The Kikuyu, a major ethnic group of Kenya, numbered about 4.4 million in 1987, accounting for about 20 percent of Kenya's population of 25 million.The Kikuyu were originally hunter-gatherers, but they gradually adopted horticultural practices. The first crops grown by the Kikuyu were cocoyams, sweet potatoes, bananas, and millet. Men cultivated yams and bananas, whereas women grew sweet potatoes and millet. Women also gathered a variety of wild spinach-like greens, tubers, such as arrowroot (taro), and berries. Sugarcane was grown and honey collected from hives in the forest for the production of beer. Maize was introduced early in the nineteenth century and has become a major staple crop. When it is used for domestic consumption, it is usually grown by women, but when it is sold as a commodity, it is more often grown by men.

Concepts

culture, kenya

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Additional Tags

counties and their cultures, kikuyu, a major ethnic group of kenya, adopted horticultural practices, originally hunter-gatherers

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Classroom Considerations

• Knovation Readability Score: 2 (1 low difficulty, 5 high difficulty)
• The intended use for this resource is Instructional