Inspiration in Gikuyu Language

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îkîra mûndû ngoro

There is no single word for inspiration in the Gîkûyû language. The word ngoro denotes heart, spirit and soul. Consequently, to inspire a person is rendered as îkîra mûndû ngoro, literally, to put heart into a person or to encourage her or him. A person lacking energy, conscience, inspiration, or the will to work is deemed to be without ngoro.. Thus, a person who does not feel energized to perform a certain task, or psychologically prepared to engage a subject, may express that reservation in terms comparable to the English phrase of "I do not have the heart for it".

Gîtahi wa Gîtîtî

“Maitho ma ngoro,” or the “eyes of the heart or mind, foresight or imagination, therefore ultimately the capacity to see things that lie ahead, to imagine things in an ideal or different state, are an extension of the conceptual metaphor for having or receiving inspiration. Thus a form of inspiration, revelation, occurs in Gîkûyû as “kûguûrîrio,” “to have something unveiled or made comprehensible.” Culturally and historically, Gîkûyû individuals do receive “visions” that are prophecies or solutions for immediate problems. Such individuals who receive extra-human ability and become prophets, seers, or healers by non-physical means are said to have been called by the deity who has given them ûgo, the capacity of divination, healing, or extra vision.

Like many African languages, Gîkûyû is threatened from within and without. As with the majority of African languages, literature and verbal art in Gîkûyû is what survives assault, neglect, upheaval, transplantation, and exile. My continued writing in the Gîkûyû language is partly a response to the many voices which call to me to help record what is in danger of vanishing - the stories of today and yesterday, the new utterances that are born daily - so that the language and the culture it embraces will live on.

Interview Questions

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Ngorongoro Crater, African Travel

Edwin: I would like to include some Gîkûyû artwork that expresses or illustrates some aspect of what you wrote about. Do you have any suggestions? I did a search on ngoro and found the Ngorongoro Crater and Conservation Area. Does this somehow relate to Gîkûyû and inspiration?