#HistoryKeThread: Sharpened Senses Of The Mau Mau
Here is a photo of Gen. Kariba and an unknown female freedom fighter after he was captured together in Mount Kenya forest in 1954.
Here is a photo of Gen. Kariba and an unknown female freedom fighter after he was captured together in Mount Kenya forest in 1954.
Kariba was convicted and hanged by colonial authorities in 1955.
This next 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.
The #MauMau could also detect subtle sounds from a distance, especially at night.
The #MauMau could also detect subtle sounds from a distance, especially at night.
Locals and kin concluded that the forest environment conditioned their senses. The fact that they maintained silence in the forest meant that their sense of hearing strengthened over time.
Also, one ex-freedom fighter from Murang’a who emerged from the forest after independence was 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 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 this fighter pictured here (3rd from right).
It could also be the reason why Field Marshal Mwariama appears to stare in the manner shown in this video (below) we posted in 2017, and which tweet we believe is our most retweeted ever.
After they were captured together*
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