The migration to Mount Kenya was occasioned by inter tribal conflicts with the coastal Swahili and Mijikenda communities. Linguistic evidence suggests their migration from as far as the Kenyan Coast, since the Mĩĩrũ elders refer to Mpwa (Pwani or Coast) as their origin. These conflicts forced them to retreat northwest to the interior of Kenya, and they settled by the slopes of Mount Kenya. They were to refer to this location as the place of the Lord, the owner of the snow (Nyaga) or (Njerũ meaning white) - hence the name Mwenenyaga or Mwenenjerũ.