The Creation Story of the Akamba People of Kenya

The Kamba or Akamba people are a Bantu ethnic group who predominantly live in Kenya. They also form the second largest ethnic group in 8 counties including Nairobi and Mombasa counties.

Traditionalists in Akamba believe in only one, invisible and supernatural God who resides in the sky. He is also known as Ngai Mumbi (God the Creator) and is perceived as the all-powerful architect of life on earth.

According to Akamba oral history, “In the beginning, Mulungu is said to have formed a man and a woman in heaven before placing them on earth, on a rock in Nzaui, where it is said that their footprints, as well as the footprints of their animals, can still be seen today.

Soon after creating the first humans, Mulungu brought on a heavy downpour, which forced another man and a woman from an anthill. It so happened that the couple from heaven had only sons while the couple from the anthill had only daughters.

So naturally, the couple from heaven who only birthed sons paid dowry for the daughters of the couple from the anthill. In time the size of both family and their animals significantly grew in numbers. With this prosperity, they forgot to give thanks to the all-powerful God (Mulungu) who created them. To punish them for being ungrateful, Mulumgu destroyed their crops and killed off their animals leaving them with nothing to eat. This eventually caused a great famine which ultimately led to their dispersal as the family scattered in search of food.

The story explains how the first human came to be and why humans are scattered all over the earth.

Mr Madu
Mr Madu
Mr Madu is a freelance writer, a lover of Africa and a frequent hiker who loves long, vigorous walks, usually on hills or mountains.

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