title: Jacaranda mimosifolia

text: Jacaranda mimosifolia is a sub-tropical tree native to south-central South America that has been widely planted elsewhere because of its attractive and long-lasting violet-colored flowers. It is also known as the jacaranda, blue jacaranda, black poui, Nupur or fern tree. Older sources call it "J. acutifolia", but it is nowadays more usually classified as "J. mimosifolia". In scientific usage, the name "jacaranda" refers to the genus "Jacaranda", which has many other members, but in horticultural and everyday usage, it nearly always means the blue jacaranda.


title: Jacaranda mimosifolia

text: The tree grows to a height of up to . Its bark is thin and grey-brown, smooth when the tree is young but eventually becoming finely scaly. The twigs are slender and slightly zigzag; they are a light reddish-brown. The flowers are up to long, and are grouped in panicles. They appear in spring and early summer, and last for up to two months. They are followed by woody seed pods, about in diameter, which contain numerous flat, winged seeds. The blue jacaranda is cultivated for the sake of its large compound leaves, even in areas where it rarely blooms. The leaves are up to long and bi-pinnately compound, with leaflets little more than long. There is a white form available from nurseries.


title: Jacaranda mimosifolia

text: The unusually shaped, tough pods, which are across, are often gathered, cleaned and used to decorate Christmas trees and dried arrangements.


title: Jacaranda mimosifolia

text: The wood is pale grey to whitish, straight-grained, relatively soft and knot-free. It dries without difficulty and is often used in its green or wet state for turnery and bowl carving.


title: Jacaranda mimosifolia

text: "Jacaranda mimosifolia" is native to northwestern Argentina (Salta, Jujuy, and Catamarca provinces) and southern Bolivia. It is found in the Dry Chaco and flooded savannas, and in the Southern Andean Yungas of the eastern Andean piedmont and inter-Andean valleys, up to 2600 meters elevation. In its native range the tree is threatened by uncontrolled logging and clearing of land for agriculture, and is assessed as Vulnerable in the IUCN Red List.


title: Jacaranda mimosifolia

text: The taxonomic status of the blue jacaranda is unsettled. ITIS regards the older name, "J. acutifolia", as a synonym for "J. mimosifolia". However, some modern taxonomists maintain the distinction between these two species, regarding them as geographically distinct: "J. acutifolia" is endemic to Peru, while "J. mimosifolia" is native to Bolivia and Argentina. If this distinction is made, cultivated forms should be treated as "J. mimosifolia", since they are believed to derive from Argentine stock. Other synonyms for the blue jacaranda are "J. chelonia" and "J. ovalifolia". The blue jacaranda belongs to the section "Monolobos" of the genus "Jacaranda".


title: Jacaranda mimosifolia

text: The blue jacaranda has been cultivated in almost every part of the world where there is no risk of frost; established trees, however, tolerate brief spells of temperatures down to around . In the US, in areas where winter temperatures can dip to for several-hour periods, the mature tree survives with little or no visible damage. Even when young trees are damaged by a hard frost and suffer dieback, they will often rebound from the roots and grow in a shrub-like, multi-stemmed form. However, flowering and growth will be stunted if the jacaranda is grown directly on the California coast, where a lack of heat combined with cool ocean winds discourages flowering.


title: Jacaranda mimosifolia

text: The jacaranda is regarded as an invasive species in parts of South Africa and Queensland, Australia, where it can out-compete native species.


title: Jacaranda mimosifolia

text: Pretoria, the administrative capital of South Africa, is popularly and poetically known as Jacaranda City because of the large number of trees, which turn the city blue when they flower in spring. The jacaranda trees, far from their native Brazil, bloom every October. Water scarcity has South Africa trying to eradicate foreign species of plants and trees, including the jacaranda. Acknowledging the tree's popularity with locals, the government announced in the early 2000s that it would not remove the trees, but had banned the planting of new jacarandas. However this position softened by 2016, and they were again allowed to be planted in urban environments in a number of provinces, although the position of councils like Johannesburg remained uncertain.


title: Jacaranda mimosifolia

text: The city of Grafton on the north coast of New South Wales, Australia, is famous for its jacarandas. Each year in late October and early November, the city has a jacaranda festival.


title: Jacaranda mimosifolia

text: In the United States, the jacaranda is grown extensively in California, the Southwest, southeast Texas and Florida. Jacaranda can be found throughout most of Southern California, where they were imported by the horticulturalist Kate Sessions. They are also planted as far north as the San Francisco Bay Area and along the frost-free coastal regions of Northern California. In San Francisco, they can only be grown in the city's warmest microclimates, such as Potrero Hill and the Mission District. Phoenix, Arizona and San Diego, California are known for them. They also grow in Hawaii.


title: Jacaranda mimosifolia

text: In Europe the jacaranda is grown on the Mediterranean coast of Spain (it is prominent in the Valencian Community, the Balearic Islands and Andalusia, with especially large specimens present in Valencia, Alicante and Seville, and usually with earlier flowering than in the rest of Europe), in southern Portugal (notably in Lisbon), southern Italy (Naples and Cagliari have many mature specimens), southern Greece (especially Athens) and the islands of Malta and Cyprus. It was introduced to Cape Town by Baron, the legislative capital of South Africa; Johannesburg, the economic hub of South Africa; Lusaka, the capital of Zambia; Gaborone, the capital of Botswana; Nairobi, the capital of Kenya; Harare, the capital of Zimbabwe;Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal and Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, and Jharkhand states in India.


title: Jacaranda mimosifolia

text: The Australian Christmas song "Christmas Where The Gum Trees Grow" makes reference to jacaranda trees, as the blooms are only seen in summer time—as the song explains, "When the bloom of the jacaranda tree is here, Christmas time is near". The movie musical set in Colombia, "Encanto", references the plant in the song "What Else Can I Do". Isabela Madrigal explores her plant-summoning powers, she creates, and mentions by line, "a hurricane of jacarandas". The University of Queensland in Brisbane is particularly well known for its ornamental jacarandas, and a common maxim among students holds that the blooming of the jacarandas signals the time for serious study for end-of-year exams.


title: Jacaranda mimosifolia

text: In Argentina, writer Alejandro Dolina, in his book "Crónicas del Ángel Gris" ("Chronicles of the Gray Angel"), tells the legend of a massive "jacarandá" tree, planted in Plaza Flores in Buenos Aires, that was able to whistle tango songs on demand. María Elena Walsh dedicated her song "Canción del Jacarandá" to the tree. Miguel Brascó's folk song "Santafesino de veras" mentions the aroma of "jacarandá" as a defining feature of the littoral Santa Fe Province (along with the willows growing by the rivers).


title: Jacaranda mimosifolia

text: Purple panic is a term used by students in south-east Queensland for student stress during the period of late spring and early summer. The "purple" refers to the flowers of Jacaranda trees, which bloom at that time and have been extensively planted throughout that district. The "panic" refers to the need to be completing assignments and studying for final exams.


title: Jacaranda mimosifolia

text: Conversely, while the time of year the jacarandas bloom in Pretoria coincides with the year-end exams at the University of Pretoria, legend has it there that if a flower from a jacaranda drops on a student's head, the student will pass all their exams.


title: Château Frontenac

text: The Fairmont Le Château Frontenac, commonly referred to as the Château Frontenac, is a historic hotel in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. The hotel is situated in Old Quebec, within the historic district's Upper Town, on the southern side of Place d'Armes. The Château Frontenac was designed by Bruce Price, and was built by the Canadian Pacific Railway company. The hotel is managed by Fairmont Hotels and Resorts.


title: Château Frontenac

text: Opened in 1893, the Châteauesque-styled building has 18 floors; its height is augmented by the elevation it sits at. It is one of the first completed grand railway hotels, and was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1981. The hotel was expanded on three occasions, with the last major expansion taking place in 1993.


title: Château Frontenac

text: The Château Frontenac is situated on 1, rue des Carrières, at the eastern edge of Old Quebec's Upper Town, built on the promontory of Quebec, a raised mass of land that projects into the Saint Lawrence River. The hotel property is bounded by rue Saint Louis to the north, and rue Mont Carmel to the south. Terrasse Dufferin is a terrace that wraps around the hotel from the northeast to the southeast, overlooking the Saint Lawrence River. Two public roads run through the hotel, rue du Trésor, and rue des Carrières. The hotel building was designated as a National Historic Site of Canada, known as the Château Frontenac National Historic Site of Canada. The area was designated as a National Historic Site in January 1981.


title: Château Frontenac

text: Located near the edge of the promontory of Quebec, the Château Frontenac is situated near several major historic attractions within the historic district of Old Quebec's Upper Town. To the northeast of the hotel lies the Ursulines Monastery of Quebec, a 17th-century monastery founded by a missionary group of Ursuline nuns, and another National Historic Site of Canada. To the south of the hotel lies the Plains of Abraham, a historic area within The Battlefields Park, and the site of the Battle of the Plains of Abraham. Another major attraction south of the hotel is the Citadelle of Quebec, situated at the atop Cap Diamant, an elevated point of the promontory. The Citadelle serves as an active military installation for the Canadian Armed Forces, as well as a secondary official residence for the Canadian monarch and the Governor General of Canada. East of the hotel lies the Terrasse Dufferin, and Old Quebec's Lower Town directly below it.


title: Château Frontenac

text: The Château Frontenac was not the first hotel built on the site. The first hotel was built during the 1780s, and was known as the Château Haldimand, named after the Governor of Quebec who ordered the hotel's construction. That hotel was later demolished to make way for the present hotel.


title: Château Frontenac

text: The Château Frontenac is one of Canada's grand railway hotels built by the Canadian Pacific Railway. The Châteauesque architectural style used throughout the hotel would later serve as a template for other Canadian grand railway hotels erected in the late-19th to early-20th century. The central fortress-like tower design is derived from medieval and chateaux found throughout France's Loire Valley. Châteauesque elements include the hotel's asymmetrical profile, with steeply pitched roofs, massive circular and polygonal towers and turrets, ornate gables and dormers, and tall chimneys. The exterior base of the hotel is largely made of grey stone ashlar, with steel framing running up the building, Glenboig brick cladding. Materials that make up the interior of the building includes mahogany panelling, marble staircases, carved stone, wrought iron, and glass roundels. However, as opposed to the other Châteauesque-styled buildings found in France, the Château Frontenac did not utilize elements of Italianate architecture, instead placing a greater emphasis on Gothic elements. The hotel also draws certain elements from Victorian style of architecture, with rich polychromatic surfaces throughout its exterior.


