Play time: 04:03 minutes. Recorded in Mago, Kenya, March 14, 2014.
Kugona
Difena Aseyo
Kale avana vakana kwagonanga mmba mwo mukere. Lwa kwagona mmba mwene yimwo mukere mwene oyo yalange ni kindu valomba lilungu. Lilungu liene yilio vana lwa kwatsitsa kogona mu kwivimbanga tsinguvu tsia vamama vitu anoho kuvugula magunia kuvika mu virenge nijio jialange miringedi. Kwa katsia kwilungu kwene yikwo kwala nu mudo dave, kwagona ku matu; kwatemanga matu ga magomia ma kutsia kolomba kwalanganga iyang'ongo. Ma kolomba iyang'ongo yeneyo kotema matu ga magomia kumina ma kolomba halala kuli lijambi . Kwalanganga iyang'ongo ila kimambo; kimambo chene yicho kwatsitsanga kustai kwala kwilungu liu mukere ma kutsia kogona ku na kwivimbi magunia ni tsinguvu tsia vamama vitu (marinda) kuvimba inamoni na magunia kutamu virenge. Ma kutula mu mugamba kutsia yengo; ma kandi hamugorova lwa kugarukanga ma kuveye vakana vene yavo kwenyanga kwimbi lwimbu kwalange ni kindu likudu: likudu lia vakana vene yavo vakolanga; mukana yasigamanga hasi ma na undi asingila kwenya kwimbi:
Likudu lilambuya,
Lilambuya likubi dede
Likudu lilambuya,
Lilambuya likubi dede
Vanga baba vafwere hano,
Lilambuya likubi dede
Vanga mama vafwere hano
Lilambuya likubi dede
Na mulala usingiyi yakasingila ma avugula mwana mukana mwene uyu usigami hasi yakavugula ma auvugula mugonmgo yigu ndi na usigami ma avugula mugongo gwene yigu akonola agalukitsa hasi vutsa ngo. Sasa nu gukonochi godo, mukana mwene oyo yakuvita ligera. Ma kandi undi asigama
Likudu lilambuya,
Lilambuya likubi dede
Likudu lilambuya,
Lilambuya likubi dede
Vana vitu vafwere hano,
Lilambuya likubi dede
Vanga senge vafwere hano
Lilambuya likubi dede
Ma kandi mulala mwene oyo kandi avuguli mugongo akonole agugalukitsa hasi. Gukakonohci dave mukana mwene oyo ni mukana mugosi dave. Vanutsa wu mugongo ukonochi godo nu mukana mugosi. Na vakana vene yavo nivagonanga mu valala valange hasi na vandi valange igulu kwilungu yavo ndio; vagona hasi yava kwala mu na vakana valala vinyalanga na lwa vinyalanga mmba mwu mukere oyo paga uvuguli isingo wenye ohome minyali gogo yago ndio. Na nukahoma vakana vandi valavugula tsisala venye vakuhuli kabisa kijira winyaye na wambakani. Kale nindio kwalange; kwala ni miringedi dave, kwivimba magunia ni tsinguvu tsia vamama vitu, nago mang'ana ga kwalange nago gene yago ndio kale.
To sleep
Long time ago girls used to sleep in an old woman's house. That woman had a thing that was made and known as "lilungu" when we children went to sleep there we used to cover ourselves with our mothers clothes or we take sacks and put in legs. Those were our blankets. On that lilungu we didn't have matress. We used to sleep on banana leaves. We used to cut banana leaves then we go and spread them and we used to call them "iyang'ongo" then we make that iyang'ongo and cut banana leaves and we spread them together like a carpet.
We used to call that iyang'ongo "kimambo" we used to spread it on top of the old woman's "lilungu" then we cover ourselves with our mother's clothes. We cover the eyes and the sacks we put in legs. Then we get out the following morning as we go back home. Then in the evening we return there, we were the same girls and we want to sing a song. We had something called "likudu" a girl used to kneel down then the other one stands and we sing a song:
A tortoise will quarrel,
Quarrel and hit me dede
A tortoise will quarrel,
Quarrel and hit me dede
All the fathers will gather here
Quarrel and hit me dede
All the mothers will gather here
Quarrel and hit me dede
And one is standing then she takes another one girl, to kneel down. After kneeling down she takes her back and turns it down. If the back produces this sound, that girl has passed the test. The other one kneels down
A tortoise will quarrel,
Quarrel and hit me dede
A tortoise will quarrel,
Quarrel and hit me dede
Our children will gather here
Quarrel and hit me dede
Our aunties will gather here
Quarrel and hit me dede
Still the same person will take the back and turn it down. And those girls some were sleeping down on the floors while others were sleeping up. There were some girls who used to wet the floor of that old woman. She had to take the cow dung herself and mob the urine from the floor. And if you do not mob, other girls will take sticks and punish you because you wetted the floor and you have refused to mob it. That is how we used to live long time ago. We didn't have blankets, we used to cover our bodies with sacks and our mothers clothes. Those are the things that we used to have.