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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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History behind houses (sub-clans) of Avasaniaga

During the Saniaga genealogical documentation, some elders asserted that Avasaniaga 'do not identify by sub-clans'. 

Theirs was on the surface understood to be a cautious way or keeping the Saniaga clan together because sub-clans later untangle from the main and lead to intermarriages. 

But the fear for intermarriages was a cover for other 'insecure' reasons as evidenced in larger Logooli genealogy. 

There are clan members of double origins, those assimilated and those resulting from concubines. 

One, Avasaniaga joined Logooli community in three main groups and times. And with no clear way of keeping the history packaged, stamping 'oneness" helped the clan contain the complexity, not easy to explain the sparse distribution of Vasaniaga as well as different physical characteristics. 

The latest group of Saniaga to join Logooli community must have been the "Kamnara sect", ancestored by Sakwa. This was when Logooli community, having split from Kussien-led group headed North-East to Maragoli Hills. On the way, it is said the community inhabitted Kit-Mikayi area. 

A fraction of Kamnara group that had been amassed back at Sakwa(Bondo) would remain at Kit-Mikayi, as others sojourned North-East. 

Arrival at present day Ivulogooli, they found some indigenous clans, said to be Kalenjin. This is evident from names of places that still stand to date as Gahumbwa, Gaigedi, Vunandi and others. 

The Kalenjin, a Pre-Bantu group, has "Saniak" clan, spread in its communities including Pokot, Marakwet and Keiyo. Sects of Saniak, meeting the incoming Kamnara (with Larger Logooli), would quickly become Saniaga-Kamnara because of an earlier historical incident. 

The incident is that there existed an indigenous group of people known as Kitoki that would be attacked and caused to disperse by the growth of pastoral communities as the Maasai. The remnant of Kitoki are today knows as Tachoni, baptised Luhya. Saniaka is one of their main clan. 

It is likened that some of the lake-wards runaway Saniakas(and Yonga?) from Kitoki met the Kussien group around the shore of Lake Victoria and after gave birth to Logooli, Gusii, Kuria, Suba, Zanaki and other identities. 

In another view, the Saniaka that landed in the developing Nabongo kingdom would leave with Sakwa downwards and later associate with Logooli branch of Kussien. It is from Sakwa that Minara was born, today known as Kamnara.

A latest view, which wishes to put Saniaga under Logooli umbrella, is that of Mulogooli's daughter, Kavogoi, who is said to have been married in Luo. It is said she begot two sons, Kamnara and Saniaga. When she left her marriage, she took with her the youngest boy, Saniaga who would settle in Maragoli as the elder son, Kamnara settled in today's Bondo area. This view is supported by intermarriages that happened. It strengthens earlier view of acquintance for Kavogoi would not marry to unknown people, there could have been earlier 'relationship'. 

With much information lost, drawing family trees of Avasaniaga becomes difficult. With Logooli belief of reincarnation of naming new borns after departed relatives, it is difficult to know who came before who. Being a paternal community, children identified with their father, making past documentation an exercise of extra thought to what may have been. 

The Logooli genealogy of Saniaga (Saniak and Saniaka has their genealogies too) has it that Saniaga begot Mafumu who begot Luliva. Luliva would beget Ludundu/Asacha, Kavonji, Nyanza, Andago, Mwelemi and, in asterisk, Magavila. 

Attention is brought to the three names, "Luliva, Nyanza & Mweremi" which are "water names". Luliva means water depth/bed, Nyanza means lake/mass of water while Mwelemi means "floater/swimmer". Unlike Mulogooli early clan names undefined, it would mean that Logooli community predated "Mulogooli". 

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