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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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Raised by a grandmother

I personally don’t know where the word was derived from but when I look at it closely, I derive two words; grand and mother. I believe something grand is magnificent and great. On the other hand, I don’t know the actual meaning of the word mother but when I was born it was imprinted on my essence that anyone known as mother deserves respect. What happens when we combine the two words to form a GRANDMOTHER? What do you think about her, is there anything grand about this mother?

In the good old days, grandmothers were scraggy, wrinkled and had “Respect/Fear Me” written all over their old souls. Today we have forty year old females applying make-up and speaking to their children in the white man’s language. Yes, a forty year-old grandma. I think it is the end result of children bearing children. Anyway, that is none of son of soil’s business.

I am lucky to have one. Everything she did when I was young was wonderful. She would even blow her nose then hand me roasted cassava and it would still taste like it came directly from God’s hand. Wait till you taste vegetables prepared from her earthen pot with no cooking fat, just the disease-free ‘musherekha.’

The worst mistake I ever did was stealing her bananas but, like a magician, she would tell that someone touched her bananas while they were ripening. She could tell this by looking at how even or uneven the bananas had ripened.

This sweet woman knew the antidote for every ailment I ever had as a kid.
“Oh! Son of my son, let me look at your bleeding finger”

She would then look at it, chew some black jack and spit on my finger. Two days and the wound is healed! The 21st century grandmother will cry more than the wounded child, take him to the dispensary, pity the child as he gets stitches before paying for tetanus shots!

By Analo.

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