Prophetess Syokimau

Last updated

Syokimau was a Kamba medicine woman and prophetess who lived in the 1800s long before Kenya became a colony. She was born and lived in Iveti Hills near the today's Machakos town. [1] It is claimed that Syokimau could predict impeding attacks from other communities such as the Maasai and Gikuyu giving Kamba warriors ample time to prepare for the defense. [2]

Contents

Overview

Syokimau is credited as the greatest prophetess among the Kamba people because she foretold the coming of the white men and the construction of the railway line. In her vision, she saw a long snake belching fire and smoke as to moved from waters to another waters. In it there were people with skin like meat who spoke unintelligibly like birds and carried fire in their pockets. [3] [4] Her prophecy came to pass in the 20th century after the completion of the Kenya-Uganda Railway that ran from Mombasa to Kisumu, the lakeside city then known as Port Florence. The people she saw were white people who spoke English and carried matchboxes in their pockets.

Legacy

Syokimau, a fast-growing residential area in Machakos County that is close to Jomo Kenyatta International Airport and where Syokimau Railway Station and the Mombasa-Nairobi Standard Gauge Railway Nairobi Terminus are located, is named after her. Some sources claim that Syonguu wa Kathukya, a later prophetess from around Athi River renamed her territory after Syokimau because she was impressed by her work. That is how the popular residential area came to bear the name of the prophetess. [5]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nairobi</span> Capital and largest city of Kenya

Nairobi is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The name is derived from the Maasai phrase Enkare Nairobi, which translates to 'place of cool waters', a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city. The city proper had a population of 4,397,073 in the 2019 census. The city is commonly referred to as The Green City in the Sun.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mombasa</span> City in Mombasa County, Kenya

Mombasa is a coastal city in southeastern Kenya along the Indian Ocean. It was the first capital of British East Africa, before Nairobi was elevated to capital status in 1907. It now serves as the capital of Mombasa County. The town is known as "the white and blue city" in Kenya. It is the country's oldest and second-largest city after Nairobi, with a population of about 1,208,333 people according to the 2019 census. Its metropolitan region is the second-largest in the country, and has a population of 3,528,940 people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kamba people</span> Ethnic group in Kenya

The Kamba or Akamba people are a Bantu ethnic group who predominantly live in the area of Kenya stretching from Nairobi to Tsavo and north to Embu, in the southern part of the former Eastern Province. This land is called Ukambani and constitutes Makueni County, Kitui County and Machakos County. They also form the second largest ethnic group in 8 counties including Nairobi and Mombasa counties.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Machakos</span> Municipality in Machakos County, Kenya

Machakos, also called Masaku, is a town in Machakos County, Kenya. Serving as the capital of the county, its urban population was 63,767 as of 2019.

Kenyan Sign Language is a sign language is used by the deaf community in Kenya and Somalia. It is used by over half of Kenya's estimated 600,000 deaf population. There are some dialect differences between Kisumu, Mombasa and Somalia.

The Honourable Paul Joseph Ngei was a Kenyan politician who was imprisoned for his role in the anti-colonial movement, but who went on to hold several government ministerial positions after Kenya became independent.

The earliest account of Nairobi's history dates back to 1899 when a railway depot was built in a brackish African swamp occupied by a pastoralist people, the Maasai, the sedentary Akamba people, as well as the agriculturalist Kikuyu people who were all displaced by the colonialists. The railway complex and the building around it rapidly expanded and urbanized until it became the largest city of Kenya and the country's capital. The name Nairobi comes from the Maasai phrase Enkare Nyirobi, which translates to 'the place of cool waters'. However, Nairobi is popularly known as the "Green City in the Sun".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mutula Kilonzo</span> Kenyan lawyer and politician

Mutula Kilonzo was a Kenyan politician and Senior Counsel, who served as Minister of Education after having previously served as the Minister for Nairobi Metropolitan and justice and constitutional affairs He belonged to the Orange Democratic Movement-Kenya and was elected to represent the Makueni County as Senator in the 2013 general elections.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ol Donyo Sabuk</span> National park in Kenya

