Mau Mau (band) Mau Mau (band) Mau Mau is an Italian band from Turin. It was formed in 1991 as a continuation of the underground cult group I Loschi Dezi. The band, which mixes African and Latin traditions, was formed in 1991 by Luca Morino and Fabio Barovero, from the Piedmont region of Italy, and Bienvenu Tatè Nsongan, from Cameroon. The band's name has a double meaning: it references the Kenyan Mau Mau uprising against British colonial rule, and, in the Piedmontese language, "Mau Mau" designates "people who come from afar". The band released their first EP, "Soma la macia" ("We are the
Mau Mau Uprising Mau", claim it was an anagram of "Uma Uma" (which means "get out get out") and was a military codeword based on a secret language-game Kikuyu boys used to play at the time of their circumcision. Majdalany goes on to state that the British simply used the name as a label for the Kikuyu ethnic community without assigning any specific definition. As the movement progressed, a Swahili backronym was adopted: "Mzungu Aende Ulaya, Mwafrika Apate Uhuru" meaning "Let the foreigner go back abroad, let the African regain independence". J.M. Kariuki, a member of Mau Mau who was detained during the