Construction of the Kenol-Sagana-Marua dual carriageway had to stall the second time because of another fig tree near Sagana.
The fig tree, locally known as mugumo, is a sacred tree among the Agikuyu. The community conducts rituals under it.
As such, the road contractor had to seek the intervention of Kikuyu elders, who on Monday conducted a special religious ritual under the tree before it could be felled.
The Kirinyaga Council of Elders slaughtered three sheep, poured libation and went round the sacred tree several times, asking the Agikuyu god for permission to uproot it.
Elder Joseph Muriithi said prior to such events, all members involved in the cleansing ceremony are required to fast for seven days during which they are barred from seeing their wives.
During cleansing, they cross their fingers in the hope that their god will accept the sacrifice. Sometimes it is rejected.
“The first goat is roasted wholly under the shrine upon which the smoke is required to rise upwards and that confirms that Mwenenyaga (the Kikuyu god) has accepted our sacrifice. Should it not rise, then the shrine is not supposed to be cut down.”
On Monday, the sacrifice was accepted as smoke billowed steadily from the sacrifice through the leaves "into the unknown world" to appease the god.
The other two sheep were cooked and eaten by the priest and other council members officiating the ceremony. Any of the pieces that remain, including bones and other non-consumable parts, were burned to ashes on site.
Women and children were barred from approaching the shrine when the ceremony was ongoing.
Breaking the rules is a sacrilege that can lead to untold suffering and calamities in the community living around the shrine, Muiithi said.
He hailed the contractor for seeking help from the council to avert any impending danger due to the destruction of a religious shrine.
In May, a similar ceremony was conducted at the Kibingoti section before a mugumo tree was cut down to pave the way for the construction works.
Construction of the 84km Kenol-Sagana-Marua dual carriageway will be completed next year. The road will connect the Northern Corridor from Nairobi to the Lapsset Corridor in Isiolo.
