Mekatilili Wa Menza: Google doodle on legendary Kenyan activist against British rule

Google today remembers Mekatilili Wa Menza with a beautiful doodle. Mekatilili Wa Menza was a Kenyan female leader, who led the Giriama people in a rebellion against the British Colonial Administration and was politically active between 1912 and 1915.

Today on the Kenyan coast, the resilient legacy of Mekatilili Wa Menza is commemorated during the festivities of the traditional Malindi Cultural Festival, an annual celebration of local history and pride.

Mnyazi wa Menza was born in the Giriama village of Matsara wa Tsatsu in coastal Kenya during the mid-19th century, believed to be in 1840. By the early 20th century, British colonial rule had threatened the sovereignty and freedom of the Giriama people with forced labor and taxation. At a time when women’s power was limited within her society, Menza was compelled to organize her people against colonial control.

Mnyazi wa Menza became Mekatilili after the birth of her first son Katilili. The prefix 'me' in Mijikenda languages stands for 'mother of'. She is considered a prophetess among the Giriama. The Giriama people are a subgroup of Mijikenda peoples who inhabit the Kenyan coast; they had sacred dwelling places called kayas, located in forested areas, one of which the British Colonial Administration destroyed by dynamiting it in 1914.

Today revered as one of Kenya’s first Mau Maus (freedom fighters), Mekatilili Wa Menza travelled from village to village spreading messages of opposition, performing the ecstatic native dance of kifudu to draw large crowds and then unleashing her powerful oratory skills to garner support. Today’s Doodle artwork features a depiction of Mekatilili Wa Menza leading the energetic kifudu dance that called so many to action.

We are celebrating Mekatilili wa Menza, known for inspiring the Giriama people to resist colonial rule, one of Kenya’s first freedom fighters, circa 1900. Here she’s performing 'kifudu' to draw the crowds… ‘Shangwe’ #Shujaa #Mekatilili pic.twitter.com/Iex5SzrvAY

— Google in Africa (@googleafrica) August 8, 2020

Mekatilili Wa Menza’s leadership contributed to uprisings by the Giriama against the British in 1913 and 1914, and despite her multiple arrests and imprisonments, her campaign of resistance proved successful. The British ultimately relaxed control of the region, effectively granting the demands for which Menza and the Giriama had fought tirelessly for.

Menza died in the 1920s of natural causes and the Mekatilili Wa Menza Festival is held in her memory. Google today dedicates her a fascinating doodle to remember her and her contribution in her motherland rebellion against the British Colonial Administration.

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