Kimeru(Kimiiru, Kĩmîîrû)

Kimeru is a Bantu Thagicu language spoken on the eastern and northern slopes of Mount Kenya and the Nyambene ranges by the Ameru people - more than 2 million speakers (according to the 2019 census), primarily across Meru and Tharaka-Nithi counties, with significant diaspora communities in Laikipia, Isiolo, and Nairobi. Internally diverse: Kimeru has seven mutually intelligible dialects — Imenti, Tigania, Igembe, Igoji, Mwimbi, Muthambi, and Chuka. Tharaka is the most divergent variety and is assigned its own ISO 639-3 code (thk), with ongoing scholarly debate as to whether it constitutes a separate language. Oral tradition is rich in clan genealogies, age-set histories, and specialist knowledge of highland herbal medicine.