title: Château Frontenac

text: Built in 1892–93, the Château Frontenac was originally designed by architect Bruce Price. Price's plan called for a horseshoe-shaped hotel, made up of four wings of unequal length, connected at obtuse angles. Public rooms made up the majority of the first two floors of Price's designs. The original proposal called for a square structure, however the completion of the Terrasse Dufferin led to the development for a more picturesque building. Since its completion, the hotel has undergone several major expansions and renovations led by several different architects and architectural firms. William Sutherland Maxwell led two major expansions to the hotel, one in 1908–09, and another in 1920–24 (co-led with his brother, Edward Maxwell). Renovations in the 1990s was led by the Arcop, an architectural firm based in Montreal. The hotel was again expanded in 1993, with the addition of a new wing.


title: Château Frontenac

text: Access to the hotel's main entrance is marked by several porte-cochère with large dormers and a cupola. The porte-cochère leads guests into the hotel's centre courtyard, as well as the entrance to the hotel's main lobby. The building stands , containing 18 floors primarily made up of guest rooms and other hotel amenities. After the addition of the tallest tower in 1924, the hotel became the tallest building in Quebec City. It remained the city's tallest building until 1930, when Édifice Price was completed just northwest of the hotel. Although several buildings in Quebec City are taller, the hotel continues to hold a prominent position in the city's skyline, as it is perched atop a tall cape overlooking the Saint Lawrence River.


title: Château Frontenac

text: The Château Frontenac includes 610 guest rooms and suites spread throughout the hotel building. Eight executive suites were renovated into specialty "themed rooms". Most of the suites are themed to the heads of state and government that have visited the hotel, such as the Trudeau-Trudeau Suite, named after two Canadian Prime Ministers, Pierre Elliott Trudeau, and Justin Trudeau. The Churchill Suite and Roosevelt Suite are two suites named after attendees of the First and Second Quebec Conferences, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and American President Franklin D. Roosevelt, respectively. Other suites themed in honour of world leaders include the Charles de Gaulle, named after the former President of France, and the Elizabeth II, named for the Queen of Canada.


title: Château Frontenac

text: Aside from world leaders, the hotel also offers suites themed to Alfred Hitchcock, a director who filmed much of "I Confess" at the hotel, and William Cornelius Van Horne, the second President of the Canadian Pacific Railway, and Celine Dion. The Celine Dion Heritage Suite utilizes an Art Deco style throughout the suite, decorated with images from Dion's family photographer.


title: Château Frontenac

text: A number of rooms at the Château Frontenac are also occupied by restaurants and other food-based services. As of 2018, three restaurants operate within the hotel: "1608 Wine and Cheese Bar", "Bistro Le Sam", and "Champlain". As a part of Fairmont Hotels and Resorts' larger "Bee Sustainable" program, the Château Frontenac hosts four queen honey bees in hives on the hotel's rooftop garden. The honey is harvested three times a year and is used by the hotel's restaurants. The hotel has nearly 70,000 honey bees producing of honey per year. The hotel's rooftop apiary also operates a pollinator hotel.


title: Château Frontenac

text: In the 1870s, a restoration project began in Quebec under the British governor general of Canada aimed at restoring the capital to its former 17th century look. One of the contributors to this project was Lord Dufferin, who supervised the construction of the old city wall and many public buildings that followed the theme of old, medieval, European Quebec. Dufferin also made a plan to reconstruct the Chateau Saint-Louis which was located on the cape where the Chateau Frontenac currently stands and served as the home of the French governors from 1620 to 1834. Dufferin's plan did not take off until the City Council and the Board of Trade adopted the idea and planned to instead construct a grand hotel on the site to attract upper-class tourism to the area, but after failing to finance its construction, businessmen from Toronto and Montreal with connections to the Canadian Pacific Railway took control of the project.


title: Château Frontenac

text: The Château Frontenac was completed in 1893, and was designed by American architect Bruce Price and overseen by William Van Horne, the Canadian Pacific Railway's general manager and a key developer of the Canadian railway hotel system. The hotel was a part of a series of Chateauesque-styled hotels built for the Canadian Pacific Railway company during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The last of the Canadian Pacific Railway's Chateauesque hotels was completed in 1908, leaving the rival company Grand Trunk Railway to continue the trend. The hotel was expanded in 1924 to designs by William Sutherland Maxwell. The 1924 expansion saw the addition of the hotel's central tower, which was built by Anglin-Norcross of Montreal. The hotel was named after Louis de Buade, Count of Frontenac, who was the Governor General of New France from 1672 to 1682, and again from 1689 to 1698.


title: Château Frontenac

text: The World War II Allies met during the First and Second Quebec Conference (in 1943 and 1944 respectively). During these conferences, officials including American President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and Canadian Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King, discussed strategy for World War II.


title: Château Frontenac

text: In 1953, this hotel was used as the filming location for the final scene in Alfred Hitchcock's film "I Confess", featuring Montgomery Clift and Anne Baxter.


title: Château Frontenac

text: In 1993, the hotel saw another expansion, with the addition of the new wing that included a pool, fitness centre, and outdoor terrace. On June 14, 1993, Canada Post issued 'Le Château Frontenac, Québec' designed by Kosta Tsetsekas, based on illustrations by Heather Price. The $C0.43 stamp features an image of the hotel building, and has a perforated edge and is 13.5mm square .Printed by Ashton-Potter Limited.


title: Château Frontenac

text: In 2001, the hotel was sold to Legacy REIT, which is partially owned by Fairmont, for $185 million. The hotel was renamed the Fairmont Le Château Frontenac in November 2001, shortly after Canadian Pacific Hotels reformed itself as Fairmont Hotels and Resorts, taking the name of an American company it acquired in 2001.


title: Château Frontenac

text: In 2011, the hotel was sold to Ivanhoé Cambridge. Shortly after acquiring the hotel, Ivanhoé Cambridge announced an investment of $9 million for the restoration of the building's masonry work, and the replacement of the building's copper roofs. The company further announced another $66 million investment for general improvements and renovations throughout the hotel. When the roof was being replaced, an image of the roof was printed on polypropylene safety netting and hung from scaffolding to hide the refurbishing project from view. The extensive renovation saw conference rooms expanded, restaurants remodeled, modernization of the lobby, and the gutting and rebuilding of three-fifths of the hotel's rooms. It was used for a location in the television crime drama series "La Faille"s second season, also known as "The Wall: The Chateau Murder" {2021).


title: Holden Commodore (VF)

text: The Holden Commodore (VF) is an executive car that was produced by Holden between June 2013 and October 2017. It was the second and last significantly restyled iteration of the fourth (and final) generation of the Holden Commodore to be manufactured in Australia. Its range included the sedan and station wagon variants that sold under the luxury Holden Calais (VF) nameplate. Also available was the commercial utility variant that sold under the Holden Ute (VF) nameplate.


title: Holden Commodore (VF)

text: From 2013 to 2017 an improved version of the Commodore SS V sedan was exported to the United States badged as the Chevrolet SS; an evolution of the badging practice used on the previous-generation Commodore that was sold in North America as the Pontiac G8 from 2008 to 2009, prior to the Pontiac brand being discontinued. Holden Special Vehicles (HSV) used the VF series as the basis of its performance Gen-F sedan, wagon and utility models, which were also exported to the United Kingdom rebadged as the Vauxhall VXR8 range.


title: Holden Commodore (VF)

text: The VF Commodore was built on an altered version of the Holden designed GM Zeta platform, first used in the VE Commodore. The VF was an evolution of the VE, with several visual changes. The VF featured new styling at the front and rear, with a more modern, sculpted appearance replacing the VE's simpler design. Changes included altered headlights, altered tail lamps (on sedans only), alterations to the plastic of the intake and grille and the use of a lip-spoiler instead of a rear wing on the performance models. The body shell, windows, doors, mirrors and roof were all carried over from the VE.<ref name="TMR wagon/ute"></ref> The wheelbase and track also remain unchanged.


title: Holden Commodore (VF)

text: The interior underwent major changes, with switches such as the boot lid release being relocated from the glovebox to the doors and the fitting of an electronic handbrake. All models were fitted with an eight-inch touch screen in the centre console, with keyless entry and auto-park assist also standard across all models. Other optional features included a head-up display on the windscreen, forward and rear collision warning systems, blind spot monitors and a lane departure warning system. The VF used an electric power steering system, rather than the hydraulic system used on previous Commodores, improving fuel economy at the expense of steering feel.<ref name="Gear/Steer"></ref>


title: Holden Commodore (VF)

text: The majority of the testing for the VF was completed in Australia but it was also driven in Germany, the Middle East, North America and Sweden. Show-car versions of the SS V and the Calais V were unveiled to the public on 10 February 2013, with the first pre-production models completed in April 2013.


title: Holden Commodore (VF)

text: Like its predecessor, the VF achieved five stars in the ANCAP safety ratings. On top of the ratings tests, the VF was found to have good whiplash protection for occupants, though pedestrian protection was classified as marginal, with the car scoring 15.41 of a possible 36 points in this area.


title: Holden Commodore (VF)

text: In May 2014, Holden recalled nearly 42,000 VF and WN Caprice models after a potential problem with the front seatbelts was identified. It was found that the pretensioner wiring harness for the seatbelts could make contact with part of the buckle assembly, leading to premature wearing of the wiring harness which could disable the pretensioner system in the event of an accident. The VF was recalled again a month later, when it was found that the drive gear for the windscreen wiper motor could fail. LPG models were recalled in July after it was identified that the feed hose could develop a slow leak at the end of the vehicle's lifetime, creating a (low) risk of fire.


title: Holden Commodore (VF)

text: The VF uses the same engines as the VE, with minor alterations to improve performance and fuel efficiency, while the automatic gearbox was redesigned to give more appropriate gear selections. The VE's E85 compatibility was carried forward to the VF V8 engines, and the V6 engine until it was dropped in the 2015MY. Fuel economy has also been improved by the use of aluminium body panels and components, leading to the VF being lighter than the VE, and the electric power steering system. The new styling has also improved the aerodynamic efficiency, with the coefficient of drag dropping from 0.33 to 0.30. As a result, fuel consumption has dropped by between three and eight percent depending on the engine and specification level. Starting with the VF II 2015, the 6.0-litre "L77" was replaced by the 6.2-litre "LS3". The VF II model also saw the discontinuation of the LPG versions of the Commodore.


title: Holden Commodore (VF)

text: The number of specification levels was reduced compared to the VE, with the Berlina (nameplate introduced in 1984) and Omega (introduced in 2006) dropped. Prices are A$5000 to $10,000 less than the previous VE models. Utility variants cost less than the corresponding sedan, while the wagon variants are more expensive.


