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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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Izava Walk : Rogele stream

There is at Indiga a super grazing field that would take one back in time how the Izava stretch was. If it were not the bushy swamps, the land had large fields of grass that village cows met there. Mriagano was the name. The meeting point. The sun was weak and it yellowed the field, exposing the cows that fed. Men from gold sites smoked ganja while a cobbler and friend sat in a shade. Music by Belafonte sang from my phone. I journeyed on.

Vamatsi, Vamuku and Vatongoi are clans that I was told when three gentlemen spoke their roots. This lead me to Mukibira. This is at the valley bottom where a bridge connecting Viyalo to mang'nyuri and madanya was. It was now Ebunangwe on the left, the entrance to Bunyoreland.

Peace, quietness, a river flowed. Seeing it, I thought Izava had taken a drastic change of flow. But had Izava became cleaner from Viyalo mess? A new river it was. And its name was Rogele.

Rogele comes as far from Munzazi, crosses Kakamega-Kisumu road as Ehedwe having sourced as far as Kidinye. Rwang'ela stream pours in. Later, the river is fed by streams from Visiru, vusambu and Magada. Induyani and Endereya from virombe jump in. Visegese adds to it. And as it feeds Izava, it is as worthy as it should be. The bottom there is known as Murogele.

I jumped Rogele to for I walked where it poured from. In the quiet, cool and green field a man dozed as cattle fed. Bhang smokers never caused trouble anymore. Nyore are dark skinned people as he was. Ise, Munyore Munangwe, he said. The reason why there were Nyores in Maragoli and Tiriki is because when they erred, they were chased. Refuge was there.

I saw guinea fowls and wished one dropped its feather for me. This was after Sharusi stream flowed from Viyalo. And reaching the Kilingili-Ebunangwe bridge, there was vandalisation. Bolts were out. This was upsetting but the cool breeze in the tall trees showing green grass to step on made me forget. A stream from Wadigula and another from Ebulamba consecutively joined.

The day was over.

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