Tharaka mourns spiritual leader Mugwe

The Tharaka community in Tharaka Nithi County is mourning the death of its traditional divine leader, Mugwe, who blessed, cursed and intervened on their behalf to ancestors.

M’Mwamba M’Kunyia, who died last week aged 92, has been at the helm of traditional spiritual powers in the Tharaka community for 20 years.

He will be buried in Nkunguru village in Tharaka South Sub-County near Nkunguru shrine in a special ceremony following customary laws and governance.

Mugwe has been the link between the community and the maker, interceding for the people and worshipping the God of Mount Kenya.

And as modernity erodes culture in Kenya, with formal education and mass media weakening the beliefs held dear by the people, Tharaka community’s leadership remains highly organised and spiritual although Mugwe’s influence was now minimal.

The Tharaka people, who are Northern Bantus, believe that just like the other nine sub-tribes of the Meru community came from a place known as Mbwa in the Coast region led by Mugwe and settled in their present areas before the colonial era.

To date, each sub-tribe of the Ameru has its spiritual leader called Mugwe who offer sacrifices and perform healing on behalf of the community, though the practice is slowly being eroded by Christianity.

The power of Mugwe is hereditary and has been handed down from father to son within the same family for generations.

Facing the mountain

In Tharaka, Mugwe comes from the lineage of a person known as Mbai of Kithuri clan who is believed to have led the people from Mbwa to Igaironi (dispersal point), a sacred place in Tharaka South Sub-County.

Mugwe guides the Tharaka people on how to relate with Mwenenyaga, their god the creator who resides in Kirinyaga (Mt Kenya) and always prays while facing the mountain.

He also leads the Tharaka community in praying at the onset of every rainy season, blesses seeds during planting seasons and seeks intervention from the ancestors in times of famine or other catastrophes such as disease outbreaks.

The spiritual leader also offers sacrifice before the start of the circumcision season to seek blessings from the ancestors and seek the protection of the new initiates from death and other evils.

He made a common appearance at the annual Ura-gate Tharaka Cultural Festival at the entrance of Meru National Park where the event starts and ends with his prayers.

According to Simon Ndonco, the president of the Society for Alternative Learning and Transformation (Salt), an organisation that embraces positive cultural practices in Tharaka community, M’Kunyia was part of a team of elders who led nationwide traditional prayers to curse the Covid-19 pandemic in early 2020.

“We have lost our mediator, Mugwe, who has protected the Tharaka community against evils for many years,” said Mr Ndonco.

Politicians also visit Mugwe at his Nkunguru home to seek blessings and protection.

While in power, Mugwe grooms his successor, a man from his lineage whom he mentors to take over after his death making sure that there is no gap in the office.

Mr Ndonco said his burial is expected to be attended by cultural leaders from various parts of the country and outside whom he had been consulting with during his tenure.

“He has been very resourceful to locals and even to history scholars across the world,” he said.

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