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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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The Derere /Del'le/

Abisai is on the right in the picture. From left is Dishon Keyoga muSaniaga and neighbour, muMavi muRogovo at Mazugi village


Abisai Omende lives at Idabwongo on Maragoli Hills. He notes that he was quite inquisitive as a young man and yearned to know about migrations and settlements. 75 years old now, he is a good contributor to community questions as he has lived in the very rural for the rest of his life. He was circumcised in 1952, Sirura age set.

Abisai considers muSaniaga as one of other children of Murogori. That Murogori and his wife Kariyesa begot muSari, Kizungu, Kirima, muMavi and other children among being muSaniaga, muMenge and muFunami. MuMavi being among the 'last borns' settled with the rest near the ancestral hills. The first three migrated Eastwards to the present Mbale, Mudete, Busali, Sabatia and Mago areas.

MuMavi had four sons - muRogovo, muNondi, muGonda and muTembe. MuSaniaga had four alike - Ahai, Rudundu, Mududa and Murumba. MuFunami had two - Mugina and Mutinda. MuMenge begot three muSuva, muMugezi and muNdege even as others kept the original identity.

Ahai migrated to Tiriki and South Nandi. His descendants would come back and some settled at Kidundu and iMbihi. Others went further in Nandi.

Rudundu went South to the present Chulaimbo (a name that means 'back to Luo') and there would be absorbed by Luo.

Mududa went Eastwards to find the iSukha, vaKabras and some settled among vaSari in present Busali. 

Murumba followed behind with his generation stemming from the hills to the area around present StendKisa.

Muruga (muMuruga) is a known clan in Maragoli that Abisai says were initially avaSaniaga. Having advanced to Luo land, some vaSaniaga came back. When muSaniaga muMuruga was too long to identity one, muMuruga took up and Saniaga was detoned. And those who spread to Luo went with village names as evoGenya that we now have corrupted names as Ugenya.

To Abisai, the migrations took up strongly recently as in the years 1942 when the British government finding some areas full of land pressure and conflicts guided them to places as Mwanza in Tanzania. VaSaniaga joined others in this and not only was Mwanza the destination but towards Zambia and suggestively in Mozambique now. This is similar to the 1952 migrations to South Nyanza (Migori) and Lugari in the 1960's.

The old local adage of muRogori, muGusii and muNyore being one was emphasized by Abisai as he pointed out that the rest of Luhya languages originated from the hills at a place called Wekomo in which caves muNyore lived. MuWanga got out first followed by muVugusu /Bukusu/ then muManyara /manyala/ followed by muKisa and Mwidakho before the ruKabras and ruTachoni. With Anyore remaining at the origin, the rest having moved and settled accordingly and distinctively.

Derere was a leader of the people from the hills to Vigina. A later time when the drum and the horn had been employed for generations to summon men to causes. Mungoma is named after a drum, engoma. Same to Kisangura named after a tree, _muSangura_ that a messenger climbed and blew his horn to gain people's attention. Then there was a tight kin tie between the people of South and North Maragoli. Derere's time was when the white man had come and leadership was official.

Derere was the son of Ingumba. Ingumba the brother of Isuvi. Isuvi who begot Odanga and Muganda. Odanga's descendants are found at Mahanga and away. The brother of Derere was Orito who went to South Nyanza. Derere married Mudengani muNondi from iMuguva, a village up hills and begot Simaeri, Rwangu /Lwangu/ and a daughter called Usagi. Abisai and his two brothers are the children of Rwangu. Ominde and Derere. Beatrice Usagi is his younger sister named after her aunt.

_Kiguru kikungaa vandu_ was a common saying when there was mass leaving from the hills. The little soils between stones were exhausted and people were idly full of conflicts. One is where a family member standing on a leveraged rock threw a stick on another who was spreading millet on a stone and he died. People took off in fear of *_rovo_* . Rovo is the imagined bad omen breath of a person who has killed another. Believed that a killer would affect others' lives with least effect on himself. Grandfathers of people like Jendeka Odanga, Elisha Ndanyi and Philemon Indireare remembered to have been at the hills and migrated due to search for a better land.

With Thanks
saniaga.org
saniaga.blogspot.com
info.saniaga@gmail.com
facebook.com/saniaga.org 

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