Play time: 08:40 minutes. Recorded in Mago, Kenya, March 19, 2014.

Mukana Agotize Musakulu Na Yenya Kuvaira

Difena Aseyo

Mukana oyo hango hene yaho vayayi ni valange ho vamwavo mundu mwene ukutsi uyu ndi vamwavo ni valange ho muyayi mulala yalaho wa vavugilitsananga nu mukali mwene oyo ndi amugalukitsa mwandu. Niyalange niyivuyi naye avana vavili anho vavaga vavola muyayi uyu yenyanga agarukitse mukali wali wa amwavo mwandu alimili vana vali va amwavo ku nangwa valuhi vaviluki; avakuyilange na avalimila avana vaviluke; vakolanga ndio.

Musakulu mwene oyo chajiranga naleta vakali vanyinge yalange nu mukali wu kutanga niyivulanga avana vakana vere musatsa alola apana, "mukali uyu muleti na wivuyi avana vakana vere," na avana vakana vene yavo valangangwa makere; vandu va kale varanganga vana vakana makere. Ma aluha aleta undi avola nyenya nzivuli ku mwana muyayi ulinda hango ili nyina naveye ho kali ni yali atuli ho mwana muyayi uyu aveye ho tsa alalinda nya anoho mukali mwene oyo niyatula ho niyatsitsanga vavola oyo atsia dave aveyeho nu mwana weve muyayi; muyayi amanya agalukitsa nya hango.

Kwali na vakali vandi vaduka havundu vatanga kutsia ilwanyi, mukali mwene ula anyola yo mang'ana yivula yo mwana na aveye mu lukali lundi. Ku vakola ndi mukali mwene oyo?

Mukali oyo niyatulanga mmba mwimwe valanga mukali mwene oyo muheyi. Sasa mukali mwene oyo muheyi uyu niyatsitsanga niyakanyola weneyo vudinyu kandi musatsa mwene oyo amulindi vulahi dave, niyachlanga mmba mwavo yakamenya mu ma vilana vandu vene vagwa hasi vanga mukana vavola mwana witu kumanyi chamukola dave; kwenyanga mu mmbere achuli hango hehe alindi avana veve na kwenyanga kushiore. Vahulitsani nu muyayi mwene oyo ma vayanzana na vivuli vu mukana vavugulanga eng'ombe vakoma vaha mukana mwene oyo atsia naye hanga musatsa atsia ashiora kijira yatulaho yagwa malaya, ahombanga agaluki hango hehe alindi avana.

Kwaliho ni tsihiri tsinde tsia vandu vatuga tsingoyi anoho tsinzoka. Wahulila tsihiri kuli tsiene yitsio?

Kuli yinze mbeye ndi, ndavaya ku kindu chene yicho dave; ndavaya ku engoyi anoho enzoka anoho likudu dave. Na mwana yenya atsie munyumba yi vindu viende yivyo viveye mu. Vavola ndi mukana mwene uyu niyatsitsa wavo ma atsia vamuvikila enzoka munyingu agingila mu yitsa nayo wa yatsia lukali na inze kuli hango hange kindu chene yicho mbeye ku ho nacho dave. Kindu yicho ndakigayanga njenyi dave kali mwana mukana naveye mulavu kali naveye mukomelu kali naveye mutambi mwenyi hangio hnage dave nyenyi ho enzoka anoho engo mba kijira ndalihitsa ku vindu viene yivyo dave. Ndamanya kuli valihitsa engo anoho enzoka dave, mukana oyo atsie. Hango hange dave. Na niva muyayi amanya alole uyu ni mukali wange valavayila naye mmba mwene yimwo tsingo tsiavo atuli hango hange atuli ho vatsie kwenya wa vavayila tsingoyi tsiavo.