title: Holden Commodore (VF)

text: Replacing both the Commodore Omega and Berlina (nameplates introduced in 2006 and 1984, respectively), the Evoke is the new entry-level nameplate as reflected by its range of engines, which included as standard the same 3.0-litre SIDI V6 engine fitted to the VE Commodore Omega, and the optional 3.6-litre LPG-powered V6, both available only with an automatic transmission. The central console display was increased in size from , featuring a single-CD player, compatibility with MP3 and iPod and mobile phone integration. The audio, navigation and mobile phone controls all feature voice recognition technology. Safety features include six airbags, traction control and ABS. The Evoke comes with 16-inch alloy wheels.


title: Holden Commodore (VF)

text: The SV6 utilises the larger 3.6-litre SIDI V6 engine and is available with both a manual and automatic transmission. The SV6 is also available with the 3.6 L LPG V6. The SV6 features a sportier body kit than the Evoke, with LED running lights, a lip spoiler, FE2 suspension and 18-inch alloy wheels. The interior fittings are sports seats with suede/leather trim, rear arm rest leather steering wheel and gear shift lever.


title: Holden Commodore (VF)

text: For the 2016 model year, Holden released a special edition called the "Black Edition". Available on SV6 and SS models, it featured the same mechanics as a standard SV6 and SS (3.6 V6 and 6.2 V8 respectively) but added extra features such as satellite navigation, heads-up display, red stitching and black detailing on the grill, side vents, and wheels.


title: Holden Commodore (VF)

text: The entry level SS has the same cosmetic features as the SV6, but is equipped with a higher performance V8 engine. From 2013 to 2014 model year, it was equipped with the 6.0-litre "L77" V8 engine, and from the 2015 VF II update onwards, it was equipped with the 6.2-litre "LS3" V8 engine, previously only used on HSV models. The mid-range SS V features include larger 19-inch wheels and front fog lights (in addition to LED DRLs). Inside the SS V gains leather seats, an enhanced instrument display, 8 way electric driver's seat satellite navigation system and a DVD player (DVD dropped from MY 2015). The top-end SS V Redline provides extra performance enhancement features over those of the SS V, with improved brake and suspension packages, extra collision sensors, launch control (manual) and a sunroof with Bose audio (on Sedan only).


title: Holden Commodore (VF)

text: Across all specifications, a manual transmission was no longer available on any SS models in the sportwagon body shape, as it had been in the VE series. Holden cited a lack of sales for manual sportwagon for this decision.


title: Holden Commodore (VF)

text: The Calais and Calais V are both available with the 3.6-litre V6 engine used in the SV6, and the 6.0-litre V8 engine is optional on Calais V with active fuel management AFM or DoD, running on four cylinders during low load conditions (6.2-litre V8 engine in VF II) used in the SS, SS V and SS V Redline. Both models are only available with an automatic transmission.(LSD Limited slip differential was optional in the Calais range with models using a 2.92 ratio for cruising). The Calais features premium styling with chrome highlights both inside and out, with leather seats and 18-inch wheels. Wheels fitted to VFI Calais V are 19-inch ten spoke machine finished wheels as standard. The Calais V uses the same satellite navigation system as the SS V, and includes text to voice messaging and voice activated call operation while driving. It also features heated front seats with 8 way electric adjust and position memory and four way manual adjustment to head rests, DVD player (until MY2015), head-up display rain sensing wipers, Park assist, side intrusion alert, lane departure warning, forward collision alert and self parking features. The Calais V sedan exclusively added a sunroof, 9-speaker Bose audio, and optional Light Titanium Leather seating. Suspension package was soft for comfort but still supportive while cornering with good reviews on handling.


title: Holden Commodore (VF)

text: There have been several limited edition Commodore models produced, available on a range of specification levels:


title: Holden Commodore (VF)

text: In September 2015, Holden introduced the MY16, Series II (VF II) upgrade to the Commodore. The biggest change is the addition of the larger, more powerful 6.2-litre and , "LS3" V8 engine across all current V8 models of the Commodore, Calais, Caprice and Ute. A Bimodal exhaust was fitted standard to the SS, SS V and Redline models and was optional on Calais V when the LS3 V8 was fitted. All wagon models got new LED taillights. As well as this, the front bumper and running lights were restyled, the gear ratios on the SS V Redline were altered, and the Redline's suspension tune was adjusted. For 2017 the SSV pack and Calais wagon were dropped from the range. SV6 models got HUD/GPS plus wheels previously used on "Black Edition". SS gained HUD/GPS and 19 inch Wheels. Redline and Calais V models gained chrome V Series door sill plates. Calais V also gained auto tinting rear view mirror and Calais lettering on the flanks of the car.


title: Holden Commodore (VF)

text: The enhanced performance VF range sold by Holden Special Vehicles (HSV) was marketed in Australia as the "Generation F" ("Gen-F") and it comprised the variants listed below. All body styles were exported to the United Kingdom where they were rebadged and sold as the Vauxhall VXR8 range.


title: Holden Commodore (VF)

text: The ClubSport is the entry-level sedan in the HSV range, based on Commodore SS. It is powered by a 6.2-litre "LS3" V8 engine, with power and torque figures of and . The ClubSport R8 (based on SSV/Redline) variant has a more powerful engine 325Kw (with SV enhanced option an extra of power and ) and minor visual changes compared to the standard ClubSport, including SV badges. The ClubSport R8 Tourer is the station wagon version. All ClubSport models feature 20-inch wheels and standard six-speed manual transmission or optional six-speed automatic.


title: Holden Commodore (VF)

text: In November 2014, as part of the MY15 update, the power was increased to for the base ClubSport and for the R8.


title: Holden Commodore (VF)

text: In July 2015, HSV launched the limited edition Clubsport R8 25th Anniversary to commemorate the nameplate. It did not benefit from any performance increases but only extra fitments that included forged alloy wheels and special badges and trims. Production totalled 108 units (eight of which for export to New Zealand).


title: Holden Commodore (VF)

text: The Gen-F GTS features a supercharged LSA V8 engine which provides of power and of torque. To assist with its cooling requirements, the GTS is fitted with a stacked plate engine oil cooler and a stand-alone water-to-air charge-air cooling system. Unique tail shafts cater for the higher torque loads and the rear differential helps transfer all of the power to ground. At the time of its release and still to date, the GTS was the most powerful car ever produced in Australia. Like the ClubSport, the GTS is available in both a six-speed manual and a six-speed automatic transmission and it also features 20-inch alloy wheels. Due to the increase in power the GTS has a larger brake package than the ClubSport, also for the sportier look a larger rear spoiler. The GTS is also equipped with generation 3 magnetic ride control or MRC. There are three modes for the MRC, tour, sport/performance and track. The GTS is equipped with a driver preference dial that has four modes to adjust the bi-model exhaust and MRC, these are Tour, Sport, Performance, Track.


title: Holden Commodore (VF)

text: The Maloo is a utility version of the ClubSport, with R8 and R8 SV models also available. A limited edition GTS Maloo was launched in November 2014, featuring the GTS sedan mechanicals except for its "Magnetic Ride Control" suspension.


title: Holden Commodore (VF)

text: The Gen-F Senator Signature has a more conservative exterior design than the ClubSport or GTS, but makes up for this by having all luxury fitments from the donor Holden Calais. It features the 6.2-litre "LS3" V8 engine, with power and torque figures of and , respectively. The Senator Signature is available with both a six-speed automatic or a six-speed manual transmission, it also features 20-inch forged alloy wheels.


title: Holden Commodore (VF)

text: In early 2015, HSV released 52 units of the limited edition Senator SV (Gen-F MY15) series, 50 were built for sale in Australia and two for New Zealand.


title: Holden Commodore (VF)

text: The VF Commodore was launched during a downwards trend in large car sales in Australia. Despite this, 2,827 cars were sold in the first month after its launch, a 17.8 percent increase over the corresponding month in 2012. Sales continued to be strong for the rest of 2013, with sales in the second half of the year up by 19 percent compared to the same period in 2012.


title: Holden Commodore (VF)

text: The VF series is the fifteenth and final Australian-made Commodore range since the introduction of this nameplate in 1978.


title: Holden Commodore (VF)

text: The VF Commodore sedan was sold in the United States as a performance vehicle under the name of Chevrolet SS. It was sized between the Malibu and the Impala in the Chevrolet lineup and also filled the void left behind by the Pontiac G8 (itself a rebadged VE Commodore), after the Pontiac brand was terminated in 2009. The SS went on sale as a 2014 model year vehicle in late 2013 and was Chevrolet's first rear-wheel drive V8 sedan available to the general public in eighteen years since the fourth-generation Chevrolet Caprice and the seventh-generation Impala SS. The vehicle was unveiled during Speedweeks in Daytona Beach, Florida, in February 2013.


title: Holden Commodore (VF)

text: The Chevrolet SS was powered by a 6.2-litre "LS3" V8 engine from the Chevrolet Corvette (C6), with power and torque outputs of and . The only available transmission for model year 2014 was a six-speed automatic that could be shifted manually using paddle shifters on the steering wheel.


title: Holden Commodore (VF)

text: Compared to the preceding Pontiac G8, the restyled SS featured a stiffer chassis for improved ride and handling thanks to greater use of medium to high-strength steels adopted for the updated VF Commodore. The addition of high-grade steels resulted in 30 pounds shaved off the core structure. Crash performance was also improved thanks to redesigned front rails and the electrical architecture was re-engineered from the ground up allowing for technologies such as head up display and active safety systems (e.g. blind spot monitors). These changes also saw the introduction of a redesigned dashboard and human interface, which had been the most visible change in the transition from VE to VF, aside from an exterior redesign.


title: Holden Commodore (VF)

text: The Chevrolet SS had an MSRP of US$44,470. There was a single, fully equipped specification level, with two optional extras: a sunroof and a full-size spare tire. The SS came with Chevrolet's MyLink system (including Bluetooth, Sirius XM Radio, and Pandora Radio features) and, like the VF Commodore, had auto-park assist, a blind-spot monitoring system, a lane departure warning system and electronic power steering. The SS was fitted with 19-inch wheels. On 7 June 2013 Holden began touting the VF Commodore and its ties to the Chevrolet SS in a series of new television commercials which were released online.


title: Holden Commodore (VF)

text: On 20 February 2013 GM announced that the Chevrolet SS would not be sold in Canada, despite having been previewed there days before the February 2013 Canadian International Auto Show in Toronto.


title: Holden Commodore (VF)

text: On 6 September 2013, Chevrolet announced that the number of Chevrolet SS vehicles are limited to selected Chevrolet dealerships based on their sales of the Corvette C7 and the SS's brother, the Camaro, claiming that the allocation might have more to do with production rather than supply and demand. Chevrolet projected about 2,000 to 3,000 vehicles a year instead of the much speculated 15,000 to 20,000 cited in the media.


title: Holden Commodore (VF)

text: On 30 July 2014, Chevrolet announced that the SS would become the first vehicle in the brand's lineup to feature an automatic parking assist system.


