The Flame Trees of Thika

The Book of the Week is “The Flame Trees of Thika” by Elspeth Huxley, published in 1959.  This autobiographical account depicts the early 20th century lifestyle of adventurous light-skinned people from British Empire countries who chose to move to Thika, a town outside of Nairobi, Kenya. The author’s father was seeking to make a fortune in five years by starting a coffee plantation. The author, an only child, was five or six years old when her family moved from Great Britain.

The family hired a number of dark-skinned natives to help to build a new home, and perform household and farm-oriented chores as servants. The natives populating the area were mostly from the Kikuyu tribe. They believed spirits dwelled in particular inanimate objects such as the gramophone and paraffin lamps, and those spirits in the latter would obey only Europeans. Having no use for currency, they were paid in tin mugs and goats instead. Their sleeping quarters were built on stilts so that goats could sleep underneath them. Their windowless thatched huts were quite warm, as there was always a fire burning in them to ward off lice.

Other couples lived nearby– South Africans of Boer descent, and from Edinburgh, Scotland. The husband of the latter left to go poaching in the Belgian Congo. The wife was a former nurse who tried to provide medical treatment to the natives. Unfortunately, she had only Epsom salts for medicine. Malaria, bubonic plague, smallpox, yaws, parasites, typhoid, elephantiasis and blackwater were common. Several people whom the author met, died of various causes.  Another neighbor had brought along her two pet dogs, whose coats had daily to be covered in paraffin to protect against ticks, and whose food was boiled to kill worms.

Ponies and mules were used for transporting goods and traveling. The ponies had to be returned to a mosquito-proof stable before dark every day,  lest they contract horse sickness. The arrival of the neighbors’ piano and trophies warranted a surrounding house for the prevention of weevil infestation. After heavy rains, emergence of killer ants warranted that houses be surrounded by hot ashes.

Weeding was women’s work, which was done with continuous singing. Every day, the women (who were three times as productive as men) walked from their faraway homes to do the job, only to return to have to do numerous household chores, and give their entire pay to their fathers.

The ending of this volume hinted strongly that there was to be a sequel.

834 thoughts on “The Flame Trees of Thika”

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