Kenya Place Names Explained

Having blogged samples of my books on English place names and also examined the etymologies of the nations of the world and their respective capitals I thought it time I cast my net a little wider. As English place names share some links to other tongues it would be interesting to see if any of the elements contributing to our place names could be found elsewhere. Continuing an alphabetical tour of the world and a look at the largest Kenyan cities.

Nairobi derives its name from the River Nairobi, itself the Maasai phrase Enkare Nairobi or 'cool water'.

Mombasa, to understand this name we have to go back to pre-colonnial days of the Portuguese. Folklore speaks of the founding of the settlement by two rulers, the pagan queen Mwana Mkisi and Shehe Mvita. Mkisi founded Kongowea, the original settlement on what is now known as Mombasa Island. Mkisi comes from ukisi or 'holy' in the liLongo language. Similarly Kongowea is the Swahili form of Kongo. On the arrival of the Portuguese in 1502 the place first became known by two names: Mvita in Swahili and Manbasa in Arabic, both having the same origin and meaning.

Kisumu was founded as a trading post, with the name either from the local adhi kisuma 'I'm going to trade' or an Anglicised version of kusuma, the Maragoli word for 'trading'. Either way the name is true to its origins.

Eldoret is based on the Maasai phrase Ole Mpere N Tomito and means 'stony river'. This is the Sosiani, a tributary of the Nile.

Kikuyu is named after the Kikuyu people, they took their name from the Swahili Gikuyu meaning 'large sycamore tree'.

Kitui, a name also seen for Kitui County, comes from the many metalworkers who settled here before the Europeans arrived and describes 'a place where iron goods are made'.

Thika has two possible origins, either the Kikuyu word guthika 'to bury' and a reminder of two Maasai tribes who fought a great battle; or perhaps the Maasai sika or 'subbing something off the edge' and a topographical description.

Karuri derives its name from the main chief, the Karuri Wa Gakure.

Nyeri is where the British defeated the native Kikuyu warriors a little over a century ago. The Maasai warriors referred to this as Na-aier 'the little hill'.

Mumias is named after the King Nabongo Mumia, ruler of Wanga.

Ngong is the Maasai word for 'knuckles', a delightful reference to the four peaks of the overlooking ridge of land.

Litein is derived from the word liteito, a stone used for sharpening iron objects in the times before the Europeans arrived and showed the locals better ways of producing the casting.

Kericho may be from kerichek, a Kipsigis word meaning 'medicine' as this was where the first hospital was built by the British at the beginning of the 20th century. I say 'may' because this does sound rather stretching the truth.

Kakamega is a modern name, one apparently derived from a word meaning 'pinching', a description of the European settlers attempts to feed themselves the traditional maize meal dish without using cutlery. This does not seem overly likely.

Kapsabet comes from the local kap sabit or 'the place of life'.

Bungoma is from the Bukusu word engoma or 'drums'. This being the meeting place for Bukusu elders who would be summoned by the sound of the drums.

Webuye, possibly one of the best origins I have ever discovered, for it is named after a cobbler who once repaired shoes for the railway workers.

Note the spellings of the places are English as the piece is written in English.

Tools of the Historical Trade

Recent blog posts have covered the street names and occupational surnames which may or may not prove of interest to authors of historical stories. It occurred to me how it might prove useful to look at some of the tools and terminology used by those in those occupations. That many were used in agriculture comes as no surprise as the vast majority worked the land.

ARTIFICIAL LEECH – as it suggests this blood-letting tool of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries mimicked the natural blood sucker after which it was named. It resembled a bicycle pump with one end where rotating blades with cut into the patient’s flesh and enable the blood to be drawn into the tube.

ASTROLABE – a navigational aid and a remarkably intricate piece of equipment for its day – those from the seventeenth century particularly. Useless during the day, they showed position by lining the instrument up with the stars.