title: Holden Commodore (VF)

text: Chevrolet added the option of a manual transmission, standard Magnetic Ride Control (MRC) and OnStar's 4G LTE service to the 2015 model, which debuted at the Woodward Dream Cruise in August 2014.


title: Holden Commodore (VF)

text: For the 2016 model, Chevrolet announced that the SS would receive a facelifted front design revised LED lighting, dual mode exhaust system, a new "Slipstream Blue" paint colour (replacing "Perfect Blue" and "Alchemy Purple Metallic"), red Brembo brake calipers and an updated wheel design (with cast aluminum construction, as opposed to the forged aluminum wheels used previously).


title: Holden Commodore (VF)

text: For the 2017 model year, three exterior colours were removed ("Some Like It Hot Red" metallic, "Jungle Green" metallic, and "Mystic Green" metallic) and two colours were added: "Orange Blast" and "Nightfall Gray" Metallic. This was also the final year of the SS, as Chevrolet announced on 9 January 2017 that with the Commodore ending production in Australia there are no plans for a successor.


title: Holden Commodore (VF)

text: For marketing purposes, the VF Commodore is raced in various motorsport disciplines, however, the race cars generally have no physical or mechanical relationship with the production model, other than similar looks.


title: Holden Commodore (VF)

text: The program for the V8 Supercar version of the VF was headed up by Holden Motorsport technical manager Peter Harker, with the aero package designed by Triple Eight Race Engineering's Ludo Lacroix in conjunction with Doug Skinner from the Holden Racing Team. The VF Commodore race car prototype, fitted with VE Commodore body panels, ran for the first time on 13 October 2012 at Holden's Lang Lang Proving Ground as part of the series' aerodynamic validation. The homologated version of the VF Commodore V8 Supercar was first shown by Garry Rogers Motorsport on 11 February 2013; this was followed by an official unveiling by the Holden Racing Team at Holden's headquarters later in the day.


title: Holden Commodore (VF)

text: The VF was the first Holden model built to New Generation V8 Supercar regulations, a formula designed to decrease the cost of building and repairing cars. The V8 Supercar version features a 5-litre V8 engine, 18-inch control wheels, a specially designed aerodynamics kit, a polycarbonate windscreen as well as many category control parts. It was the first Holden V8 Supercar to feature an end-mounted rear wing since the VP Commodore in the 1990s. Only certain body panels are common between the road car and the V8 Supercar, as well as the headlights and tail lamps, with the rest of the components being custom made by each team.


title: Holden Commodore (VF)

text: The VF had a successful debut at the 2013 Clipsal 500, with Craig Lowndes and Shane van Gisbergen taking their cars to victory in the two races. Van Gisbergen also claimed both pole positions. The VF Commodore won twenty-eight of the thirty-six races in 2013, with Triple Eight Race Engineering, Tekno Autosports, Brad Jones Racing, Garry Rogers Motorsport and the Holden Racing Team all taking wins in the new Commodore. Holden secured the 2013 Manufacturers' Championship with fourteen races remaining in the season. Jamie Whincup won the championship in his Commodore, ahead of Triple Eight Race Engineering teammate Lowndes.


title: Holden Commodore (VF)

text: In 2015, the debut of Ford's FGX saw the domination of the VF come to an end with Mark Winterbottom driving for the then, Pepsi Max Crew, to his and the teams first Supercars Championship. Despite this, the VF did secure its first Bathurst 1000 win in the hands of Craig Lowndes and Steven Richards in their Red Bull Racing Australia VF Commodore. At the end of the 2015 season, the VF had already amassed 74 Supercars Championship race wins, with only its predecessor, the VE, having scored more race wins in the championship.


title: Holden Commodore (VF)

text: 2016 saw Red Bull Racing Australia return to their best winning the drivers and teams championship with new recruit Shane Van Gisburgen. In 2017, the team now known as the Red Bull Holden Racing Team, were severely challenged by Shell V Power's Scott McLaughlin who dominated the championship and was the favourite all year. Jamie Whincup, despite a lack of poles and wins compared to his rival, won the championship in the final race after McLaughlin was penalized for causing Whincup's teammate Craig Lowndes to hit the wall, breaking the front left suspension. Whincup won the championship in the VF Commodore and delivered its final race win in its last race which was Whincup's championship winning race.


title: Holden Commodore (VF)

text: A Chevrolet SS-branded car formerly competed in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, having made its debut during the Sprint Unlimited non-championship race in 2013. Kevin Harvick won the race in the car's first outing. It was one of the new Generation 6 vehicles, replacing the Car of Tomorrow. Jimmie Johnson gave the SS a winning debut at the 2013 Daytona 500 after Danica Patrick took pole in her SS. Like its Commodore counterpart in V8 Supercars, the SS won the NASCAR Sprint Cup manufacturers' championship with three rounds remaining. Johnson went on to win the title in his SS. In 2014, the SS again won the Sprint Cup Series championship this time being driven by Kevin Harvick. In 2016 Jimmie Johnson won the Sprint Cup Series championship in an SS for the seventh time, tying the all time record with Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt. For the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup season, the SS was replaced by the smaller Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, which is the brand's first coupe-based entry since the Monte Carlo was discontinued after the 2007 model year.


title: Holden Commodore (VF)

text: As part of the VF Commodore launch in Australia, two television commercials were produced. The 'Turns Heads. Changes Minds.' commercial demonstrated the vehicle's available head-up display and Automatic Parking Assist feature. The 'Think now. Think Tomorrow. Think Holden.' is centered around a patriotic support theme. In conjunction with the launch of the VF Series II, a brand new television commercial titled "Power Ahead".


title: 1964 United Kingdom general election

text: The 1964 United Kingdom general election was held on 15 October 1964, five years after the previous election, and thirteen years after the Conservative Party, first led by Winston Churchill, had regained power. It resulted in the Conservatives, led by the incumbent Prime Minister Alec Douglas-Home, narrowly losing to the Labour Party, led by Harold Wilson; Labour secured a parliamentary majority of four seats and ended its thirteen years in opposition. Wilson became (at the time) the youngest Prime Minister since Lord Rosebery in 1894. To date, this is also the most narrow majority obtained in the House of Commons with just 1 seat clearing labour for Majority Government.


title: 1964 United Kingdom general election

text: Both major parties had changed leadership in 1963. Following the sudden death of Hugh Gaitskell early in the year, Labour had chosen Harold Wilson (at the time, thought of as being on the party's centre-left), while Alec Douglas-Home (at the time the Earl of Home) had taken over as Conservative leader and Prime Minister in the autumn after Harold Macmillan announced his resignation. Douglas-Home shortly afterward disclaimed his peerage under the Peerage Act 1963 in order to lead the party from the Commons.


title: 1964 United Kingdom general election

text: Macmillan had led the Conservative government since January 1957. Despite initial popularity and a resounding election victory in 1959, he had become increasingly unpopular in the early 1960s, due tor rising unemployment and inflation during the recession of 1960–1961 and the United States' cancellation of the Skybolt program intended to provide Britain with an independent nuclear weapons delivery system after the cancellation of the Blue Streak project. Although Macmillan ended the latter crisis with the Nassau Agreement guaranteeing US assistance in the Polaris programme of submarine-launched ballistic missiles, this also indirectly harmed his reputation after French President Charles de Gaulle vetoed Britain's accession bid to the European Communities over his skepticism at the Anglo-American "Special Relationship."


title: 1964 United Kingdom general election

text: However, the Labour Party was temporarily divided due to the death of Gaitskell in 1963 and the subsequent leadership election. Although Wilson won this election against his opponents George Brown and James Callaghan, he was distrusted within the party because of his previous unsuccessful leadership challenge to Gaitskell in 1960. The party also suffered from internal policy disputes over unilateral nuclear disarmament and Clause IV of its constitution committing it to nationalization of industry.


title: 1964 United Kingdom general election

text: It was for a while thought likely that the Conservatives would win the scheduled 1964 general election, albeit with a reduced majority, but the emergence of the Profumo affair in March 1963 and Macmillan's handling of the matter all but destroyed the credibility of his government. While he survived a vote of no confidence in June 1963, polling indicated that the Conservatives would lose the next election heavily if Macmillan remained in power, which, along with health issues, caused Macmillan to announce his resignation in the autumn of 1963.


title: 1964 United Kingdom general election

text: Douglas-Home faced a difficult task in rebuilding the party's popularity with just a year elapsing between taking office and having to face a general election. Wilson had begun to try to tie the Labour Party to the growing confidence of Britain in the 1960s, asserting that the "white heat of revolution" would sweep away "restrictive practices ... on both sides of industry". The Liberal Party enjoyed a resurgence after a virtual wipeout in the 1950s, and doubled its share of the vote, primarily at the expense of the Conservatives. Although Labour did not increase its vote share significantly, the fall in support for the Conservatives led to Wilson securing an overall majority of four seats. This proved to be unworkable, and Wilson called a snap election in 1966.


title: 1964 United Kingdom general election

text: The pre-election campaign was prolonged, as Douglas-Home delayed calling a general election to give himself as much time as possible to improve the prospects of his party. The Labour Party indicated that it held high popular support by winning the 1964 London local elections. This led to speculation that the Conservative government would not call an election in 1964 despite constitutional precedent requiring it do so quinquennially in peacetime. However, Conservative leaders became more optimistic about their chances after winning three by-elections in Winchester, Bury St. Edmunds, and Devizes. The election campaign formally began on 25 September 1964 when Douglas-Home saw the Queen and asked for a dissolution of Parliament. The dissolution notably occurred without a formal royal prorogation and recall for the first time since 1922.


title: 1964 United Kingdom general election

text: The campaign was dominated by some of the more voluble characters of the political scene at the time. While George Brown, deputy leader of the Labour Party, toured the country making energetic speeches (and the occasional gaffe), Quintin Hogg was a leading spokesman for the Conservatives. The image of Hogg lashing out at a Wilson poster with his walking stick was one of the most striking of the campaign.


title: 1964 United Kingdom general election

text: The Labour Party campaigned on what historian Andrew Thorpe called "the basis of revisionism given a significant twist in the direction of Wilsonian planning, and a more "dirigiste" approach to industrial modernization." Party leaders also decided that they had lost the previous election because of their failure to come to terms with their failure to appeal to the middle class after its growth from the post–World War II economic expansion, and adjusted strategy accordingly.


