The nine young men who married Gikuyus nine daughters have always intrigued me.But what intrigues me more is how they came to be.
According to the Gikuyu myth of creation,Mwenenyaga instructed Gikuyu to offer a sacrifice for him.When he was not looking,the nine young men lept from the fire.
Lets replay that scene more graphically:
SONS FORGED OF FIRE
Gikuyu stood beneath the sacred mugumo tree, Mwenenyaga’s command ringing in his mind “Go. Bid each of your nine daughters to embark on a quest in the woods. Tell them to procure a straight wand equal to her height,” Mwenenyaga’s voice had commanded.
Following the divine directive, Gikuyu beckoned his daughters around his thingira, save for young Wamuyu. He sent them into the enchanted forest to find the magical wands.
Shortly, each returned with a buzzing wand as tall as herself, bearing the potential for a destiny unknown. The air hummed with unseen energy as they held the nine rods, each pulsating with a celestial glow. These rods, infused with the essence of a distant star, resonated harmoniously as Gikuyu gripped them.
“Use the nine wands to make an altar under the mugumo tree,” instructed Mwenenyaga. Gikuyu the scientist arranged the buzzing wands into a sacred shrine. With trembling hands, he then gathered what seemed like ordinary dry twigs. However, these were no ordinary twigs; they were infused with stardust.
As Gikuyu rubbed them together, microscopic sparks ignited, and a mesmerizing display of shimmering particles unfolded. The flames danced with magical energy and kaleidoscopic colours, illuminating the forest grove with a dazzling brilliance.
When he detected a cosmic alignment, Gikuyu then offered a sacrifice, a white ram without blemish, beneath the towering mugumo tree. As the flames consumed the offering, a spectacle unfolded before his eyes. Some dazzling silhouettes danced in the roaring fire. Then, nine ramrod straight young men lept from the swirling flames, their bodies swathed in luminous aura.
A-NAKE
“A-wa!” The young men bowed as they hailed Gikuyu by that honorific title. Not just father, but patriarch of the ages.
“Welcome, A-nake.” Gikuyu hailed them by an equally mystical name. Not just young men, but slices of God.
