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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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Maternal Names; Why not?

-: I don't know how true this is: that Maragoli men dislike being named from their maternal grandparents home; yaani 'ivifwa'.

-: I think I might have heard different people once or twice say something derogatory about the fact that I'm named after my maternal side. I think it's just the deeply ingrained paternalistic, umwaana ni wa Baba attitude. Personally I'm somehow proud of the fact and I kind of tend to bond more easily with my maternal relatives though. I just think that having had three older brothers named after paternal relatives, and my grandfather having passed on just before I was born, perhaps my father decided to honour my mother and her father by allowing me to be named after him.

-: Not all Valogooli ignore amita gi vifwa. In fact many are the names that crossed from mother's side into father's clan. I know some.

-: True my dear. My brilliant maternal uncle confirmed to me just last week while chatting with him, and am glad you asked... The Lovely Mr Johnson Muhavi says that his name Muhavi (maternal) was never to be called and was never on the radar but some incident happened to him that called for Muhavi name after all paternal names were completely exhausted. So, yes there was dislike by paternals for maternal names 🤷🏻‍♂🤷🏻‍♂🤦🏻‍♂🤦🏻‍♂😭😭

-: Yes, will try. 

@⁨Neccy Flossy⁩ was wondering here why it was discouraged to name children maternal names. 

One, it was both men and women agreeing not to name maternal side of the child. A child was rarely named by the father/mother but by a grandmother/grandfather. 

And this grandmother would least name the maternal side of navizara. Having established herself and now getting visukuru, she preferred names of that home than any other. You will also relate with mother-in-law issues. 

Two, a woman once married was required to have a mind shift, from her motherland to the new marital family. Trying to name children from where she came from was not in anyway showing respect and stability in the new family. 

With an average of four children at most when mortality rates were high, it was difficult to first exhaust naming paternal side so that you start maternal side. Where it was agreed, at least it be the fifth child or so. 

A maternal name was also hard to stick because people would find hard to relate with it. And people would tend to call grown boys and girls by their father's names.

Among other reasons that the society, without discrimination whatsoever, tended to preserve itself.

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