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The struggle with many a rigid Logooli cultural practices

  The Logooli community is one of the deeply cultured societies – with near everything supposed to have been done as per custom – to allow another custom to follow. One example is that for a mature man (with a child or more) to be buried, there must be a house structure at home. Another is that a boy must be circumcised and nursed in father land. If maternal family decides to, the boy will have a hard time reconnecting with father people - a dent on his masculinity. There were two children who got burnt to death in a house in Nairobi. The single mother had left for night work. Elders were told that one of the children was Logooli. The other, the woman had sired with someone else. The Logooli family wanted to burry their little one and long discussed the do’s and don’ts. Of a man who died childless and the grave was placed as if he had died as a man with children. It should have been dug on the sides, the grave. A real thorn should have been thrust in his buttocks, his name go...
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Izava Walk : Our spring leaks

Izava has been walked along by many in need of firewood, water and sort. It is not a about beating a new path. It doesn't pass in a dense forest the way Lugose does through Kakamega forest. If one side lacked a good side path, the other side provided. The shoes did not have a problem in crossing the waters when a bridge wasn't near. Caution was to note inflows that  entered from the other side.

'Kove kuho numgela gwosi gwingilaa shimbaha?'
'Yee,' noho 'Awa.'

So I crossed over to find myself in Wadere Spring. Children and women followed a queue at the spring.  I approached near and in my head the thought was, finally the spring is going to be refurbished.

Those who had come at 6am had not yet fetched. At least those of 5am. Believe it or not. Wadere spring seemed to serve a huge village. Women came to wash by the spring, taking water from Izava. Where would water be gotten at home and for about a month it had been sunny? Other home chores therefore pended. It was weeding time.

Reasons as to why the spring urinated instead of pouring out water were mainly two - the trees directly up the well and side flows. All containable.

'What if you asked the owner to cut the trees?'
'He is a harsh guy' they seemed to respond.

A boy used a plastic container to fetch by the side. Asking whether they as women could not organise themselves to buy a bag or two of cement, it was evident they are not organised in any development group. Their husbands and brothers are the Masons and plumbers of the location. They'd do it as their own!

Children still had chores waiting for them at home... And wasting time by the well wasn't working to their good because hunger would soon set in. A play, boredom and frustration by the spring was inevitable.

"Make it by yourself," I told the keen eyes and gave them my back to cross Izava.

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