Origin
The Embu are of Bantu origin. They are concentrated in the vicinity of Mount Kenya. Along with other Eastern Bantu groups such as the Kikuyu and Meru, the Embu are believed to have entered their present area of inhabitation from points further south, where they had settled early on after the initial Bantu expansion from West Africa.
The migration to Mount Kenya was perhaps due to conflicts there, such as slavery. It is believed that they migrated as far as the Kenyan Coast, since the Meru elders refer to Mpwa (aPwani or Coast) as their origin. The conflicts there, perhaps slave trade by Arabs, forced them to retreat northeast to the interior of Kenya, and they settled by the slopes of Mount Kenya. They were to refer to this location as the place of the Lord, the owner of the snow ("Nyaga") or ("Njeru" meaning white) — hence the name "Mwenenyaga" or "Mwenenjeru".
Embu mythology claims that the Embu people originated from Mbui Njeru in the interior of Embu, close to Runyenjes town. The mythology claims that God (Ngai) created Mwenendega and gave him a beautiful wife by the famous Mbui Njeru waterfall — hence her name "Ciurunji". The couple was blessed with wealth, and their descendants populated the rest of Embu.
Read more about this topic: Embu People
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