title: 1964 United Kingdom general election

text: Labour called for greater co-ordination between state-run enterprises and repeated its past pledges for the renationalisation of the steel and road haulage industries privatised by past Conservative governments. However, it declared that it would not nationalise any further industries. It also promised expansions of social services, tax reform, and what would become the prices and incomes policy. In education it sought comprehensivisation of secondary education and a higher school-leaving age, while in immigration it sought both immigration quotas restricting future entry and equal rights for immigrants who had already arrived in the country. In foreign policy it pledged a re-evaluation of previous governments' foreign aid and alliances, increased British assertiveness at the United Nations, a build-up of the conventional components of the British Armed Forces, but did not promise unilateral nuclear disarmament and the dismantlement of the British nuclear arsenal as some left-wing members of the party desired. While early campaigning suggested that a Labour government would abandon the Polaris programme, Wilson quickly decided to avoid this topic altogether due to the continuing popularity of an independent British nuclear deterrent. Labour's platform of a "socialist foreign policy" also criticised the Conservative government for a scandal involving the British defense contractor Ferranti, the Aden Emergency, Cypriot intercommunal violence, escalating American involvement in the Vietnam War, arms sales to the apartheid regime of South Africa, and a contract to construct naval frigates for Francoist Spain.


title: 1964 United Kingdom general election

text: The Conservative Party suffered in the election because of Douglas-Home's unpopularity caused by his aristocratic background, his accession to the premiership without a formal election, his economic and trade policies, and the side-lining of popular Conservative leaders such as Enoch Powell and Iain Macleod. Even many Conservatives condemned him for the Resale Prices Act 1964 abolishing resale price maintenance. Douglas-Home's predecessor Macmillan described him to Queen Elizabeth II as "steel painted as wood." However, his campaigning did allow the Conservative Party's lag in the polls to narrow. The Conservative manifesto "Prosperity with a Purpose" pledged closer relations with the Atlantic world and the Commonwealth of Nations, development of nuclear power, industrial retraining, increased capital investment in British industry, and continued development of BAC TSR-2 supersonic fighter-bomber project. The Conservative campaign emphasised the party's diplomatic successes such as the Nassau Agreement, the Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, and the defense of Malaysia in the Borneo Confrontation. Although the Conservatives made limited appeals to new Caribbean, African, and South Asian immigrants by printing campaign literature in Hindi and Urdu, it defended the Commonwealth Immigrants Act 1962 restricting immigration of Commonwealth citizens.


title: 1964 United Kingdom general election

text: As in previous elections since its decline, the Liberal Party under Jo Grimond's leadership positioned itself as a non-socialist, individualist alternative to Labour. The two key domestic policy pledges in its manifesto "Think for Yourself, Vote Liberal" were reforms to improve the British healthcare system and devolution for Scotland and Wales. The Liberals also were distinguished by their internationalist foreign policy, becoming the first major party to endorse explicitly British membership in the European Economic Union. Supporters and leaders of the Liberal Party hoped for a breakthrough in 1964 which would re-establish it as a powerful force in British politics after its dramatic recovery from near-extinction in the 1950s and a surprise victory in the 1962 Orpington by-election, the party's first win outside the "Celtic fringe" of South West England, Wales, and Scotland in over a decade. However, by 1964 the Liberals lost much of their momentum by losing a series of by-elections and local elections, and faced growing financial difficulties.


title: 1964 United Kingdom general election

text: Many party speakers, especially at televised rallies, had to deal with hecklers; in particular Douglas-Home was treated very roughly at a meeting in Birmingham. Douglas-Home's speeches dealt with the future of the nuclear deterrent, while fears of Britain's relative decline in the world, reflected in chronic balance of payment problems, helped the Labour Party's case.


title: 1964 United Kingdom general election

text: By 1964, television had developed as a medium and played a much greater role than in previous British elections. It received more coverage from current affairs programs such as BBC1's "Panorama", Associated-Rediffusion's "This Week", and Granada Television's "World in Action" as well as political satire inspired by the success of "That Was the Week That Was". The election night was broadcast live by BBC Television, and was presented for the fifth and final time by Richard Dimbleby, with Robin Day, Ian Trethowan, Cliff Michelmore and David Butler.


title: 1964 United Kingdom general election

text: The Conservatives made a surprising recovery from being well behind Labour when Home become prime minister, and would have won if 900 voters in eight seats had changed votes. Labour won a very slim majority of four seats, forming a government for the first time since 1951. Labour achieved a swing of just over 3%, although its vote rose by only 0.3% and achieved a lesser number of votes than in its previous defeats of 1955 and 1959. The main shift was the swing from the Conservatives to the Liberals of 5.7%. The Liberals defied popular expectations of a net loss and won nearly twice as many votes as in 1959, partly because they had 150 more candidates. Although this was the Liberals' best electoral performance since the 1929 general election and left it in a key parliamentary position due to Labour's slender majority, it failed to achieve the desired breakthrough returning the party to its pre-World War II status. Wilson became Prime Minister, replacing Douglas-Home. The four-seat majority was not sustainable for a full Parliament, and Wilson called another general election in 1966. In particular the small majority meant the government could not implement its policy of nationalising the steel industry, due to the opposition of two of its backbenchers, Woodrow Wyatt and Desmond Donnelly.


title: 1964 United Kingdom general election

text: 89 female candidates stood in the election with 29 women being elected as MPs (11 for the Conservatives and 18 for Labour).


title: 1964 United Kingdom general election

text: This was the only election in Britain's recent history when all seats were won by the three main parties: no minor parties, independents or splinter groups won any seats. It is also the only time both Labour and the Conservatives have taken over 300 seats each and was the last election in which one party, namely the Conservative Party, contested every single seat. The Conservatives had previously held off on contesting certain Liberal-held seats as per local-level agreements to avoid vote-splitting, but ended that policy at this election. The resultant splitting of votes actually helped grant Labour a majority, by throwing two formerly Liberal-held seats in northern England to Labour; however, the outcome of the election would not have been meaningfully altered had the Liberals retained the seats, as Labour would still have had as many seats as the other two parties combined, and Liberal leader Jo Grimond was not inclined to prop up a minority Conservative government.


title: 1964 United Kingdom general election

text: Home told D. R. Thorpe that the most important reason for the Conservative loss was Iain Macleod's "The Tory Leadership" article, in which the former cabinet minister claimed that an Etonian "magic circle" conspiracy had led to Home becoming prime minister. British Ambassador to the United States David Ormsby-Gore wrote to Home that "Almost anything could have tipped the balance. Khrushchev’s removal from office twelve hours earlier, China’s nuclear explosion thirty-six hours earlier or just Rab [Butler] keeping his mouth shut for once." David Butler and Donald E. Stokes's influential 1969 British Election Study report "Political Change in Britain" attributed the Labour victory to Wilson's greater popularity than Home and the party's appeal to younger voters. After British elections in the 1980s and the 1990s challenged many of the assumptions of Butler and Stokes's model, the BES issued a second 2001 report by political scientists from the University of Texas and the University of Essex emphasizing the role of valence politics over public perception of party performance.


title: 1964 United Kingdom general election

text: Working-class voters also selected Labour in greater numbers than in the previous election due in part to the weakening of the postwar boom which had popularized the Conservatives in the 1950s, although the Conservatives attracted a greater number of female voters than before. The Conservatives tried attract working-class voters by improving the party's relationships with trade union movement in the 1960s through the Conservative Trade Union Councils at the party level and the new National Economic Development Council at the governmental level. However, their outreach had been weakened by the "Rookes v Barnard" decision allowing employers to collect punitive damages from strike actions and Home's tough approach to industrial relations. As a result, the trade unions heavily supported Labour in the election and encouraged working-class support of the party. As much as 85 percent of Labour's election spending consisted of funds raised by trade unions. Aggregate data analyses of the results demonstrate higher turnout in constituencies dominated by the professional–managerial class, agricultural workers, council tenants, voters without automobiles, and the elderly. On the other hand, Labour's poorer performance in central and southern England and loss of five seats in that area indicated an increasing white working-class backlash against nonwhite immigration. The most notable example was the Smethwick contest where the racist Conservative candidate Peter Griffiths unseated Shadow Foreign Secretary Patrick Gordon Walker.


title: Kikuyu people

text: The Kikuyu (also "Agĩkũyũ/Gĩkũyũ") are a Bantu ethnic group native to Central Kenya. At a population of 8,148,668 as of 2019, they account for 17.13% of the total population of Kenya, making them the largest ethnic group in Kenya.


title: Kikuyu people

text: The term "Kikuyu" is derived from the Swahili form of the word Gĩkũyũ. is derived from the word mũkũyũ which means sycamore fig ("mũkũyũ") tree". Hence "Agĩkũyũ" in the Kikuyu language translates to "Children Of The Big Sycamore". The alternative name "Nyũmba ya Mũmbi", which encompasses "Embu", "Gikuyu", and "Meru", translates to "House of the Potter" (or "Creator").


title: Kikuyu people

text: The Kikuyu belong to the Northeastern Bantu branch. Their language is most closely related to that of the Embu and Mbeere. Geographically, they are concentrated in the vicinity of Mount Kenya.


title: Kikuyu people

text: The exact place that the Northeast Bantu speakers migrated from after the initial Bantu expansion is uncertain. Some authorities suggest that the Kikuyu arrived in their present Mount Kenya area of habitation from earlier settlements further to the north and east, while others argue that the Kikuyu, along with their closely related Eastern Bantu neighbors the Embu, Meru, Mbeere, and Kamba moved into Kenya from points further north.


title: Kikuyu people

text: From archaeological evidence, their arrival at the northern side of Mt. Kenya dates to around the 3rd century, as part of the larger group known as Thagicu. By the 6th century, there was a community of Agikuyu newly established at Gatung'ang'a in Nyeri. The Agikuyu established themselves in their current homeland of Mt. Kenya region by the 13th century.


title: Kikuyu people

text: Before the establishment of East Africa Protectorate in 1895, the Agĩkũyũ preserved geographic and political power from almost all external influence for many generations; they had never been subdued. Before the arrival of the British, Arabs involved in slave trading and their caravans passed at the southern edges of the Agĩkũyũ nation. Slavery as an institution did not exist amongst the Agĩkũyũ, nor did they make raids for the capture of slaves. The Arabs who tried to venture into Agĩkũyũ land met instant death. Relying on a combination of land purchases, blood-brotherhood (partnerships), intermarriage with other people, and their adoption and absorption, the Agĩkũyũ were in a constant state of territorial expansion. Economically, the Agĩkũyũ were great farmers and shrewd businesspeople. Besides farming and business, the Agĩkũyũ were involved in small scale industries with professions such as bridge building, string making, wire drawing, and iron chain making. The Agĩkũyũ had a great sense of justice ("kĩhooto").


