This story was sparked by a
status update on Facebook by a
young maiden with beautiful legs
from the neighbouring county,
who was making a countdown to
her wedding last Saturday.
"Three days to go!" she gushed,
with excitement. And yet she was
� according to elders � merely
going to "cook", which in my part
of the world is how a woman
headed for holy matrimony is
described.
So whereas the city world
imagined she was walking into a
coalition government, equal share
of the loaf, appointments of the
house help subject to
consultation between two
Principals and all finances vetted
and approved by the Senate, in
her own village, she was simply
going to cook. The thought made
me sniff around other tribal
enclaves and the findings make
for interesting reading.
Poetic lovers
Among my people, a woman
seeking a husband is also said to
be going to "sit". She could also
be said to be going to become a
plaything or to eat. In another
dialect, the Bukusu say she is
going to "make babies", not that
they put it so politely!
The Banyala have a more Where
a wife is a plaything
"When a man takes a wife, he
literally wrestles her to the
ground" succinct way of
expressing it.
When a man takes a wife, he
literally wrestles her to the
ground.
Okhukoka! So when my young
friend was walking down the isle,
somewhere in Port Victoria,
elders nodded, knowing she�d
finally been flattened. Phew!
I moved down to Lake Victoria, to
the land of poetic lovers and the
word chiegi for wife cropped up.
True to form, this word could
mean a variety of things,
foremost being pillar. I smiled and
finally understood why the men
of the lake have women fawning
at their feet. Such chivalry!
And yet the same word has
hidden and powerful sexual
connotations for it could mean
"turn me on, make food, cooked
or ripen or prepare to be eaten."
So on one hand, elders of old
cheat the woman that she is the
pillar of the household when they
know too well that she is, heck �
just a ripe fruit.
Tellingly, none of these
communities have a single elected
Member of Parliament who is
female. Now contrast this with
the Kalenjin, where a wife is
kwondo, chepyoset or osotiot �
the one who serves. To their
credit, they have contributed the
highest number of legislators to
the current parliament.
Remain silent
From the lake, I sniffed around
the Mt Kenya region, one of
Kenya�s few matriarchal
societies. Here a wife is mutumia,
one who walks around with her
mouth shut � seen but not
heard. Ironically, it is from this
region that our most vocal
female leaders originate �
Martha Karua, Cecily Mbarire and
Wangare Maathai,among others.
So much for gutumia (remain
silent), thanks to Wangu wa
Makeri!
But the Maasai don�t have time
for little poetic games. Straight
to the point much like their
spears, a wife is enkitok � my
woman. So if a female Maasai
politician is excited about her
2012 prospects, it�s a safe
assumption that her goose has
already been cooked.
status update on Facebook by a
young maiden with beautiful legs
from the neighbouring county,
who was making a countdown to
her wedding last Saturday.
"Three days to go!" she gushed,
with excitement. And yet she was
� according to elders � merely
going to "cook", which in my part
of the world is how a woman
headed for holy matrimony is
described.
So whereas the city world
imagined she was walking into a
coalition government, equal share
of the loaf, appointments of the
house help subject to
consultation between two
Principals and all finances vetted
and approved by the Senate, in
her own village, she was simply
going to cook. The thought made
me sniff around other tribal
enclaves and the findings make
for interesting reading.
Poetic lovers
Among my people, a woman
seeking a husband is also said to
be going to "sit". She could also
be said to be going to become a
plaything or to eat. In another
dialect, the Bukusu say she is
going to "make babies", not that
they put it so politely!
The Banyala have a more Where
a wife is a plaything
"When a man takes a wife, he
literally wrestles her to the
ground" succinct way of
expressing it.
When a man takes a wife, he
literally wrestles her to the
ground.
Okhukoka! So when my young
friend was walking down the isle,
somewhere in Port Victoria,
elders nodded, knowing she�d
finally been flattened. Phew!
I moved down to Lake Victoria, to
the land of poetic lovers and the
word chiegi for wife cropped up.
True to form, this word could
mean a variety of things,
foremost being pillar. I smiled and
finally understood why the men
of the lake have women fawning
at their feet. Such chivalry!
And yet the same word has
hidden and powerful sexual
connotations for it could mean
"turn me on, make food, cooked
or ripen or prepare to be eaten."
So on one hand, elders of old
cheat the woman that she is the
pillar of the household when they
know too well that she is, heck �
just a ripe fruit.
Tellingly, none of these
communities have a single elected
Member of Parliament who is
female. Now contrast this with
the Kalenjin, where a wife is
kwondo, chepyoset or osotiot �
the one who serves. To their
credit, they have contributed the
highest number of legislators to
the current parliament.
Remain silent
From the lake, I sniffed around
the Mt Kenya region, one of
Kenya�s few matriarchal
societies. Here a wife is mutumia,
one who walks around with her
mouth shut � seen but not
heard. Ironically, it is from this
region that our most vocal
female leaders originate �
Martha Karua, Cecily Mbarire and
Wangare Maathai,among others.
So much for gutumia (remain
silent), thanks to Wangu wa
Makeri!
But the Maasai don�t have time
for little poetic games. Straight
to the point much like their
spears, a wife is enkitok � my
woman. So if a female Maasai
politician is excited about her
2012 prospects, it�s a safe
assumption that her goose has
already been cooked.
Comments
Post a Comment