The Meru or Amîîrú (including the Ngaa) are a Bantu ethnic group that inhabit the Meru region of Kenya. The region is situated on the fertile lands of the north and eastern slopes of Mount Kenya in the former Eastern Province.
The word Meru means 'shining light' in the Meru language. In Kiswahili, the Meru are called Ng'aa, a word meaning 'Dazzling Shine' in both that language and Meru.[citation needed] Ameru in the Meru language means 'the shining ones' or 'the children of the shining one'. The word Miiru was also used to refer to the nearby forests of Mount Kenya, thus the name Amiiru, meaning 'people of the forest'. [citation needed]The Ameru people comprise nine subgroups: the Igoji, Imenti, Tigania, Mitine, Igembe, Mwimbi, Muthambi, Chuka and Tharaka. The Tharaka live in the semi-arid part of Greater Meru and they, along with the Mwimbi, Muthambi and Chuka, form the Tharaka-Nithi County. The Ameru are unrelated to the Wameru of northern Tanzania, other than both being avid farming Bantu communities.[citation needed]
The Meru speak the Meru language, also known as Kimîîrú.[3] Meru,