title: Kikuyu people

text: The Agĩkũyũ nation was divided into nine clans. Each clan traced its lineage to a single "female ancestor" and a daughter of Mumbi. The clans were not restricted to any particular geographical area, they lived side by side. Some clans had a recognised leader, others did not. However, in either case, real political power was exercised by the ruling council of elders for each clan. Each clan then forwarded the leader of its council to the apex council of elders for the whole community. The overall council of elders representing all the clans was then led by a "headman" or the nation's spokesman.


title: Kikuyu people

text: The Gĩkũyũ were – and still are – monotheists believing in an omnipotent Creator whom they refer to as Ngai. All of the Gĩkũyũ, Embu, and Kamba use this name. Ngai was also known as Mũrungu by the Meru and Embu tribes, or Mũlungu (a variant of a word referring to the Creator). The title Mwathani or Mwathi (the greatest ruler) comes from the word "gwatha" meaning to rule or reign with authority, was and is still used. All sacrifices to Ngai were performed under a sycamore tree (Mũkũyũ) and if one was not available, a fig tree (Mũgumo) would be used. The olive tree (Mũtamaiyũ) was a sacred tree for women.


title: Kikuyu people

text: "Ngai" or "Mwene-Nyaga" is the Supreme Creator and giver of all things. He created the first Gĩkũyũ communities, and provided them with all the resources necessary for life: land, rain, plants, and animals. Ngai cannot be seen but is manifested in the sun, moon, stars, comets and meteors, thunder and lightning, rain, rainbows, and in the great fig trees (Mugumo). These trees served as places of worship and sacrifice and marked the spot at Mũkũrũe wa Gathanga where Gĩkũyũ and Mũmbi – the ancestors of the Gĩkũyũ in the oral legend – first settled. Ngai has human characteristics, and although some say that he lives in the sky or in the clouds, Gĩkũyũ lore also says that Ngai comes to earth from time to time to inspect it, bestow blessings, and mete out punishment. When he comes, Ngai rests on Mount Kenya (Kīrīnyaga) and Kilimambogo (kĩrĩma kĩa njahĩ). Thunder is interpreted to be the movement of Ngai and lightning is the weapon used by Ngai to clear the way when moving from one sacred place to another. Some people believe that Ngai's abode is on Mount Kenya. In one legend Ngai made the mountain his resting place while on an inspection tour of earth. Ngai then took the first man, Gikuyu, to the top to point out the beauty of the land he was giving him.


title: Kikuyu people

text: The cardinal points in this Traditional Gĩkũyũ Religion Philosophy were squarely based on the general Bantu peoples thought as follows:


title: Kikuyu people

text: The Gĩkũyũ held a belief in the interconnection of everything in the universe. To the Gĩkũyũ people, everything we see has an inner spiritual force and the most sacred though unspoken ontology was being is force. This spiritual vital force originated from God, who had the power to create or destroy that life force. To the Gĩkũyũ people, God was the supreme being in the universe and the giver (Mũgai/Ngai) of this life force to everything that exists. Gĩkũyũ people also believed that everything God created had a vital inner force and a connection bond to Him by the mere fact that he created that thing and gave it that inner force that makes it be and be manifested physically. To the Agĩkũyũ, God had this life force within himself hence He was the ultimate owner and ruler of everything in the universe. The latter was the ultimate conception of God among the Gĩkũyũ people hence the name Mũgai/Ngai. To the Gĩkũyũ people, those who possessed the greatest life force, those closest to God were the first parents created by God because God directly gave them the vital living force. These first parents were so respected to be treated almost like God himself. These were followed by the ancestors of the people who inherited life force from the first parents, then followed by the immediate dead and finally the eldest in the community. Hence when people wanted to offer sacrifices, the eldest in the community would perform the rites. Children in the community had a link to God through their parents and that chain would move upwards to parent parents, ancestors, first created parents until it reaches God Himself. The Gĩkũyũ people believed the departed spirits of the ancestors can be reborn again in this world when children are being born, hence the rites performed during the child naming ceremonies. The Gĩkũyũ people believed the vital life force or soul of a person can be increased or diminished, thereby affecting the person's health. They also believed that some people possessed power to manipulate the inner force in all things. These people who increased the well being of a person spirit were called medicine-men (Mũgo) while those who diminished the person's life force were called witchdoctors (Mũrogi). They also believed that ordinary items can have their spiritual powers increased such that they protect a person against those bent on diminishing a person vital life force. Such an item with such powers was called "gĩthitũ". Thus, the philosophy of the Gĩkũyũ religion and life, in general, was anchored on the understanding that everything in the universe has an inner interlinked force that we do not see. God among the Gĩkũyũ people was understood hence to be the owner and distributor (Mũgai) of this inner life force in all things and He was worshiped and praised to either increase the life force of all things (farm produce, cattle, children) the Gĩkũyũ people possessed and minimize events that led to catastrophes that would diminish the life force of the people or lead to death. The leader of the Gĩkũyũ people was the person who was thought to possess the greatest life force among the people or the person who had demonstrated the greatest life force in taking care of the people, their families, their farm produce, their cattle and their land. This person was hence thought to be closer to God than anybody else living in that nation. The said person also had to demonstrate and practice the highest levels of truth ("maa") and justice ("kihooto"), just like the supreme God of the Gĩkũyũ people would do.


title: Kikuyu people

text: Further, time was recorded through the initiation by circumcision. Each initiation group was given a special name. According to Professor Godfrey Mũriũki, the individual initiation sets are then grouped into a regiment every nine calendar years. Before a regiment or army was set, there was a period in which no initiation of boys took place. This period lasted a total of four and a half calendar years (nine seasons in Gĩkũyũ land, each season referred to as "imera") and is referred to as "mũhingo", with initiation taking place at the start of the fifth year and going on annually for the next nine calendar years. This was the system adopted in Metumi Murang'a. The regiment or army sets also get special names, some of which seem to have ended up as popular male names. In Gaki Nyeri the system was inversed with initiation taking place annually for four calendar years, which would be followed by a period of nine calendar years in which no initiation of boys took place ("mũhingo"). Girls, on the other hand, were initiated every year. Several regiments then make up a ruling generation. It was estimated that ruling generations lasted an average of 35 years. The names of the initiation and regiment sets vary within Gĩkũyũ land. The ruling generations are however uniform and provide very important chronological data. On top of that, the initiation sets were a way of documenting events within the Gĩkũyũ nation, so, for example, were the occurrence of smallpox and syphilis recorded. Girls' initiation sets were also accorded special names, although there has been little research in this area. Mũriũki only unearths three sets, whose names are, "Rũharo" [1894], "Kibiri/Ndũrĩrĩ" [1895], "Kagica" [1896], "Ndutu/Nuthi" [1897]. All these names are taken from Metumi (Mũrang'a) and Kabete Kĩambu.


title: Kikuyu people

text: Mathew Njoroge Kabetũ's list reads, "Tene", "Kĩyĩ", "Aagu", "Ciĩra", "Mathathi", "Ndemi", "Iregi", "Maina" ("Ngotho"), "Mwangi". Gakaara wa Wanjaũ's list reads "Tene", "Nema Thĩ", "Kariraũ", "Aagu", "Tiru", "Cuma", "Ciira", "Ndemi", "Mathathi", "Iregi", "Maina", "Mwangi", "Irũngũ", "Mwangi wa Mandũti". The last two generations came after 1900. One of the earliest recorded lists by McGregor reads (list taken from a history of unchanged) "Manjiri", "Mandũti", "Chiera", "Masai", "Mathathi", "Ndemi", "Iregi", "Maina", "Mwangi", "Mũirũngũ". According to Hobley (a historian) each initiation generation, "riika", extended over two years. The ruling generation at the arrival of the Europeans was called "Maina". It is said that "Maina" handed over to "Mwangi" in 1898. Hobley asserts that the following sets were grouped under "Maina" – "Kĩnũthia", "Karanja", "Njũgũna", "Kĩnyanjui", "Gathuru" and "Ng'ang'a". Professor Mũriũki however puts these sets much earlier, namely "Karanja" and "Kĩnũthia" belong to the "Ciira" ruling generation which ruled from the year 1722 to 1756, give or take 25 years, according to "Mũriũki". "Njũgũna", "Kĩnyanjui", "Ng'ang'a" belong to the "Mathathi" ruling generation that ruled from 1757 to 1791, give or take 20 years, according to Mũriũki.


title: Kikuyu people

text: Professor Mũriũki's list must be given precedence in this area as he conducted extensive research in this area starting 1969, and had the benefit of all earlier literature on the subject as well as doing extensive field work in the areas of Gaki (Nyeri), Metumi (Mũrang'a) and Kabete (Kĩambu). On top of the ruling generations, he also gives names of the regiments or army sets from 1659 [within a margin of error] and the names of annual initiation sets beginning 1864. The list from Metumi (Mũrang'a) is most complete and differentiated.


title: Kikuyu people

text: Mũriũki's is also the most systematically defined list so far. Most of the most popular male names in Gĩkũyũ land were names of "riikas" (initiation sets). Here is Mũriũki's list of the names of regiment sets in Metumi (Mũrang'a): "Kiariĩ" (1665–1673), "Cege" (1678–1678), "Kamau" (1704–1712), "Kĩmani" (1717–1725), "Karanja" (1730–1738), "Kĩnũthia" (1743–1751), "Njũgũna" (1756–1764), "Kĩnyanjui" (1769–1777), "Ng'ang'a" (1781–1789), "Njoroge" (1794–1802), "Wainaina" (1807–1815), "Kang'ethe" (1820–1828), "Mbũgua" (1859–1867), "Njenga" or "Mbĩra Itimũ" (1872–1880), "Mũtũng'ũ" or "Mbũrũ" (1885–1893).


title: Kikuyu people

text: H.E. Lambert, who dealt with the "riikas" extensively, has the following list of regiment sets from Gichũgũ and Ndia. (It should be remembered that this names were unlike ruling generations not uniform in Gĩkũyũ land. It should also be noted that Ndia and Gachũgũ followed a system where initiation took place every annually for four years and then a period of nine calendar years followed where no initiation of boys took place. This period was referred to as "mũhingo".) "Karanja" (1759–1762), "Kĩnũthia" (1772–1775), "Ndũrĩrĩ" (1785–1788), "Mũgacho" (1798–1801), "Njoroge" (1811–1814), "Kang'ethe" (1824–1827), "Gitaũ" (1837–1840), "Manyaki" (1850–1853), "Kiambũthi" (1863–1866), "Watuke" (1876–1879), "Ngũgĩ" (1889–1892), "Wakanene" (1902–1905).


title: Kikuyu people

text: The remarkable thing in this list in comparison to the Metumi one is how some of the same names are used, if a bit offset. Ndia and Gachũgũ are extremely far from Metumi. Gaki on the other hand, as far as my geographical understanding of Gĩkũyũ land is concerned should be much closer to Metumi, yet virtually no names of regiment sets are shared. It should however be noted that Gaki had a strong connection to the Maasai living nearby.