BREAST PLOUGH – an early implement and one with a most misleading name, it is really a broad spade with a broad handle which pressed against the body of the user which cut a narrow swathe across the field, removing the top layer of stubble, weeds, brushwood, etc. This was then burned slowly to produce an ash which was then spread back on the field as a fertiliser. The implement was certainly available by the end of the sixteenth century, and still used in the Cotswolds in the 1930s, although it would seem to be in use much earlier and could well have been seen before the Romans arrived. Note there many different names for this item depending upon location.

BURN-BAITING – the process of using a breast plough and burning that removed.

CHAFF CUTTER – a curved blade was employed to chop the stubble from the crops into smaller pieces. The stalks were enclosed in a rectangular box on legs, both ends of the box were missing so the chaff could be slid along to protrude from chaff box and sliced through. An experienced cutter could make fifteen cuts per minute, less able workers would doubtless have at least scars to show their ineptitude. Chaff was cut into smaller pieces to mix in with the animal feed to ensure nothing went to waste, left whole the creatures could leave this in favour of the tastier morsels. Various models existed from the most basic idea in the sixteenth century to spring-loaded versions by the middle of the nineteenth century.

CROSS STAFF – a navigational aid resembling a television aerial but with cross pieces of differing lengths. Held up to horizon in the direction of the sun or pole star would be a guide to the vessel’s latitude. Looking directly at the sun caused blindness in a number of users.

DENTCHERING – the process of using a breast plough.

EMMET-IRON – another name for a breast plough and common to the south east of England, so-named because it knocked down ant hills and emmet is an early name for the ant (and in current use as a Cornish word for a tourist).

GROZIER – glaziers used lead to hold the smaller panels of glass in a larger pane, the length of lead being trimmed with a grozier.

HUMMELLER – used to remove the beard from the barley after threshing, it resembled a rake but with longer tines and a second piece along the ends to form a grill. Combed through the barley it would remove the unwanted beard.

LATHERKIN – when glaziers used lead to hold together the various glass panes in a larger window, the malleable lead was smoothed out with a latherkin.

LEY – nothing to do with track ways or lines of energies, this ‘ley’ is an alternative northern term for a scythe.

MOUTH GAG – not what it seems, this late nineteenth century implement resembled a large wooden tapering thumb screw which would be placed in the patient’s mouth when they were under to keep the mouth and the airway open.

POSSER – an alternative name for the ‘dolly’ used on wash days. When clothes were washed in a copper boiler the only means of agitating the clothes was with a wooden post with a handle which was twisted by hand to rotate the clothes.

SALVING – salve is a mixture of butter and tar which, when rubbed on to the skin of the sheep in autumn protected them from pests and parasites through the winter when the long fleece provided a welcome home for them. The process ended when the sheep dip proved to be at least as effective at under a quarter of the cost.

SEED FIDDLER – a bag containing the seed to be sowed was suspended by a shoulder strap. A rotating disc allowed the seed to be distributed from beneath the bag and was sent spinning by a bow-like action back and forth by the operator, hence the name ‘fiddler’. Used by the nineteenth century.

SHAUL – a shallow scoop of wood, used for winnowing, While the chaff would be blown away in the breeze the heavier seeds would drop back into the shaul.

SPECULUM – any of various instruments used over many years and used to open any number of body cavities to give a better view. By the look of it they got the idea from the old shoe stretcher, or perhaps the reverse was the case.

TOBACCO SMOKE ENEMA – pretty obvious from the name what it is, but just why mini-bellows blowing smoke up the patient’s backside in the late eighteenth century was thought to help breathing problems is mystifying. Unless everyone in the eighteenth century talked through their ……. no, that can’t possibly have been the case.

TREPANNING – possibly still known as a medical treatment whereby holes are drilled in the skull to cure what were seen as problems caused by demons but were actually insanity, epilepsy, or simply a fractured skull.

I would welcome any suggestions for themes or subjects, or even specific words to examine the origins, meanings and etymologies. I’d be delighted to hear from you.