umba River, which is very close to the Kenya/Tanzania border. Today, the Giriama remain the largest ethnic group of the Mijikenda. She was born into the Giriama people, which is one of the nine Bantu ethnic groups that make up the Mijikenda peoples. We believe she was born during the 1860s, though it’s possible that she was born as early as the 1840s. It’s frustrating that these stories are rarely mentioned because, statistically, the resistance movements led by women were, quote, “more successful and more abiding than the largely military and short-lived struggles waged by men.” 2 So, let’s get into Mekatilili’s story. But in Kenya, Mekatilili is a key figure in the grass-roots resistance against British rule during the early 20th century. In many of the great resistance histories of Eastern Africa, women are rarely mentioned. She showed, quote, “fearlessness in the face of physical danger and imprisonment, denouncing the local chiefs who cooperated with the colonizers and focusing much of her effort on mobilizing women to refuse to send their sons to fight for the British in World War I.” 1 In the early 20th century, Mekatilili wa Menza encouraged her people, the Giriyama of coastal Kenya, to fight against British domination and destruction. But, until then, let’s talk about Mekatilili wa Menza. Also, this is the final episode of season 2! I’m taking August off to catch up on some other work, then I’ll be back in September to get season 3 underway. ![]()
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