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

Multiple Choice Questions

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

2. How many women are Gikuyu men allowed to marry?
(a) Twenty-five.
(b) Twenty.
(c) Thirty.
(d) As many as they can support.

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

4. When does a man become a member of the Court of Elders?
(a) After two children are circumcised.
(b) After one child is circumcised.
(c) When he owns a house.
(d) When he marries.

5. How many types of spirituality are there among the Gikuyus?
(a) Four.
(b) Two.
(c) Three.
(d) One.

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

7. When the man has a hut suitable for his wife what happens?
(a) The bride is taken to his hut by his female relatives.
(b) He takes her to the hut himself.
(c) He builds the sacred fire in the middle of the hut.
(d) He begins furnishing it.

8. What is the first thing the Gikuyu do when they decide evil spirits have brought illness?
(a) Make a sacrifice to their god.
(b) Choose a night to fight the evil spirits.
(c) Pray to their god.
(d) Ask the medicine man for a spell.

9. How is the first stage of youth marked in the Gikuyu tribe?
(a) By painting the body.
(b) By piercing the navel.
(c) By piercing the outer ear.
(d) By shaving the head.

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

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

12. When do the Gikuyu make sacrifices to their god?
(a) Only in dire circumstances and when rain fails to fall.
(b) For a good harvest.
(c) For fertility.
(d) For good health.

13. How does a Gikuyu marriage come about?
(a) The marriages are arranged by Gikuyu elders.
(b) Men and women choose their own mates.
(c) The Gikuyu men choose their brides.
(d) The marriages are arranged by the parents.

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

15. How do the Gikuyu people finally kill the evil spirits?
(a) Burn them.
(b) Drown them.
(c) Suffocate them.
(d) Strangle them.

Short Answer Questions

1. What is the weapon of the Gikuyu God?

2. What does the boy do when he is accepted by the girl for marriage?

3. When can the Gikuyu people participate in the government?

4. When is the piercing of the child's lobe done?

5. What animal is sacrificed to the Gikuyu god?

(see the answer keys)

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