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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...

A song was played at Maliki

Four men, looking married, five I correct, or six if there were any who did not show up as many that formed the band but were not present started playing a song commonly known to us as Mukhangala.

Mukhangala used to  cook, fetch firewood, feed the dogs, be sent here and there, a man of a bent back, of sideways feet. Roseline, the lady boss knew (but the song never played in the past tense) that this Mukhangala of his had been pseudo posing as her husband. He'd been putting on coats that belonged to Roseline's husband, unknown to us in the lyrics.

Jacob Luseno, were he to rise from the dead, he would tell the listeners what surely he did hide in the song. You see, Roseline has found out that beans have spilled, and she wants to wash herself clean by being hard on Mukhangala probably in the presence of that gossiper who brought errant news about Mukhangala.

The song that played at Maliki gave no husband to Roseline either. How was she managing? But there were coats in the closet. These coats, were they of a living man? Mukhangala may have took them to step in some role, a vacant position. The gossiper would have loved to fill it. You do not feel aggrieved for nothing. 

As things stand, the men who sang could be equal hang coats, the night wasting away in the name of entertainment as their Roseline's feel cold. We wouldn't put a criminal record on Mukhangala if he isn't caught. For sure he is the one reading this post, or a beautiful Roseline, none with Mr. Husband tag.

Coming just after Les Wanyika's 'Twende Tz ukawaone wazazi wangu', this mood spoiler song woke any drinker from some comfort thought that all was fine and a dream woman would be taken to some youth's home.  Sustained was the mood with the coming of 'Stella' song. Mukhangala was that short Japanese man.

Daudi Kabaka's 'Twist, twist'spoke of a youth who did not want to go home despite the many letters girls had been sending to have him marry them. In a parody version, 'raha ya Maliki.' It is only Karubandika that comes close, uncompared to Roselyne synonyms - Paulina, Rosy, Shemeji, Julieta, Mrembo wa Mapenzi and many others. They have been sang as deviants, not heroines. Yet imani yangu iko kwako.

Another day also, of another lifetime, when the five men will have long died, in the silver sound of music, for gold is in its services, saniagas will listen to the lyrics of their forefathers best hits and say, 'our old men knew fun!'

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