Kikuyu Weddings : Paying The Kikuyu Bride Price / Dowry Or Ruracio

Paying the Kikuyu Bride Price / Dowry or Ruracio any time soon?  Of all Kikuyu Customs, no doubt paying the ruracio is one of those strictly kept pre – wedding  traditions of the Agikuyu.It is joked that God gave this part of Africa ten measures of insurmountable love for money and before he knew it,  nine measures were in the hands of the Agikuyu. Where the Kamba, the Maasai or even the Luhya were,is a story for another day.

Anyway, ten measures of parsimony, austerity and frugality followed and by the time he was through, the ten measures were evenly distributed among the Atiriri – chanting brethren. Whether that is true or not we know not. What we do know for sure is that sometimes imaginations run weird and wild when it comes to naming  the dowry or bride price among the Agikuyu, something which  customarily happens before the wedding can take place.

There is one known antidote to counteract this Kikuyu Wedding prerequisite : When going to negotiate the bride price or ruracio, ensure you have an experienced person in these matters who possesses impeccable bargaining/ negotiation skills. Better still for you if you have two or three such people with you on the day of paying  the ruracio!

Trust me, the Kikuyu are equally as good in bargaining as they are in losing one. So it all depends on whom you bring along with you and how well they are going to put your case across! And  then  the ” Werookaamu”,  that not so traditional kikuyu wedding song might after all be very near.

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