1. Who are the Mau Mau? (Source 1)
Answer: According to the article Mau Mau are the Rebellions that consist of a secret society formed from the Kikuyu tribe whose millions or so members live in the fertile highlands around Nairobi in East Africa.
2. What are the Mau Mau fighting for? (Source 1)
Answer: Mau Mau is fighting for land and freedom. They are trying to secure their eternal existence.
3. How would this portrayal from source 1 impact how others (e.g., Kenyans as well as the international community) perceive the Mau Mau rebellion?
Answer: Rebellion is the action or process of resisting authority, control, or convention. Mau Mau are a rebellious community because they were against the British Colony who were the rulers of Africa at that time for their rights and land.
4. Who are the Mau Mau? (Source 2)
Answer: They were called the Itoi (rebels), imaramari (terrorists), washenzi (primitive people), as we well as atavistic, cannibalistic, and beastly.
5. What are the Mau Mau fighting for? (Source 2)
Answer: For Africans land meant more than food and a house. Mau Mau was trying to secure their eternal existence. They were fighting for land and freedom.
6. How would this portrayal from source 2 impact how others (e.g., Kenyans as well as the international community) perceive the Mau Mau rebellion?
Answer: In the minds of the British, Mungai Africans knew of no freedom. They were fighting to return to a past of primitiveness, darkness, death, and evil. The British accused Mungai and his comrades of foolishly sacrificing their lives for death.
7. What misconceptions of The New York Times excerpt does this excerpt seek to address?
Answer: The first source, an excerpt from The New York Times considers the Mau Mau as an unjustified, violent terrorist group. It offers a Western, pro-colonialist perspective. In contrast, the second source, an excerpt from Koigi Wa Wamwere’s autography, is written by a Kenyan political activist and commentator concerning his uncle’s involvement in the Mau Mau rebellion.