Mumboism, also known as the Mumbo cult, was a

new religious movement A new religious movement (NRM), also known as alternative spirituality or a new religion, is a religious or spiritual group that has modern origins and is peripheral to its society's dominant religious culture. NRMs can be novel in origin or th ...

founded by Onyango Dunde in the early 20th century. Followers of the religion, known as Mumboites, were most active in the Nyanza region of

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near Lake Victoria. The movement had anti-imperial teachings and was suppressed by the colonial government of Kenya.

Origins

Mumboism began during the British colonial era in Kenya, when Christian missionaries were active in the region. In 1913, Onyango Dunde began to preach that he had been swallowed by a serpent in Lake Victoria. The serpent spit him out, and gave him a prophecy that he would spread to his followers:

I am the God Mumbo whose two homes are in the sun and in the lake. I have chosen you to be my mouthpiece. Go and tell all the Africans.... that from henceforth I am their God. Those whom I choose personally and those who acknowledge me, will live forever in plenty.... the Christian religion is rotten.... All Europeans are your enemies, but the time is shortly coming when they will all disappear from the country."George F. Pickens, ''African Christian God-Talk: Matthew Ajuoga's Johera Narrative.'' University Press of America, 2004; pp. 133-134. Quoted in Oeching (1992, 1997).

History

In keeping with the prophecy, Dunde condemned European culture, Christianity, and the influence of colonialism. He also prophesied a golden age that would arrive with the end of the European presence in the region. Mumboism was popular among the

Luo Luo may refer to: Luo peoples and languages *Luo peoples, an ethno-linguistic group of eastern and central Africa **Luo people of Kenya and Tanzania or Joluo, an ethnic group in western Kenya, eastern Uganda, and northern Tanzania. *** Luoland, th ...

and

Kisii people The Abagusii (also known as Kisii (Mkisii/Wakisii) in Swahili, or Gusii in Ekegusii) are a highly diverse East African ethnic group and nation indigenous to Kisii (formerly Kisii District) and Nyamira counties of former Nyanza, as well as p ...

, but its influence spread beyond Africans who were formally followers of Dunde. Mumboism's teachings have been characterized as a strain of millennialism, anticipating a golden age, perhaps influenced by Christian teachings of a cataclysmic end to the current world's existence. Some teachings were that "water would turn into blood, and only Mumboites would have drinking water, all white people would disappear leaving only Africans as sole survivors, or the Germans would come and cut off the arms of those in clothes (i.e., Europeans and Westernized Africans). ..The projected utopia would be a time of role reversal, healing, and plenty that could only be effected by traditional sacrifices and rituals". In the years following the end of World War I, many of the

Kisii Kisii may refer to: * Kisii, Kenya, the inaugural capital city of Kenya * Kisii County, one of the 47 counties of Kenya * Gucha District, in Kenya, also known as ''South Kisii District'' * Nyamira District, in Kenya, also known as ''North Kisii Di ...

(AbaGusii) became followers of Mumboism in growing numbers. Some factors contributing to this were frustration with the colonial government due to deteriorating agricultural, trade and health conditions among the

, fluctuating currency value, and the colonial administration's increasingly burdensome demands concerning taxation, labour owed to the colonial government, and requirements for registration. The golden age prophecy of an end to European government appealed to the Kisii, who had openly revolted against the colonial administration in 1905, 1908 and 1914, only to be defeated by the Europeans. Its appeal among the Kisii people was small during times of prosperity, when meeting the colonial administration's demands was easier. During times of economic hardship, its religious and political appeal grew among the Kisii. The Bogonko clan, the wealthiest and most influential among the Kisii, were adherents of Mumboism. Their position had been undermined by the European presence, and they were leaders of Mumboism particularly among the Kitutu subclan.

Suppression

The colonial administration was threatened by the anti-European message of Mumboism. The colonial government ultimately banned Mumboism in 1954. Much earlier in 1921, it had exiled Dunde and other Mumbo leaders to the holy Islamic island of Lamu in the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by t ...

. A 1919 government report had listed important leaders of the movement, some of whom were openly opposed to the colonial government: Mosi Auma of Kabondo, Nyakundi of Kitutu, Omwenga of Wanjare. The colonial administration had a tendency to conflate Mumboism with other indigenous religious beliefs, such as the cult around the late prophet Sakawa (Zakawa), who it was said had prophesied European rule, the building of the railroad and the site of Kisii. Mumboism was not the sole religious movement in Central or Eastern Africa to reflect anti-European sentiment. The

Kamba people The Kamba or Akamba (sometimes called Wakamba) people are a Bantu ethnic group who predominantly live in the area of Kenya stretching from Nairobi to Tsavo and north to Embu, in the southern part of the former Eastern Province. This land i ...

around Machakos, Kenya, had a millennial cult that developed in the interwar years around the prophet Ndonye wa Kauti, which had parallels with Mumboism.

Dini ya Msambwa 'Dini ya Msambwa (Religion of the Ancestor) is an African traditional religion that has been labeled an anti-colonial religion.

or Nsambwa (DYM), "religion of the ancestral spirits", was another rejection of Christianity that developed during the early 20th century in Kenya. It was founded by

Elijah Masinde Elijah Masinde ( 1910/1912-1987) was a Bukusu activist. Early life Born around 1910 – 1912 in Kimilili, Bungoma District, Masinde wa Nameme okhwa Mwasame was initiated into the Machego age-set. At the time, the Kenya-Uganda railway was passi ...

, among the Babukusu. Yet another new religious movement was the Karing'a movement, influenced by Agikuyu religious ideal concepts similar to democracy.Murunga and Shadrack, ''Kenya,'' pg. 66.

Origins

History

Suppression

See also

Footnotes

Further reading