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Heavy responsibilities for elder aunt among the Logooli

With Seenge Fonesi. She is the elder grand daughter of Isagi and elder daughter of Amugasya. She is often present in functions involving the family of Amugasya. Pic taken on 18/4/2024. The elder sister soon becomes the elder aunt. It is this “seenge munene” (elder aunt) tag that she is tied to many cultural responsibilities – back home. To her marital family she may appear as any other woman, but she is not so in the eyes of her people. Marriage does not steal her away as it would happen with other daughters of the old man. To her, as days go and the old man and woman of the estate are dependents, she becomes increasingly present.  Her brothers also need her for almost all traditional markings. They are marrying, she needs to welcome the new wife. They are giving birth, she needs to come to midwife or “bless” the new born. They are paying dowry she needs to lead the women delegate. There is a conflict she needs to come for a hearing.  And many others. Traditions does not expect her to
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MOON 05/09/2015 (Traditions)


The time was between sleep.


The only tradition I know of is that I exist. Coming and going seems to be a tradition. But that is from a complex perspective. What happens in between is the tradition maybe. Like to marry- the event we were in attendance. 

As the cold blew, far in the Eastern horizon there was an embryo. The sun was at its conception stage. How marvelous. Scientists say it is fixed and ever blowing. But I saw it young in age, move like a toddler, gaining shine and later it could not be seen by naked eyes.

I climbed on a shrubby tree to get the best picture of it. Each step I made on the road my eyes were sideways looking for the rising sun. From violet to Yellow to less yellow to sunny. The horizon clouds outsmarted it. It was weak to melt them. And I wonder why such glimpses aren’t in Nairobi. The altitude?

As my eyes complained of sleep, old women danced to kilumi. I had no words for them but to think of life as a comedy- enjoy or die. They still clung to dear life when I think of it as vanity. They look forward to more children when I think we are many. They are hopeful and contended with their dry smallness of land- they are good.

When the event was taking too long, the sun was at its horizon. People from the groom side- my uncle- who had spent the night there cooking for people who are attending, as the tradition requires- were taking too long to solicit back what they spent. The camera could not host more power.

On the way back, the sun was greeting bye to the eyes that were looking at it. As it was in the morning, so it was in the evening. A yellow turned violet upper part of the circle was fading away in the hill on the West horizon. I saw it as a relief. There was hope that the moon will take its position before it welcomed the sun back in resurrection. I breathed in the wind and forgot my pains though my phone had lost in the ceremony.

As I looked back for the second night to see the heavens again, the bug in me had died and I waited for the late moon show. I woke up in the night a midst sleep to greet its face with a camera.

 Oh what a beauty!

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