As we are celebrating Celtic Connections and its connections to cultures across the globe this month we thought we'd inform you on the history of Muratina.
According to Kikuyu tales, God, Ngai, created the first man Gikuyu and placed him at a place near Mount Kenya at a place called Mukurwe wa Gathaga (in present-day Muranga County).
He was lonely and he asked Ngai for a partner. Ngai gave him a woman called Mumbi and together they got 9 daughters. The clans of the Kikuyu are named after these daughters:
Wanjirũ was the mother to the Anjiru clan. Among the “ten” Gikuyu clans, the Anjiru clan have traditionally been associated with prophesy and strong medicine. They were and still are the great healers of the tribe as evident from modern Anjiru like the late Nobel Peace laureate Professor Wangari wa Maathai.
The company sign was inspired by the Anjiru clan symbol, and it resembles the symbol of wineskins that represents 'ms' bi-consonant in Egyptian hieroglyphics. A wineskin is an ancient container made of animal skin, usually, a goat used to transport liquids such as water, olive oil, milk, wine, butter or even cheese.
Ultimately, the Anjiru clan were formerly renowned as great warriors and medicine men. A medicine man was referred to as a 'Munjiru'.
The primary apparatus of a Munjiru was carried in a series of Goulds. The most important of all was the divination gourd (mwano). The gourds were decorated with a woven leather strap and use plant fibres for handles.; sealed with also a plant fibre lid (Almost like the picture below).
A Kikuyu folk tale says that "when you fall sick, go to a Munjiru as he always has something and a bit more".
Taking all this on board, Muratina has adopted the same approach as the Anjiru clan to deliver medicine in the form of refreshing alcoholic beverages to the tribes of the world and always offer something a bit more!!
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