Private Papers

Irvine, Rev. Dr. Clive. (Irvine Papers.)

Founder, Church of Scotland Mission, Chogoria, Mwimbi, 1923. Now resident of Nairobi, Kenya. Private papers on founding of the mission include early issues (1915–1916) of the Kikuyu News , which carry articles detailing Church of Scotland Mission efforts prior to the actual founding of the Mwimbi Mission. Among the most useful are issues nos. 53 (January? 1915), 58 (January–February 1916), and 59 (April–May 1916).

Kirera, Rufus.

Farmer and storekeeper, Nkubu, South Imenti. "Murembere jwa tene jwa Imenti: Murembere jwa ntire" (Imenti prayers of long ago: Prayers of sacrifice). Manuscript. Meru language.

Lambert, Hugo E. (Lambert Papers.)

Lambert was district commissioner of Meru in 1933–1935, and 1939–1941. During these periods he spent considerable time investigating Meru history and social structure. After his death in the late 1960s his private papers were donated by his widow to the University of Nairobi. As of this writing they have not been catalogued but are accessible to scholars. Only a small portion of Lambert's writings were devoted to the Meru, chiefly a series of essays appended to Meru District's annual reports.

In addition he had begun to organize a number of larger manuscripts, including one of almost five hundred pages, for eventual publication. A partial listing of the documents most relevant to the study of the Meru appears below:

"Administrative Use of the Indigenous Institutions of the Meru." Typescript, 18 pages, 8 October 1939. A revised version of this appears as: The Use of Indigenous Autborities in Tribal Administration: Studies of the Meru in Kenya Colony (Communication of the School of African Studies, no. 16. Cape Town: Cape Town University, 1947).

"The Constitution and Personnel of Statutory Institutions in the Meru Native Reserve." Typescript, 47 pages, 6 December 1939.

"Disintegration and Reintegration in the Meru Tribe." Typescript, 22 pages, 9 January 1940.

"Female Circumcision and Early Initiation." Typescript, 13 pages, 3 November 1934.

"Meru District: Notes for Chiefs." Typescript, 14 pages, 11 January 1941.

"The Meru Yet to Come." Typescript, 38 pages, Christmas 1941.

"Native Customs." Long, bound notebook, filled with handwritten notations.

"Native Customs." Short, thick, bound notebook, filled with handwritten notations.

"The Place of Stock in the Native Social System." Typescript, 16 pages, 1938.

"The Social and Political Institutions of the Tribes of the Kikuyu Land Unit." Part 2 of The Systems of Land Tenure in the Kikuyu Land Unit . Typescript, 479 pages, used as the basis of his book Kikuyu Social and Political Institutions .

Laughton, W. H. (Laughton Papers.)

These papers are in the owner's possession in Hull, England, and are as yet uncatalogued. Laughton was an educational missionary for the United Methodist Mission in Meru between 1931 and 1957. His papers deal primarily with his work for the mission during the 1930s and 1940s, as well as with anthropological research conducted in Imenti.

M'Anampiu, Stephan.

Master of History and vice principal, Meru Teacher Training College, Meru Town, Imenti. Several handwritten manuscripts, in English or Meru, dealing with the origins and precolonial history of selected clans of North Imenti. (See also MOS 79.)

Mbabu, Ephantus.

Chief, Igoji subdivision, Meru. Handwritten manuscript, untitled, Meru language. Deals with the origins and precolonial methods of war among the Mwimbi, Muthambi, and Cuka.

Mbogore, Mukungu wa.

Chogoria, Mwimbi. Handwritten notebook, Meru language, untitled. Deals with family affairs, genealogy, and property of his father, M'Mbogore M'Mwendo, first chief of upper Mwimbi under the colonial regime (see also Meru Oral Sources).

M'Inoti, Rev. Filipo.

Ex-chief, Miiriga Mieru, North Imenti, Meru; among the first wave of converts and later the first African missionary. Became the first Meru minister of the United Methodist Mission, Imenti, in 1934.

"Asili ya Wameru na tabia zao" (The origin of the Meru and their customs).

Typescript, 49 pages, Swahili language. Meru United Methodist Mission Archive, Imenti. Copy, Swahili language, Laughton Papers. English translation (handwritten) by Fabian Njage, Muthambi. Both Swahili and English language copies are in my possession.

M'Mwarania, Alliano.

Housepainter, South Imenti. Several handwritten manuscripts, Meru language, dealing with precolonial law, military training, spirit worship, and cursing (ironsmiths). Written data subsequently corroborated by oral interviews with original informants.