COLONIALISM AND THE AGIKUYU WOMEN’S INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE SYSTEMS ON FOOD CROP PRODUCTION IN KIAMBU, KENYA, 1902-1963. MARTHA WANJIRU MURAYA A Research Thesis Submitted to the Graduate School in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for Award of Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in History of Chuka University. CHUKA UNIVERSTY SEPTEMBER, 2019 DECLARATION AND RECOMMENDATION ii COPYRIGHT © 2019 No size of this research may be replicated or transferred in any manner lacking written authorization from the researcher or Chuka University. All rights are reserved. iii DEDICATION This work is dedicated to my dear parents Mr. Francis Muraya and Mrs Felister Wairimu Muraya. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENT Foremost, my sincere gratitude goes to the Almighty God for giving me the opportunity and the ability to accomplish this noble academic task and for providing me with everything I needed. It has taken His mighty hand for me to complete this study. Special thanks also go to Chuka University for giving me University innovation and commercialization research grant to facilitate the data collection, and for giving me the study leave without which this work would have been impossible. I am greatly indebted to my supervisors Dr. Lazarus K. Ngari and Dr. Geofrey K. Gathungu for their tireless effort to read and guide my work. They have been a great source of inspiration and encouragement in all stages leading to the completion of this thesis. I honor their continuous dedication, intelligence, humility and handwork. Thank you for nurturing me to the World of scholarship, God bless you abundantly. Profound appreciation is extended to the Dean, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences Prof. Colomba Muriungi and the Chair of Department of Humanities Dr. Christine Atieno and all the lecturers for generously giving me helpful suggestions and assistance, May God bless you all. Special thanks to Dr. Felix Kiruthu, Dr. Eliud Biegon, Dr. Gordon Omenya, Dr. Caroline Kithinji, Mr. Paul Muiru, Mr. Job Mulati, Ms. Lucy Nyambura Kiriungi, Mr. George Manono and Mr. Philip Chemilil who through their very helpful comments, encouragements, love and moral support increased my confidence and determination. Above all, I owe special gratitude to my family, they have been everything to me at a personal level, and they helped me when I needed them most during this program. They always made me joyful even when things seemed difficult. I thank my parents for always giving me their shoulders to lean on in tough times, they are special gift from God. I also take this opportunity to thank my wonderful friends at The Catholic University of Eastern Africa, Kenyatta University, University of Nairobi, Mwenge Catholic University in Tanzania, and University of Kisubi Uganda for their emotional and moral support, thank you for always being there for me. Finally, I would like to thank all my respondents and all those who volunteered to give me information. Thank you very much and God bless you all. v ABSTRACT The interaction between the European colonialist in Kenya and the Agikuyu people influenced the indigenous Knowledge systems related to food crop production. Particularly, the introduction colonial policies and practices undermined the vital role of the Agikuyu Women’s Indigenous Knowledge Systems (AWIKS) on food crop production and instead they viewed them as uncivilized and backward. Therefore, the purpose of study was to analyze the implications of colonialism on the AWIKS on food crop production in Kiambu County from 1902 to 1963. The main objectives of the study were; to explore the Agikuyu women’s indigenous knowledge systems on food crop production in pre-colonial Kiambu upto 1902, to examine the implications of European colonial policies and practices on the AWIKS on food crop production, and further to find out the effect of disregard of AWIKS on the availability of food in Kiambu. The study employed descriptive research design and it was also guided by the Neo-Marxist theory that looked at the relationship between women and the process of colonial capitalist development. The study was done in three sub-counties of Kiambu West, namely, Limuru, Lari and Kikuyu. The sample size was guided by the concept of data saturation in an interview based research. The main source of information was oral interviews, archival records analysis and secondary data. Oral interview data was analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Scientists (SPSS) and reported using basic simple descriptive statistics such as percentages, frequencies, and tables. The study established that in pre-colonial set up, the Agikuyu women of Southern Kikuyuland (present Kiambu County) commanded detailed indigenous knowledge on weather observation and prediction, quality seed selection, indigenous farming methods, harvesting, storage and preservation in order to ensure enough food crop production in the households. In addition, the European colonial undermined the AWIKS on food crop production during the establishment of commercial crop production, land alienation and forced labour policies. Sixty (88.2%) of the respondents mentioned that between 1902 and 1963 most of the Agikuyu people were moved from their indigenous land and were pushed to poor, marginal and unproductive reserve areas where they did not have enough experience and accumulated indigenous knowledge system of the new agro-ecosystem. In addition, 29 (42,6%) of the respondents felt that the Europeans neglected most of the drought tolerant food crops in favour of fast growing commercial crops. Women were also forced to provide cheap labour in the European plantations and projects, a move that led to neglect and undermining of AWIKS on food crop production. The study also found out that during the period of political instability food crop cultivation was very little and this led to marginalization of AWIKS on food crop production. The research concluded that the integration of the Agikuyu women in colonial policies and practices undermined, neglected and pushed to the periphery the important role of AWIKS on food crop production. Therefore, the integration of AWIKS and western scientific agricultural knowledge on food crop production could be an effective way of ensuring food security. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION AND RECOMMENDATION ..................................................... ii COPYRIGHT ........................................................................................................ iii DEDICATION ........................................................................................................ iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ...........................................................................................v ABSTRACT ........................................................................................................ vi TABLE OF CONTENTS ......................................................................................... vii LIST OF TABLES ..................................................................................................... xi LIST OF PLATES ................................................................................................... xiii ABBREVIATION AND ACCRONYMS ............................................................... xiv CHAPTER ONE : INTRODUCTION .......................................................................1 1.1 Background to the Study ......................................................................................1 1.2 Statement of the Problem .....................................................................................8 1.3 Objectives of the Study ........................................................................................9 1.3.1 Broad Objective of the Study ........................................................................9 1.3.2 Specific Objective of the Study .....................................................................9 1.4 Research Questions ..............................................................................................9 1.5 Significance of the Study .....................................................................................9 1.6 Assumptions of the Study ..................................................................................10 1.7 Scope of the Study ..............................................................................................11 1.8 Limitation of the Study ......................................................................................13 1.9 Operational Definition of Terms ........................................................................14 CHAPTER TWO:LITERATURE REVIEW ..........................................................16 2.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................16 2.2 Indigenous Knowledge System in Food Crop Production .................................16 2.3 Effects of European Colonialism on the indigenous Agricultural Production Systems in Kenya............................................................................20 2.4 Effect of Marginalizing the Indigenous Knowledge System on the Availability of Food ..........................................................................................24 2.5 Theoretical Framework ......................................................................................28 2.5.1Women and Development Theory ................................................................28 2.5.2 Basic Tenets of Women and Development Theory .....................................30