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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What is the first stage of Gikuyu courtship?
(a) The boy and his friends visit the home of the girl.
(b) The boy sings outside the girl's hut in the evening.
(c) The boy sends gifts to the girl's hut.
(d) The boy asks the girl's father for her hand in marriage.

2. To what does Kenyatta attribute the rise of different religions?
(a) To the Gikuyus losing faith in their god.
(b) To the fact the Gikuyus were tired of their religion.
(c) To the economic distress in Gikuyu land.
(d) To the Europeans disregarding African religious beliefs

3. What is the Gikuyu word for courtship fondling?
(a) Gnwinko.
(b) Ngweko.
(c) Thingira.
(d) Nogwinka.

4. What musical instruments are used to chase away evil spirits?
(a) Magic sticks.
(b) Horns.
(c) Flutes,.
(d) Drums.

5. What is the school in the Gikuyu nation?
(a) The home.
(b) A special hut.
(c) The outdoors.
(d) Mt. Kenya.

6. For what did the Europeans condemn the Gikuyus?
(a) Polygamy.
(b) Magic.
(c) Circumcision.
(d) Medicine men.

7. What does the father teach his son about plants and roots?
(a) Which ones have magic power.
(b) The names and uses.
(c) Nothing.
(d) Which ones are poisonous.

8. What is a name of the Gikuyu God?
(a) Ngai.
(b) Baloo.
(c) Bogai.
(d) Lunai.

9. Where are the strips of the sacrificial animal buried ?
(a) By the river.
(b) In crossroads throughout the village.
(c) In the gardens.
(d) On Mount Kenya.

10. When is a man initiated into the council of peace?
(a) When a man has a child to be circumcised.
(b) When a man owns his own hut and land.
(c) When a man is 50 years old.
(d) When a man marries.

11. How many sheep are slaughtered for the marriage feast?
(a) Six.
(b) Seven.
(c) Four.
(d) Five.

12. In what manner is the sacrificial animal killed?
(a) Pierced with an arrow.
(b) Strangled.
(c) Hung.
(d) Throat cut.

13. What is done the day before the circumcision operation?
(a) The head is shaved.
(b) A bracelet with bells is put around the ankle.
(c) Feathers are put in the hair.
(d) The body is painted red and white.

14. What kind of games do the young Gikuyu play?
(a) Climbing trees.
(b) Hide and Go Seek.
(c) Singing songs.
(d) Pretend fighting and house.

15. When the boy is accepted in marriage, what do his parents do?
(a) They explain the duties of being a husband to their son.
(b) They thank their ancestors in prayer.
(c) They consult with the medicine man of the tribe.
(d) They visit the parents of the bride to be.

Short Answer Questions

1. At what age is a Gikuyu child circumcised?

2. What is the first thing the Gikuyu do when they decide evil spirits have brought illness?

3. What do the girls and their sponsors do in the hut on the day of circumcision?

4. What do the fathers teach their young sons?

5. What did the government of the Gikuyu become eventually?

(see the answer keys)

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