title: Kikuyu people

text: The ruling generation names of Maina and Mwangi are also very popular male Gĩkũyũ names. The theory is also that "Waciira" is also derived from "ciira" (case), which is also a very popular masculine name among the Agĩkũyũ. This would call into question, when it was exactly that children started being named after the parents of one's parents. Had that system, of naming one's children after one's parents been there from the beginning, there would be very few male names in circulation. This is however not the case, as there are very many Gĩkũyũ male names. One theory is that the female names are much less, with the names of the full-nine daughters of Mũmbi being most prevalent.


title: Kikuyu people

text: "Hingo ĩyo ciana cia arũme ciatuagwo marĩĩtwa ma mariika ta Watene, Cuma, Iregi kana Ciira. Nao airĩĩtu magatuuo marĩĩtwa ma mĩhĩrĩga tauria hagwetetwo nah au kabere, o nginya hingo iria maundu maatabariirwo thuuthaini ati ciana ituagwo aciari a mwanake na a muirĩĩtu."


title: Kikuyu people

text: Freely translated it means "In those days the male children were given the names of the riika (initiation set) like Watene, Cuma, Iregi, or Ciira. Girls were on the other hand named after the clans that were named earlier until such a time as it was decided to name the children after the parents of the man and the woman." From this statement it is not clear whether the girls were named ad hoc after any clan, no matter what clan the parents belonged to. Naming them after the specific clan that the parents belonged to would have severely restricted naming options.


title: Kikuyu people

text: This would strangely mean that the female names are the oldest in Gĩkũyũ land, further confirming its matrilineal descent. As far as male names are concerned, there is of course the chicken and the egg question, of when a name specifically appeared but some names are tied to events that happened during the initiation. For example, Wainaina refers to those who shivered during circumcision. Kũinaina (to shake or to shiver).


title: Kikuyu people

text: There was a very important ceremony known as Ituĩka in which the old guard would hand over the reins of government to the next generation. This was to avoid dictatorship. Kenyatta related how once, in the land of the Agĩkũyũ, there ruled a despotic King called Gĩkũyũ, grandson of the elder daughter (Wanjirũ according to Leakey) of the original Gĩkũyũ of Gĩkũyũ and Mũmbi fame. After he was deposed, it was decided that the government should be democratic, which is how the Ituĩka came to be. This legend of course calls into question exactly when it was that the matrilineal rule set in. The last Ituĩka ceremony, where the riika of Maina handed over power to the Mwangi generation, took place in 1898-9. The next one was supposed to be held in 1925–1928 [Kenyatta] but was thwarted by the colonial imperialist government and one by one Gĩkũyũ institutions crumbled.


title: Kikuyu people

text: The ruling generations, the rĩĩka system can be traced back to the year 1500 AD or thereabouts. These were:


title: Kikuyu people

text: The last Ituĩka ceremony where the rĩĩka of Maina handed over power to the Mwangi generation, took place in 1898–1899. The next one was supposed to be held in 1925–1928 but was thwarted by the colonial government. The traditional symbols of power among the Agikuyu nation is the Muthĩgi (Stick) which signifies power to lead and the Itimũ (Spear) signifying power to call people to war.


title: Kikuyu people

text: The traditional way of life of Agikuyu was disrupted when they came into contact with the British around 1888. British explorers had visited the region prior the "Scramble for Africa", and now various individuals moved to establish a colony in the region, noting the abundant and fertile farmland. Although initially non-hostile, relationships between the Agikuyu and the Europeans soon turned violent: Waiyaki Wa Hinga, a leader of the southern Agikuyu, who ruled Dagoretti who had signed a treaty with Frederick Lugard of the British East Africa Company (BEAC) burned down Lugard's fort in 1890. Waiyaki was captured two years later by the company and buried alive in revenge.


title: Kikuyu people

text: Following severe financial difficulties of the British East Africa Company, the British government on 1 July 1895 established direct Crown rule through the East African Protectorate, subsequently opening in 1902 the fertile highlands to European emigrants. The Agikuyu, upset at the waves of emigrants, enforced a policy of killing any of their own that collaborated with the colonial government. When disputes with white settlers and the Agikuyu became violent (usually over land issues), the settlers would employ Maasai tribesmen together with some colonial troops to carry out their fighting for them. The Maasai had historically negative relations with the Agikuyu, and thus were willing to take up arms against them. The various conflicts between the settlers and the Agikuyu often resulted in defeat for the latter, thanks to their inferior weaponry. The Agikuyu, having been unsuccessful in their conflicts with the European settlers and the colonial government, turned to political means as a method of resolving their grievances.


title: Kikuyu people

text: Kenya served as a base for the British in the First World War as part of their effort to capture the German colonies to the south, which were initially frustrated. At the outbreak of war in August 1914, the governors of British East Africa (as the Protectorate was generally known) and German East Africa agreed to a truce in an attempt to keep the young colonies out of direct hostilities. However, Lt. Col Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck took command of the German military forces, determined to tie down as many British resources as possible. Completely cut off from Germany, von Lettow conducted an effective guerrilla warfare campaign, living off the land, capturing British supplies, and remaining undefeated. He eventually surrendered in Zambia eleven days after the Armistice was signed in 1918. To chase von Lettow-Vorbeck, the British deployed Indian Army troops from India and then needed large numbers of porters to overcome the formidable logistics of transporting supplies far into the interior by foot. The Carrier Corps was formed and ultimately mobilised over 400,000 Africans, contributing to their long-term politicisation.


title: Kikuyu people

text: The experiences gained by Africans in the war, coupled with the creation of the white-dominated Kenya Crown Colony, gave rise to considerable political activity in the 1920s which culminated in Archdeacon Owen's "Piny Owacho" (Voice of the People) movement and the "Young Kikuyu Association" (renamed the "East African Association") started in 1921 by Harry Thuku (1895–1970), which gave a sense of nationalism to many Kikuyu and advocated civil disobedience. Thuku's campaign against the colonial government was short-lived. He was exiled to Kismayu the following year, and it was not until 1924 that the Kikuyu Central Association (KCA) was formed to carry on with Thuku's campaign. From 1924, the Kikuyu Central Association (KCA), with Jomo Kenyatta as its Secretary General focused on unifying the Kikuyu into one geographic polity, but its project was undermined by controversies over ritual tribute, land allocation, the ban on female circumcision, and support for Thuku. The KCA sent Kenyatta to England in 1924 and again in 1931 to air their grievances against the colonial government and its policies.


title: Kikuyu people

text: By the 1930s, approximately 30,000 white settlers lived in Agikuyu country and gained a political voice because of their contribution to the market economy. The area was already home to over a million members of the Kikuyu nation, most of whom had been pushed off their land by the encroaching European settlers, and lived as itinerant farmers. To protect their interests, the settlers banned the production of coffee, introduced a hut tax, and landless workers were granted less and less land in exchange for their labour. A massive exodus to the cities ensued as their ability to provide a living from the land dwindled.


title: Kikuyu people

text: In the Second World War (1939–45) Kenya became an important military base. For the Agikuyu soldiers who took part in the war as part of the King's African Rifles (KAR), the war stimulated African nationalism and shattered their conceptions of Europeans. Meanwhile, on the political front, in 1944 Thuku founded and was first chairman of the multi-ethnic Kenya African Study Union (KASU).


title: Kikuyu people

text: In 1946 KASU became the Kenya African Union (KAU). It was a nationalist organisation that demanded access to white-owned land. KAU acted as a constituency association for the first black member of Kenya's legislative council, Eliud Mathu, who had been nominated in 1944 by the governor after consulting with the local Bantu/Nilotic elite. The KAU remained dominated by the Kikuyu ethnic group. In 1947 Jomo Kenyatta, the former president of the moderate Kikuyu Central Association, became president of the more aggressive KAU to demand a greater political voice for the native inhabitants. The failure of the KAU to attain any significant reforms or redress of grievances from the colonial authorities shifted the political initiative to younger and more militant figures within the African trade union movement, among the squatters on the settler estates in the Rift Valley and in KAU branches in Nairobi and the Kikuyu districts of central province.


title: Kikuyu people

text: By 1952, under Field Marshal Dedan Kimathi, the Kenya Land and Freedom Army (Mau Mau) launched an all-out revolt against the colonial government, the settlers and their Kenyan allies. By this time, the Mau Mau were fighting for complete independence of Kenya. The war is considered by some the gravest crisis of Britain's African colonies The capture of rebel leader Dedan Kimathi on 21 October 1956 signalled the ultimate defeat of the Mau Mau Uprising, and essentially ended the military campaign although the state of emergency would last until 1959. The conflict arguably set the stage for Kenyan independence in December 1963.


title: Kikuyu people

text: Since the proclamation of the Republic of Kenya, after colonial rule in Kenya came to an end in 1963, the Agikuyu now form an integral part of the Kenyan nation. They continue to play their part as citizens of Kenya, helping to build their country. However, some Kenyans resent their incorrectly perceived superior economic status, a resentment sometimes vented through political violence, as happened in 1992, 1997 and 2007 Kenyan elections.


title: Kikuyu people

text: According to a Y-Chromosome DNA study by Wood "et al." (2005), around 73% of Gĩkũyũs belong to the common paternal haplogroup E1b1a. The remainder carry other clades: 19% E1b1b with E-M293 contributing 11%, 2% A, and 2% B.


title: Kikuyu people

text: In terms of maternal lineages, Gĩkũyũs closely cluster with other Northeast Bantu speaking groups like the Sukuma. Most belong to various Africa-centered mtDNA macro-haplogroup L lineages such as L0f, L3x, L4g and L5 per Castrì "et al." (2009). According to Salas "et al." (2002), other Gĩkũyũs largely carry the L1a clade, which is one of the African mtDNA Haplogroups.


title: Kikuyu people

text: Gĩkũyũs speak the Gĩkũyũ language as their native tongue, which is a member of the Bantu language family. Additionally, many speak Swahili and English as lingua franca, the two official languages of Kenya.


title: Kikuyu people

text: The Gĩkũyũ are closely related to some Bantu communities due to intermarriages prior to colonization. These communities are the Embu, Meru, and Akamba people who also live around Mt. Kenya. Members of the Gĩkũyũ family from the greater Kiambu (commonly referred to as the Kabete) and Nyeri districts are closely related to the Maasai people also due to intermarriage prior to colonization. The Gĩkũyũ people between Thika and Mbeere are closely related to the Kamba people who speak a language similar to Gĩkũyũ. As a result, the Gĩkũyũ people that retain much of the original Gĩkũyũ heritage reside around Kirinyaga and Murang'a regions of Kenya. The Murang'a district is considered by many to be the cradle of the Gĩkũyũ people and as such, Gĩkũyũ's from the Murang'a area are considered to be of a purer breed.


