THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF COUNCILS OF ELDERS TO THE RESILIENCE OF AFRICAN TRADITIONAL RELIGION: A CASE OF NJURI NCHEKE IN MERU COUNTY, KENYA. ORINA HELLEN KAGWIRIA A thesis submitted to the graduate school in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Religious Studies of Egerton University. EGERTON UNIVERSITY AUGUST 2018 DECLARATION AND RECOMMENDATION Declaration This thesis is my original work and has not been presented for a degree in any university. Signature: ________________________________ Date: ____________________________ Orina, Hellen Kagwiria AD 14/33535/14 Recommendation This thesis has been submitted for examination with our approval as university supervisors. Signature:____________________________________Date___________________________ Dr. Boaz Onyancha Department of Philosophy, History and Religion Egerton University Signature: ___________________________________Date:_____________________________ Dr. Halkano Wario Department of Philosophy, History and Religion Egerton University i COPYRIGHT © 2018 Hellen Orina No part of this thesis may be produced, stored in any retrieval system or be transmitted in any other form or means: photocopying, recording or otherwise without prior written permission of the author and, or Egerton University. ii DEDICATION This thesis is dedicated to my late brother, Mutuaru Gitonga for sacrificing his career to fund my early education. You denied yourself so that I could have and you kept encouraging me to move on and achieve that which you did not achieve. Words alone cannot explain how much I treasure what you did for me. May the good God richly bless your family. To my beloved husband Wilfred Orina whose sacrifice, inspiration, patience, encouragement and professional advice were instrumental to the completion of this work. To our children Pavine Bosibori, Linda Muthoni and Elvis Nyambati who on many occasions missed motherly love and presence during the course of my postgraduate studies. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENT I thank the Almighty God, the giver of life and purpose. I will forever be grateful that you accorded me life to study, pursue my dreams and serve humanity. I am humbled by this divine enablement and favour throughout my postgraduate studies. Thus far the lord has brought me, Ebenezer. I am equally grateful to Egerton University for availing an enabling environment for studying and creating a forum for me to discuss my research findings. I am greatly indebted to my University supervisors, Dr Boaz Onyancha and Dr Halkano Wario who made useful contributions that added quality to my work. You guided me with invaluably felicitous suggestions that have shaped the work into its present form. Your support, advice, patience and guidance were instrumental towards the completion of this work. My sincere gratitude to the highly esteemed elders of Njuri Ncheke who created time out of their busy schedules to narrate their experiences and give their opinions towards this study. I greatly treasure your generous co-operation and contributions during the data collection exercise, without which, this study could not have been realized. Your interest in the topic gave a great boost to my fieldwork at a time when it sorely needed one. Special thanks to Bishop Lawi Imathiu, who is the retired presiding Bishop of the Methodist Church of Kenya. His wealth of experience not only as a senior clergy, but also as a friend of Njuri Ncheke yielded very important contributions that helped shape the thesis. I am forever grateful to the members of my department - Philosophy, History and Religion of Egerton University for their great ideas, advice and moral support. I express profound gratitude for their suggestions and great encouragement. iv ABSTRACT Among the peoples of Kenya, there has been a cultural and religious revival and all means are being sought to propagate it. In certain circles, there is even a revival of ethnic rites, religious rituals and customs, and there are national efforts to preserve and take pride in ethnic cultures. Councils of elders are being treated with respect and honour as custodians of these cultures and religious beliefs. Generally, there has been a resilience of African Traditional Religion (ATR) and traditional religious institutions and practices in Kenya in the embodiment of councils of elders as seen in the case of Njuri Ncheke of the Ameru. Njuri Ncheke has been resilient in the face of modernization, even in the context of a dynamic society with a modern judicial system, new constitutional laws and new religious structures. Inspite of this apparent resilience of Njuri Ncheke in Meru County, there has not been any systematic investigation to unearth the phenomenon. The broad objective of this study, therefore, was to investigate the contributions of councils of elders to the resilience of African Traditional Religion in Kenya and in particular, the Njuri Ncheke of Meru County. The specific objectives were to identify the resilient practices and activities of Njuri Ncheke in relation to (ATR) in Meru County, to examine the sources of the influence and authority of the council in contemporary Meru community, to analyse the nature of the relationship between Njuri Ncheke and Christianity in the County and to assess the relevance of Njuri Ncheke in the context of a modern dynamic society. The study was informed by functionalism theory of religion as understood by Emile Durkheim, Talcott Parsons and Robert Merton. This was a qualitative study that sought to describe and analyse the resilience of traditional religious institutions in Kenya with Njuri Ncheke as a case study. The study involved a sample size of 200 respondents who were purposively selected. These were mainly Njuri Ncheke elders, clergy and religious leaders, and ordinary people. Data was collected using semi structured questions and structured interviews. The collected data was analysed using both qualitative and quantitative methods of data analysis in line with social sciences. The findings of the study are significant in making an important contribution to better understanding of councils of elders in Kenya and their role in ATR, understanding the role of religious and indigenous institutions in devolved system of governance, the basis of their influence and authority and their rightful place in a modern dynamic society. v TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION AND RECOMMENDATION .................................................................. i COPYRIGHT .......................................................................................................................... ii DEDICATION........................................................................................................................ iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ..................................................................................................... iv ABSTRACT ..............................................................................................................................v LIST OF TABLES ................................................................................................................. ix LIST OF PLATES ...................................................................................................................x ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMNS ........................................................................... xi CHAPTER ONE ......................................................................................................................1 INTRODUCTION....................................................................................................................1 1.1 Background to the Study ............................................................................................. 1 1.2 Statement of the Problem ................................................................................................. 6 1.3. Broad Objective............................................................................................................... 7 1.4 Research Questions .......................................................................................................... 8 1.5 Justification of the Study .................................................................................................. 8 1.6 Scope and Limitations of the Study ................................................................................. 9 1.7 Definition of Terms ........................................................................................................ 11 CHAPTER TWO ...................................................................................................................12 LITERATURE REVIEW AND THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK ................................12 2.0 Introduction .................................................................................................................... 12 2.1.1 Historical Background to the Scholarship of Councils of Elders ................................ 12 2.1.2 Recent Studies on the Resilient Practices and Activities of Councils of Elders in Kenya. .................................................................................................................................. 18 2.2 Theoretical Framework: The Functionalism Theory ..................................................... 25 CHAPTER THREE ...............................................................................................................28 METHODOLOGY ................................................................................................................28