The Mau Mau, officially known as the Kenyan Land and Freedom Army, is the coalition of numerous groups—predominantly the Gikuyu, Meru, and Embu—who fight against the British colonists. In 1952, the Mau Mau Uprising occurred, and the Kenyan Freedom Fighters waged war on colonial forces until 1960, causing Britain to adopt harsh, militaristic policies in the governance of its Kenyan subjects. The Mau Mau Uprising is variously known as the Rebellion or the Revolt, but is most often referred to in the story as the Emergency.
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Mau Mau Term Timeline in A Grain of Wheat
The timeline below shows where the term Mau Mau appears in A Grain of Wheat. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 4
...back to the years when he, as District Officer, oversaw the detention camps, to “rehabilitate Mau Mau adherents to a normal life as British subjects.” During that time, a hunger strike and...
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Chapter 7
...beliefs. His testimony inspires some to convert, but before long he is assassinated by the Mau Mau as a traitor.
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...the first few months, swearing never to confess the oath or reveal details about the Mau Mau fighters, but after learning that Jomo Kenyatta’s appeal for freedom has been denied and he...
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Chapter 13
...surrounding region with a psychopathic fury. It is Tom who names the Freedom Fighters the Mau Mau and begins hunting them relentlessly. To the Gikuyu, he becomes a nightmare, seemingly everywhere and...
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...visibly scared, and Mugo is terrified that he himself will be caught and labeled a Mau Mau terrorist. He blows out the oil lamp, and in the darkness Kihika explains that the...
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Chapter 14
...to speak. He thinks of all the African traitors: Karanja, Rev. Jackson—who preached against the Mau Mau at the behest of DO Robson and was warned three times to cease before they...
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Karanja
...In the homeguard, he had the power to kill and often used it against the Mau Mau terrorists. He grew accustomed to that power; he needed it. “Now that power was gone.”
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...after, spending his first months with a hood hiding his face while he anonymously identified Mau Mau sympathizers from his own village, feeling pleasure at the anonymity and power to grant life...
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