Ol Donyo Sabuk, or Kyanzavi in Kamba, is a mountain in Kyanzavi Division, Machakos County, William Northrup McMillan was the first non native to settle here.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">East African Railway Master Plan</span> Proposal for updating railways serving east African countries

The East African Railway Master Plan is a proposal for rejuvenating the railways serving Tanzania, Kenya, and Uganda, and building new railways to serve Rwanda and Burundi. The objective is to further the economic development of East Africa by increasing the efficiency and speed, and lowering the cost, of transporting cargo between major ports on the Indian Ocean coast and the interior.

Dagoretti is an area in the western part of Nairobi, the capital of Kenya. It straddles the Nairobi and Kiambu County boundary with the Dagoretti Road Reserve marking the psychological border point heading Northerly and North-Easterly. Administratively it is one of eight divisions of Nairobi. The Dagoretti division is divided into six Locations. The former electoral Dagoretti Constituency had the same boundaries as the now defuct Dagoretti division.

Emali is a town located along the Mombasa-Nairobi highway in Kenya straddling the Makueni County and Kajiado County boundaries. It is a popular resting place for truck drivers ferrying goods from the Mombasa port to inland destinations such as Nairobi, Kampala, Kigali and even the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is known as "the town that never sleeps" due to its vibrant night life. The town is inhabited by the Kamba and Maasai tribes.

Syokimau is a residential area in the west of Machakos County, Kenya, just south of Nairobi and Jomo Kenyatta International Airport.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alfred Mutua</span> Kenyan politician

Alfred Nganga Mutua is a Kenyan journalist and politician who is the current Minister for Tourism and Wildlife. He formerly served as the Cabinet Secretary for Foreign and Diaspora Affairs under President William Ruto.

The real estate sector in Kenya has seen a boom that began somewhere in the mid to late 2000s because the property market is responding to increased demand.

Sarah Hassan is a Kenyan actress, model, and former TV host who has appeared in several films and television series. She is notable for her role in Citizen TV series such as, Tahidi High,The Wedding Show and Zora.

The Mombasa–Nairobi Standard Gauge Railway is a standard-gauge railway (SGR) in Kenya that connects the large Indian Ocean city of Mombasa with Nairobi, the country's capital and largest city. This SGR runs parallel to the narrow-gauge Uganda Railway that was completed in 1901 under British colonial rule. The East African Railway Master Plan provides for the Mombasa–Nairobi SGR to link with other SGRs being built in the East African Community.

The Anglican dioceses of Mombasa are the Anglican presence in and around Mombasa and south-east Kenya; they are part of the Anglican Church of Kenya. The remaining dioceses of the Church are in the areas of Maseno, of Mount Kenya, and of Nakuru.

The Nairobi–Malaba Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) is the project of standard-gauge railway that should connect Kenya's capital city of Nairobi to Malaba, at the international border with Uganda. The Nairobi–Malaba SGR was to connect other standard gauge railways in Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, South Sudan and eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, under the East African Railway Master Plan.

References

  1. ↑ Kareithi, Amos (July 29, 2012). "Syokimau, a place that inspires awe, despair in equal measure". Standard Digital. The Standard Group. Retrieved 9 July 2017.
  2. ↑ Okonjo, Emily. "SYOKIMAU – THE UNDUMPABLE HUSBAND". Deardiary. Retrieved 9 July 2017.
  3. ↑ Isichei, Elizabeth (October 10, 2002). Voices of the Poor in Africa: Moral Economy and the Popular Imagination. New York: University of Rochester Press. p. 171. ISBN   1580461077 . Retrieved 9 July 2017.
  4. ↑ Gehman, Richard J. (June 14, 2016). African Traditional Religion in Biblical Perspective. Wheaton: Oasis International Ltd. p. 126. ISBN   978-1594521744 . Retrieved 9 July 2017.
  5. ↑ Okonjo, Emily. "SYOKIMAU – THE UNDUMPABLE HUSBAND". Deardiary. Retrieved 9 July 2017.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.