Recently, after I arrived in
Nairobi from Arusha, my 69 year-old
Magdalene, my three sisters, Nangila, Nanjala and Nekesa, and two
neighbours, stopped over at our Nairobi residence on their way from
Makueni in Eastern Province, where they had gone to visit their sitawa
(in-laws). So the night of Sunday 25th April was very special to us as
we spent it together telling stories and catching up on family-social
affairs. These wonderful moments brought us fantastic images from our
home village, Nyasi Farm in the Rift Valley. Let me share some of
these moments, especially the humorous ones, with you in this forum. I
would love to do it our way, the haiku way:
village story—
neighbours turn mosquito nets
into seat covers
a neighbour converts
mosquito net into a fishing net—
village story
first time in city—
she asks the cafe waiter
to bring the kettle
I am not able to share the
real-time humour in the above haiku, but I
will try to explain, starting with the first two: mosquito nets. It
happens that because Rift Valley, is the highest malaria infested zone in
the country, the Ministry of Health is trying very hard to keep the
disease at bay by supplying free treated mosquito nets to the
residents there. Now look what our semi-illiterate and illiterate Rift
Valley village folks, in their innovation, can do with them!
Now to the third haiku. My mother, being the brilliant and eccentric
villager she is could not withstand being served tea without seeing
the kettle, in that cafe; she was greatly puzzled by the manners of
these urbanites who do not value something called good faith. Because,
traditionally, in the village that is, one has to see the common
kettle or plate from which the tea or food is served; and if you
happen to serve a drink or food in cups or plates, you have to taste
it first before handing it to your guest. This is what my mother calls
good faith.
But even after two mugs of tea and two mandazi each in the Country Bus
Station Cafe, it was not enough breakfast for my upcountry folk, who had
also carried their own trusted traditional stuff just in case.
after tea and mandazi--
boiled cassava and sweet
potatoes follow
smoked meat--
childhood memories of
the blackened clay pot