title: Kikuyu people

text: Until 1888, the Agikuyu literature was purely expressed in folklore. Famous stories include "The Maiden Who Was Sacrificed By Her Kin", "The Lost Sister", "The Four Young Warriors", "The Girl who Cut the Hair of the N'jenge", and many more.


title: Kikuyu people

text: When the European missionaries arrived in the Agikuyu country in 1888, they learned the Kikuyu language and started writing it using a modified Roman alphabet. The Kikuyu responded strongly to missionaries and European education. They had greater access to education and opportunities for involvement in the new money economy and political changes in their country. As a consequence, there are notable Kikuyu literature icons such as Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o and Meja Mwangi. Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o's literary works include "Caitani Mutharabaini" (1981), "Matigari" (1986) and "Murogi wa Kagogo" ("Wizard of the Crow" (2006)) which is the largest known Kikuyu language novel having been translated into more than thirty languages.


title: Kikuyu people

text: Traditional Kikuyu music has existed for generations up to 1888, when colonialism disrupted their life. Before 1888 and well into the 1920s, Kikuyu music included Kibaata, Nduumo and Muthunguci. Cultural loss increased as urbanization and modernization impacted on indigenous knowledge, including the ability to play the mũtũrĩrũ – an oblique bark flute. Today, music and dance are strong components of Kikuyu culture. There is a vigorous Kikuyu recording industry, for both secular and gospel music, in their pentatonic scale and western music styles such as "Mathwiti Maigi Ngai!".


title: Kikuyu people

text: Kikuyu cinema and film production are a very recent phenomenon among the Agikuyu. They have become popular only in the 21st century. In the 20th century, most of the Agikuyu consumed cinema and film produced in the west. Popular Kikuyu film productions include comedies such as Machang'i series and Kihenjo series. Recently, Kenyan television channels have increased greatly and there are channels that broadcast programs in the Kikuyu language.


title: Kikuyu people

text: Typical Agĩkũyũ food includes Yams, sweet potatoes, Gītheri (maize and beans, after corn was introduced to Africa), Mūkimo (mashed green peas and potatoes), Kīmitū (mashed beans and potatoes), Irio (mashed dry beans, corn and potatoes), Mūtura (sausage made using goat intestines, meat and blood), Ūcūrū (fermented porridge made from flour of corn, millet or sorghum) roast goat, beef, chicken and cooked green vegetables such as collards, spinach and carrots.


title: Kikuyu people

text: Although Gĩkũyũs historically adhered to indigenous faiths, most are Christians today, of varying denominations, as well as various syncretic forms of Christianity. A third of the Kikuyu practice Islam, notably through Arab, Indian and Persian missionaries since trade with the rest of East Africa.


title: Kikuyu people

text: A small group of Kĩkũyũ, numbering about 60 people in 2015, practice Judaism in the town of Kusuku. While they practice a normative form of Judaism (similar to Conservative Judaism), they are not a recognized part of any larger Jewish group.


title: Kikuyu people

text: In April 2018, the Presbyterian Church of East Africa made a resolution to prohibit its members from the Kikuyu cultural rite known as "Mburi cia Kiama" and this triggered disturbances among devotees in the region of Mount Kenya. The "Mburi cia Kiama" entails the slaughtering of goats and advising men on how to become respected elders. When this process is over, they join different "kiama"s (groups). It is in these groups that they are given advice on issues like marriage, the Kikuyu culture and community responsibilities. Members of the church were given the ultimatum to renounce the cultural practice or to leave the church's fold.


title: Diana Vreeland

text: Diana Vreeland (September 29, 1903 – August 22, 1989) was a French-American fashion columnist and editor. She worked for the fashion magazine "Harper's Bazaar" and as editor-in-chief at "Vogue", later becoming a special consultant to the Costume Institute of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. She was named on the International Best Dressed List Hall of Fame in 1964. Vreeland coined the term "" in 1965.


title: Diana Vreeland

text: Born Diana Dalziel in Paris, France in 1903, she lived at 5 avenue du Bois-de-Boulogne (known as Avenue Foch post-World War I). Vreeland was the eldest daughter of an American socialite mother, Emily Key Hoffman (1876–1928), and a British stockbroker father, Frederick Young Dalziel (1868–1960). Hoffman was a descendant of George Washington's brother, as well as a cousin of Francis Scott Key. She was also a distant cousin of writer and socialite Pauline de Rothschild (née Potter; 1908–1976). Vreeland had one sister, Alexandra (1907–1999), who later married Sir Alexander Davenport Kinloch, 12th Baronet (1902–1982). Their daughter Emily Lucy Kinloch married Lt.-Col. Hon. Hugh Waldorf Astor (1920–1999), the second son of John Jacob Astor, 1st Baron Astor of Hever and Violet Astor, Baroness Astor of Hever.


title: Diana Vreeland

text: Vreeland's family emigrated to the United States at the outbreak of World War I, moving to 15 East 77th Street in New York, where they became prominent society figures. Vreeland was sent to dancing school as a pupil of Michel Fokine, the only Imperial Ballet master ever to leave Russia, and later of Louis Harvy Chalif. She performed in Anna Pavlova's Gavotte at Carnegie Hall. In January 1922, she was featured in the pages of her future magazine, "Vogue", in a roundup of socialites and their cars. The story read, "Such motors as these accelerate the social whirl. Miss Diana Dalziel, one of the most attractive debutantes of the winter, is shown entering her Cadillac."


title: Diana Vreeland

text: On March 1, 1924, Diana Dalziel married Thomas Reed Vreeland (1899–1966), a banker and international financier, at St. Thomas Church in New York. The couple had two sons: Tim (Thomas Reed Vreeland, Jr.) born 1925, who became an architect, as well as a professor of architecture at the University of New Mexico and then UCLA, and Frecky (Frederick Dalziel Vreeland), born 1927, who would become U.S. ambassador to Morocco. A week before Diana's wedding, "The New York Times" reported that her mother had been named co‑respondent in the divorce proceedings of Sir Charles Ross and his second wife, Patricia. The ensuing scandal estranged Vreeland from her mother, who died in September 1928 in Nantucket, Massachusetts.


title: Diana Vreeland

text: After the Vreelands' honeymoon, they moved to Brewster, New York, where they raised their two sons and remained until 1929, when they relocated to 17 Hanover Terrace, Regent's Park, London, previously the home of Wilkie Collins and Edmund Gosse. In London, she danced with the Tiller Girls and met Cecil Beaton, who became a lifelong friend. Like Syrie Maugham and Elsie de Wolfe, society women who ran their own boutiques, Diana operated a lingerie business near Berkeley Square. Her clients included Wallis Simpson and Mona Williams. She often visited Paris, where she would buy her clothes, mostly from Chanel, whom she had met in 1926. She was one of fifteen American women presented to King George V and Queen Mary at Buckingham Palace on May 18, 1933. In 1935, her husband's job brought them back to New York, where they lived for the remainder of their lives.


title: Diana Vreeland

text: As Vreeland would later recall, "Before I went to work for "Harper's Bazaar," in 1936, I had been leading a wonderful life in Europe. That meant traveling, seeing beautiful places, having marvelous summers, studying and reading a great deal of the time."


title: Diana Vreeland

text: A biographical documentary of Vreeland, "The Eye has to Travel", debuted in September 2012 at the Angelika Theater in New York City.


title: Diana Vreeland

text: Vreeland began her publishing career in 1936 as columnist for "Harper's Bazaar". Harper's Bazaar is a fashion magazine that women of every age can use as a style resource. It covers what's new to what's next on the work of stylists, photographers, and designers. Its editor, Carmel Snow, had been so impressed with Vreeland's style and attire that she asked her to work at the magazine. From 1936 until her resignation, Diana Vreeland ran a column for "Harper's Bazaar" called "Why Don't You...?,"full of random, imaginative suggestions. For example, she wrote, "Why don't you...Turn your child into an Infanta for a fancy-dress party?" According to Vreeland, "The one that seemed to draw the most attention was [...] "[Why Don't You] [w]ash your blond child's hair in dead champagne, as they do in France?" Vreeland says that S. J. Perelman's subsequent parody of it for "The New Yorker" magazine outraged her then-editor, Carmel Snow.


title: Diana Vreeland

text: Vreeland "discovered" the then-unknown Lauren Bacall during World War II. The "Harper's Bazaar" cover for March 1943 shows the newly minted model (not yet a Hollywood star) Lauren Bacall, posing near a Red Cross office. Vreeland directed the shoot, later describing the image as "an extraordinary photograph, in which Bacall is leaning against the outside door of a Red Cross blood donor room. She wears a chic suit, gloves, a cloche hat with long waves of hair falling from it". Ever focused on fashion, Vreeland commented in 1946 that "[T]he bikini is the most important thing since the atom bomb". Disdainful of the typical approach to dressing in the United States in the 1940s, she detested "strappy high-heel shoes" and the "crêpe de chine dresses" that women wore even in the heat of the summer in the countryside.


title: Diana Vreeland

text: Until her resignation from "Harper's Bazaar", she worked closely with Louise Dahl-Wolfe, Richard Avedon, Nancy White, and Alexey Brodovitch. She became the magazine's Fashion Editor. Richard Avedon recalled when he first met her, at "Harper's Bazaar", she "looked up at me for the first time and said, 'Aberdeen, Aberdeen, doesn't it make you want to cry?' Well, it did. I went back to Carmel Snow and said, 'I can't work with that woman. She calls me Aberdeen.' Carmel Snow said, 'You're going to work with her.' And I did, to my enormous benefit, for almost 40 years." Avedon said at the time of her death that "she was and remains the only genius fashion editor".


title: Diana Vreeland

text: In 1955, the Vreelands moved to a new apartment, which Diana had Billy Baldwin decorate entirely in red. She said, "I want this place to look like a garden, but a garden in hell". Regular attendees at the parties the Vreelands threw were socialite C. Z. Guest, composer Cole Porter, and British photographer Cecil Beaton. Paramount's 1957 movie musical "Funny Face" featured a character—Maggie Prescott as portrayed by Kay Thompson—based on Vreeland.


title: Diana Vreeland

text: In 1960, John F. Kennedy became president and Vreeland advised First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy in matters of style. "Vreeland advised Jackie throughout the campaign and helped connect her with fashion designer Oleg Cassini, who became chief designer to the first lady". "I can remember Jackie Kennedy, right after she moved into the White House...It wasn't even like a country club, if you see what I mean--"plain"." Vreeland occasionally gave Mrs. Kennedy advice about clothing during her husband's administration, and small advice about what to wear on Inauguration Day in 1961.