kymnjoro
Elder Lister
The first is a photo of Gen. Kariba and an unknown female freedom fighter after they were captured together in Mount Kenya forest in 1954.
Kariba was convicted and hanged in 1955.
The third pic is of an oathing ceremony at an unknown location at the height of the emergency.
Stories abound in central province about how physiologically freedom fighters' senses adapted after they started living in the forests. Life was different when they emerged, too.
For example, while living in the forest, some freedom fighters developed strong senses of smell and hearing.
When they reconnected with their families after independence, they had an unusually strong way of detecting even the least discernible of scents.
One former freedom fighter interviewed in 2004 said that they knew colonial troops were stalking them when they could detect the smell of cigarette smoke from deeper in the forest.
Some Mau Mau could also detect subtle sounds from a distance, especially at night.
Villagers concluded that the forest environment conditioned the freedom fighters’ senses. The fact that they maintained silence in the forest meant that their sense of hearing strengthened over time.
Also, we know of one ex-freedom fighter from Murang’a who emerged from the forest after independence unable to speak normally.
Till death, he could only speak in whispers. Locals reported that freedom fighters were used to speaking in whispers while in the forests. This, of course, was so their voices couldn't give them away. Owing to the time spent hiding in silence in the forests of the Aberdares, the mzee's vocal chords may have irreversibly adapted.
Freedom fighters also developed sharp eyesight in the darkness. Indeed, after they left the forests closer to independence, they had an uncanny stare, such as that of the fighter pictured 3rd from right in the last enclosed photo.
Have a starry-eyed week ahead, everyone.
Kariba was convicted and hanged in 1955.
The third pic is of an oathing ceremony at an unknown location at the height of the emergency.
Stories abound in central province about how physiologically freedom fighters' senses adapted after they started living in the forests. Life was different when they emerged, too.
For example, while living in the forest, some freedom fighters developed strong senses of smell and hearing.
When they reconnected with their families after independence, they had an unusually strong way of detecting even the least discernible of scents.
One former freedom fighter interviewed in 2004 said that they knew colonial troops were stalking them when they could detect the smell of cigarette smoke from deeper in the forest.
Some Mau Mau could also detect subtle sounds from a distance, especially at night.
Villagers concluded that the forest environment conditioned the freedom fighters’ senses. The fact that they maintained silence in the forest meant that their sense of hearing strengthened over time.
Also, we know of one ex-freedom fighter from Murang’a who emerged from the forest after independence unable to speak normally.
Till death, he could only speak in whispers. Locals reported that freedom fighters were used to speaking in whispers while in the forests. This, of course, was so their voices couldn't give them away. Owing to the time spent hiding in silence in the forests of the Aberdares, the mzee's vocal chords may have irreversibly adapted.
Freedom fighters also developed sharp eyesight in the darkness. Indeed, after they left the forests closer to independence, they had an uncanny stare, such as that of the fighter pictured 3rd from right in the last enclosed photo.
Have a starry-eyed week ahead, everyone.
