August 2024 African Proverb of the Month A lover’s place has no hills Gikuyu (Kenya) Proverb

Kwa mwendwa gutiri irima. (Gikuyu, Kenya)
Pa mpenzi hakuna milima. (Swahili)
Le lieu des amoureux n’a pas de collines. (French)
A lover’s place has no hills. (English)

Gikuyu (Kenya) Proverb

Background, Meaning and Everyday Use

The traditional marriage ceremony among the Kenyan Bantu community of the Kikuyu is very central in the life of the people whose original “home” is in the country’s mountainous central region. Its meaning is that when the love between the two lovers begins to take root, the visits to the girl’s place by the man is quite visible. The man will visit the girl’s home as many times as possible and he is expected to “flatten” as many “hills”’ as possible. These “hills” include material and moral ones.

Goats and other animals account for the ruracio (dowry), yet hard cash money is effectively encroaching on this old and highly respected tradition among the Gikuyu community.

Biblical Parallels

Corinthians 16:14: ”Do everything in love.”

Proverbs 17:17: “A friend loves at all times.”

1 John 4:7: “ Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.”

1 John 4:8: “Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.”

Contemporary Use And Religious Application

In our modern world love is socially a MUST, not only between the lovers for a stable marriage but also for a well-founded union between the newly established relationship of the two families and communities too. Married couples try to overcome all ‘hilly like” issues in their lives.

The proverb is like a metaphor in life for commitment, perseverance, determination and endurance.

As related to the importance of marriage, it reminds us of the Catholic Church in Africa’s contribution to the Synodal Process going on in Rome. We begin on the grassroots by building strong marriages and families. A Small Christian Community (SCC) is a communion of families. An outstation is a communion of SCCs. A parish is the communion of outstations. A diocese is a communion of parishes.

Text by:

Francis Njuguna

P.O. Box 1406

Kibichoi, Kiambu County, Kenya

Cellphone: 0720434819

Email: osnjuguna@yahoo.com

Photos by:

Elias Bushiri Élie
Nairobi, Kenya
+254 7414 97556 (WhatsApp)
+254 7359 73276
ebushiri@gmail.com (Skype)
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