KFS plans to build cultural centre next to 200-yr-old Mutunguru sacred tree in Chuka

In Mutunguruni Village Chuka/Igamba-Ng’ombe Constituency, Tharaka-Nithi County, stands a tree which is considered sacred.

The tree is such great significance that the Kenya Forest Service (KFS) plans to have a small cultural centre built next to it.

The over 100-feet tall tree popularly known to the residents as Mutunguru, and after which the village is named, is believed to have existed for more than 200 years.

According to 84-year-old Mbumba Mugambi on whose farm the tree stands, it was used by his great grandparents as place of worship and for offering sacrifices because they believed that the spirits of their ancestors lived there.

“I was born in 1931 and this tree was around three quarters of its present height then.

“The old people used to sacrifice sheep and goats here to please the spirits especially when there was no rain,” said Mr Mugambi.

IGOJI TREE CUT BY LOGGERS

He said that there was another tree as big as that in Igoji Village in neighbouring Meru County but it was cut by loggers.

Mr Mugambi said that the tree was also used during the time of emergency by women who used it to locate the Mau Mau freedom fighters in the forest in order to give them food.

“Women would climb this tree so that the Mau Mau fighters could see them and come for food,” said Mzee Mugambi.

The old man who says that he participated in the fight for Kenya’s independence vividly recalls the events during the colonial era.

He said the hollow part in the tree’s trunk provided them with a hiding place when fighting with the colonialists.

“We were hiding inside this hollow part and the colonial soldiers could not trace us,” said the old man.

The tree is currently the home of small reptiles and bats but is still believed to be a sacred place for spirits where traditional sacrifices are offered.

GUIDE TO TRAVELLERS

Mr Mugambi says that in the pre-colonial period the tree was also used as a landmark for people traveling from Embu to Meru especially the Mau Mau fighters.

This helped them to avoid the dangerous wild animals in Mount Kenya Forest which had extended up to where Chuka Town currently stands.

The old man says that he is continuing with the work of his forefathers by taking care of the tree and by protecting it from loggers and will hand over its care to his son who has shown interest in it.

“Our grandparents handed this tree over to us to take care of it. Whereas all other trees have been cut down for timber and charcoal, I have protected it to avoid the curse from the spirits of our forefathers,” he said.

The old man who seemed to be very bitter with how indigenous trees are cut down, blamed love of money for the destruction of the community’s heritage.

PRESERVE IT FOR GENERATIONS

“I would like my great grandchildren to know our traditions and not by only hearing stories about a tree that once existed in their ancestral land with no trace of it,” Mr Mugambi added.

Meanwhile, the old man said that he is able to tell by look of the flowers and leaves when the rains are approaching and when the rainy season is about to end.

“When this tree starts shedding off its leaves it means it is about to rain,” said the old man.

Tharaka-Nithi County KFS manager Joseph Wakiaga has said that in collaboration with the county government, they have plans to pronounce it as one of the cultural sites in the county and will build a small cultural centre there.

Mr Wakiaga added that they will continue to protect it from loggers so that it can remain to be seen by many generations.

He said that the tree may not be the tallest in Kenya but according to the people who visit it from across the country it may be among the tallest.