A Grain of Wheat

by

Ngugi wa Thiong’o

Gikuyu Term Analysis

Gikuyu (or Kikuyu) is the name of Kenya’s largest ethnic group as well as the language they speak, occupying the rich agricultural highlands and hills of rural Kenya. In the early days of British settlement—preceding the story—the Gikuyu were known for their resistance, and many Gikuyu tribes maintained a practice of killing anyone who gave aid to the foreigners.

Gikuyu Quotes in A Grain of Wheat

The A Grain of Wheat quotes below are all either spoken by Gikuyu or refer to Gikuyu. For each quote, you can also see the other terms and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Colonialism Theme Icon
).
Chapter 2 Quotes

The whiteman told of another country beyond the sea where a powerful woman sat on a throne while men and women danced under the shadow of her authority and benevolence. She was ready to spread the shadow to cover the [Gikuyu]. They laughed at this eccentric man whose skin had been so scalded that the black outside had peeled off.

Page Number: 10
Explanation and Analysis:

They looked beyond the laughing face of the whiteman and suddenly saw a long line of other red strangers who carried not the Bible, but the sword. […] The iron snake […] was quickly wriggling towards Nairobi for a thorough exploitation of the hinterland.

Related Symbols: The Train / The Iron Snake
Page Number: 11-12
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 4 Quotes

At Githima, people believed that a complaint from [Karanja] was enough to make a man lose his job. Karanja knew their fears. Often when men came into his office, he would suddenly cast them a cold eye, drop hints, or simply growl at them; in this way, he increased their fears and insecurity. But he also feared the men and alternated this fierce prose with servile friendliness.

Related Characters: Karanja
Page Number: 36
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 6 Quotes

“Many of us talked like that because we wanted to deceive ourselves. It lessens your shame. We talked of loyalty to the Movement and the love of our country. You know a time came when I did not care about Uhuru for the country anymore. I just wanted to come home.”

Related Characters: Gikonyo (speaker), Mugo
Page Number: 67
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 7 Quotes

“I would hate to see a train run over my mother or father, or brothers. Oh, what would I do?” [Mumbi] quickly exclaimed.

“Women are cowards.” Karanja said half in joke.

“Would you like a train to run over you?” Mumbi retorted angrily. Karanja felt the anger and did not answer.

Related Characters: Karanja (speaker), Mumbi (speaker), Kihika
Related Symbols: The Train / The Iron Snake
Page Number: 87
Explanation and Analysis:

Though Njeri was a short girl, her slim figure made her appear tall. But there was something tough about that slimness. She despised women’s weaknesses, like tears, and whenever fights occurred at Kinenie [forest], she always fought, even with men. A cat, men called her, because few could impose their physical will on her.

Related Characters: Kihika, Wambuku, Njeri
Page Number: 100
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 13 Quotes

[Wambui] believed in the power of women to influence events, especially where men had failed to act, or seemed indecisive […] Let therefore such men, she jeered, come forward, wear the women’s skirts and aprons and give up their trousers to the women.

Related Characters: Wambui
Page Number: 175
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 14 Quotes

Koina talked of seeing the ghosts of the colonial past still haunting Independent Kenya. And it was true that those now marching in the streets of Nairobi were not the soldiers of the Kenya Land and Freedom Army but of the King’s African Rifles, the very colonial forces who had been doing on the battlefield what Jackson was doing in churches.

Related Characters: General R., Lt. Koina, Rev. Jackson Kigondu
Page Number: 216
Explanation and Analysis:
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A Grain of Wheat PDF

Gikuyu Term Timeline in A Grain of Wheat

The timeline below shows where the term Gikuyu appears in A Grain of Wheat. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 2
Colonialism Theme Icon
Guilt and Redemption Theme Icon
Christianity Theme Icon
Gender and Power Theme Icon
...sea who will soon stretch “the shadow of her authority and benevolence” over Kenya. The Gikuyu laugh at the missionaries, though the concept of women ruling resonates with them, since they... (full context)
Chapter 7
Colonialism Theme Icon
...Karanja, and Kihika were young men: Thabai is proud of its Rung’ei marketplace, swarming with Gikuyu women selling goods, Indian traders from Nairobi, and young people from all over meeting on... (full context)
Colonialism Theme Icon
Christianity Theme Icon
Rev. Jackson is Mbugua’s friend, a Gikuyu Christian preacher who likes to visit people in their homes and offer wisdom from the... (full context)
Colonialism Theme Icon
The Individual vs. the Community Theme Icon
...but as the train whistles and pulls away, it is replaced with another vision of Gikuyu people running in fear of the train and the whole region being brought to silence... (full context)
Chapter 13
Colonialism Theme Icon
The Individual vs. the Community Theme Icon
Christianity Theme Icon
...who names the Freedom Fighters the Mau Mau and begins hunting them relentlessly. To the Gikuyu, he becomes a nightmare, seemingly everywhere and nowhere at once, always hunting, always stalking. In... (full context)
Chapter 14
Colonialism Theme Icon
The Individual vs. the Community Theme Icon
Guilt and Redemption Theme Icon
Christianity Theme Icon
A representative of the Party stands in Gikonyo’s absence and a preacher from the Kikuyu (Gikuyu) Greek Orthodox Church leads the congregation in prayer to open the ceremony, commemorating the blood... (full context)