| The Power of the Oath: Mau Mau Nationalism in Kenya, 1952-1960 Contributor(s): Mwanzia Koster, Mickie (Author) |
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ISBN: 1580465463 ISBN-13: 9781580465465 Publisher: University of Rochester Press OUR PRICE: $109.25 Product Type: Hardcover Published: June 2016 |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - History | Africa - East - Political Science | World - African - Social Science | Anthropology - Cultural & Social |
| Dewey: 967.620 |
| LCCN: 2016008686 |
| Series: Rochester Studies in African History and the Diaspora |
| Physical Information: 0.75" H x 6" W x 9" (1.23 lbs) 262 pages |
| Themes: - Cultural Region - East Africa - Cultural Region - African |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: Through a critical examination of the Mau Mau oath used to initiate and unite fighters, The Power of the Oath opens a fresh conversation on the study of Mau Mau and Kenyan history. It argues for a historiographical shift in the framing of the Mau Mau rebellion as a Kikuyu war. Instead, Mickie Mwanzia Koster suggests that Mau Mau was a nationalist movement, embraced by non-Kikuyu communities like the Kamba ethnic group. Incorporating a creative blend of primary sources, including testimonies from ex-Mau Mau participants, survey analysis, archival data, Mau Mau court cases, ceremonial reenactments, and folklore, The Power of the Oath demonstrates how and why the movement was spread, embraced, and internalized. Koster traces the evolution and structure of the Mau Mau oath, examining the British criminalization of the oath, its gendered use, and the purification associated with it, in order to reveal how Mau Mau unfolded in Kenya. Mickie Mwanzia Koster is assistant professor of history at the University of Texas, Tyler. |