Kale mundu niyakutsanga masandugu gara ku ho dave. Vayava vwina hasi kabisa vutsia. Koveye ni vulimu vundi ilangwa ivembe; vakaleta ivembe yeneyo vatsia vala hasi hene yaho ma valima mukona mwidiji ma vatsia vatema visala vyimbi vatsia vabanga mu ma kandi vatsia vavugula ivembe yenyo vitsa vala ku misala jiene yijio na mundu mwene vateye mwi lina hasi lwu kutanga ili malova vavuli kwilitsa gagwa tsa ku muvili gwegwe dave. Ma vabanga misala jiene yijio ndio ma vala ku evembe. Ma vatanga kwilitsa ni vakilitsa mundu mwene oyo ku nalio lialange lisandugu lia vandu vene yavo ndio vali va kale lia vavavikamu mukutsu wavo. Vakata ndio vandu vene hango (viko) vagona ho madiku gavili ma vavola kwenyanga kutulitse logembe. Ma vavugula mwana muyayi wa hango hene yaho wu kutanga vatsia vagula tsingembe ma vikalitsa mwana myyai mwene oyo vakasinga mmutwi. Sasa mundu musatsa yenyanga atange kutsia ku mwana mwene oyo kumbega, vatulitsa logembe. Ma vavega mwana mwene oyo kutanga; vakambega ku valonditsa ku vandi kijira mwana wu kutanga. Ku vandu venya kutsia wavo vachuli na venyanga kutigala hango vatange kugimila ku miyinzi jiavo; vasamuli. Liene yilio litsiyi ndio.

A widow who wants to get married

That girl or widow in that home, if there were some boys there who were brothers to the husband of the widow who died. They used to agree one of the brothers to remarry the widow again. If she had given birth to kids, they used to say this brother wants again to marry the brother's wife so that she can dig for the kids for them to grow up. She slash the ground and dig for the for the children to grow up. They used to do that.

What caused a man to marry many wives was as a result of giving birth to girls only. Then he says, "no I have married this girl and she has given birth to girls alone" those girls were called frogs. People of the past used to call girls frogs. Then he marries another woman and says "I want to give birth to a boy who can take care of the mother even if I am not there" this boy will be there and he will take care of the mother, or the other wife. If the husband died they didn't allow the second wife to leave, they allowed her to stay with the boy child. Even if she left, when the boy grew up, he used to bring her back home.

We had some women who could reach at a certain point in life and they started to go out (being adulterous) then she gives birth to a child while she is still in another marriage.

What did they do to that woman?

If that woman left her house to go and sleep with another man, she was called an adulterous woman (muheyi means adulterous person) now this adulterous woman if she got problems where she went, maybe the man has not treated her well. When she returned back to her home where she was born, her people used to go back where she had been married and they humble themselves "we know our girl has not done you well, we want you to forgive her and let her return back to her house and take care of her children" they then agree with the husband and they love the parents. The girl's parents used to take a cow and give the girl to take it to her husband because she left and became a prostitute and now she is begging to come back and take care of the children.

We had some clans that used to keep cheetahs or snakes as pets.

Have you heard about those clans?

Like me the way I am I have never kept such a thing at all. I have never kept a cheetah, snake or tortoise. If a girl was getting married to the house where these things were kept, this girl used to go back to their home, then they take a snake and keep it inside a pot and give her to go with it, wherever she was getting married. For me in my home I do not have such a thing. I refused that thing and I do not want it.

Even if a girl is light skin, fat or tall, I do not want her in my home if she has a snake or a cheetah, because I have never kept such things. I didn't know how they were keeping cheetah or snake. That girl wont be allowed in my home. And if my son will feel that she is his wife and he wants to allow her to come in with such pets then they will have to leave my homestead, go and look for another place where they will keep such pets.

Long time ago when someone died there were no coffins. They used to dig down, we have some grass called "ivembe" after bringing that grass then they spread it down, and then they dig at the corner of the wall. They cut some short sticks they come and place them inside, then they come and cut that "ivembe" and place it on the sticks. They take the dead and burry him on the ground so that the soil cannot get in contact with the body and they take the sticks and spread on top of him. Then they start to balance the soil and that is what they used to call a coffin that they used to keep in a dead person. After burying the relatives used to stay there for two day they say that they want to remove a razor. Then they take the first-born child and they take razor blades they ask him to sit down after washing his head. Now a man wants to work on this child, by shaving him. They removed a razor blade then they shave this child. After shaving the first-born they then shave others. Now people who wanted to leave, they were released and the ones that were remaining they were free to embark on their daily routine, go to work. That one has gone like that.