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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

Fwd: Where are vihinda? Can't we put them back into day to day use?


-: Hello Family. This picture 👆🏾 is saying that we are no longer using vihinda to carry tea to bandas. 

Have we lost vihinda?

-: No, the vihinda are expensive (expe)!! 😎😎😎

-: Avanavi be vihinda vakinavaga?! Saw one near my Aunt's place in Gidagadi. My first time to know vanavaa ku very matured urusi (Napier grass)

-Lung'afa: It is hard to spot those baskets in homesteads nowadays. 

Ingungi I believe was the small one. Kihinda the big one? 

The one smeared in with cowdung called? 

The one in tatters, worn for long also called?

-: Enavodo was the smallest not ingugi

-: Ingungi and kihinda, difference?

-: Ekehe  naho egehe was the smallest, inavodo was bigger

-: Like the one for church offerings? Egehe was used for?

-: If you guys can't weave those baskets, who do you expect to? I wish one of you people can invent a machine that can make those baskets; all you need to do is to rearrange the parts of a normal sewing machine

-: Multipurpose, including as a dish for serving ugali ya wimbi, ekehe could outlive generations and maintain originality

-: Several such basket merchandisers were Saniaga when you fill in the oral genealogy. It was an occupation to make and sell. 

- like majambi. Gageha.

-: There many basket weavers in our neighborhood (jepkoyai) location afew of the weavers are Saniagas

-: Do they still weave? For local market?

-: Avanavi vanava vihindi vakinavanga? Don't intertwain 'be' and 've' in one sentence. In north maragoli we say vihindi and not vihinda. Honga vulahi na Nyasaye ave nive.

-: Good to hear. Kihindi - vihindi?

-: The b was actually an autocorrect error. I thought I intended to write ve vihinda. I thought Vihindi is the name of a place near Chavakali? hehe

-: The sentence should be...  "Avanavi vaanavaanga ivihinda"

-: It is a handcraft.. No simpler ways but use of hands, thats the beauty

-: Ingungi is threequaters of full-sized ikihiinda but bigger than inavodo

-: Na ikishaa/Kihia?

-: Ekehe/inavodo/inguungi/ikihiinda/ekedeera; those are names of various sizes of baskets from the smallest to the largest

-: Just learning there is another called Kisia. 
- Used mainly for kusuma/Kudugira

-: Can't the Saniaga CBO take this up as an IGA?

-: @⁨Corazone⁩

We should. At least one of the Saniaga groups to take up this. 

We lack organized community enterprises. 

Individuals rise and fall, their activities never sustained nor supported. 

If we can agree to be organized then we can collectively achieve lots.

-: Let's promote a Saniaga group to do this, my sister has a big shop in USA for such items and I am sure she would be delighted to have such in her shop, she purchases such artefacts from Maasai market in Nairobi

-: Saniaga can have this in its programs. 

Indigenous Knowledge (and enterprises) is part of Agenda 4. 😁😆. 

@⁨Luvai⁩  hinted of such an enterprise, the late grandma Phoebe Kidiavai leading the women group at Chango. 

- We can rethink about it...

-: I remember mama Phoebe at Chango, I bought some items made from banana 'makora' for a German friend; those were excellent artefacts, that knowledge is lost in favor of the Chinese plastics, poor we!!

-: Their building is still there... Now it houses an activist group. 😊.

-: Patty negotiate for the building or part of it for a library and artefacts center, I can give you the necessary support

-: @⁨Luvai⁩ had suggested that. He must be working on something towards that. 

It would be a superb effort if this comes to pass. A library/artefacts enterprise. 

- I will try to get more about the building.

-: Good, visit the place and assess

-: The membership of Chango Women's Society   has problems with existing tenants b4 entertaining others. But I guess they would welcome proposals that resonate with their constitution. Will keep conversation alive.

-: A proposal will. To see how best. 

And maybe without desiring new tenancy the society itself goes ahead to revive the artefacts enterprise and empower the area. 

We can be worthwhile stem supporters.


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