Growing Up with Teacher Parents

I remember this advert song that used to play on VOK. (Cavalier, do you remember it)?  Hii ni nyumba yako  Wewe na jamii yako  Usikaribishe wadudu kuishi na wewe  Wadudu ni hatari  Wadudu ni wachafu  Waue mara moja  Doom, doom, doom!  Dawa doom!  Then at lunch time it would be 'kuleni mayai, pia maharagwe. Hivi ndivyo vyakula bora vya kujenga mwili.'  As we prepared to go to school in the morning we had: '...jiepushe na uvivu tujenge taifa. Mwanangu, kumekucha amka wende shule. Elimu ndiyo msingi wa maendeleo.'

Just came across strange information about a sub-tribe of the Luhya called the Kabras that live in Malava. It is interesting to know that that their name 'Kabras' comes from ‘Avalasi’, which refers to the warriors or Mighty Hunters they once were. As to the claim that they are descendants of Nangwiro associated with the Biblical Nimrod, I am flabbergasted. The Kabras were originally Banyala (different from the ones in Kayunga). Nimrod was a mighty ruler and nation builder who founded many cities, including the great Babel or Babylon.  In other news, my Mom says she heard a story told in Western Kenya about the Buganda Prince who became ruler of the Wanga Kingdom. Now I may have mixed up a few things about the story she heard but this is what I remember her telling me. “It is said that when the Prince arrived in Western Kenya, some lady noticed that whenever it was time for him to bathe, he would hide himself from the others. Later on, she discovered the reason why the Pri...

I read somewhere on the internet that some Luhyas came from Egypt and so did some Baganda and oba Banyoro. I thought all Bantus came from Congo or Cameroon. Speaking of Congo, I read somewhere that the Ethiopia referred to in the bible included the area stretching from the Congo basin. Another mind boggling thing I read on the internet is about the Wanga (a tribe of the Luhya). I read that the Wanga came from Egypt as part of the migration that settled in Kampala area that formed the Buganda Kingdom. A muganda Prince called Kaminyi, who was Kabaka Mwanga I's cousin and Kabaka Mawanda's son, fled to Tiriki in Western Kenya. (Incidentally, I lived in Tiriki with my parents for 8 years) The Prince fled because as the king's cousin, he posed a threat to the reigning monarch. On reaching Western Kenya, the Prince became a ruler and was succeeded by his son Wanga who established the Wanga Kingdom with the title of Nabongo in the 18th century.

Our neighbour rears some pigs. There are 3 huge ones and 6 piglets. Often times, they set themselves loose and walk into our compound, much to our chagrin. My mom does not like pork. When she told me that sometimes pigs barked like dogs, at first I did not believe it until I heard one pig bark last week. “When I first heard these pigs bark that is when I said to myself ‘Surely! People are not supposed to eat pigs’,” she said. I mean, think about it. Eating something that can bark is like eating a dog. Then on Sunday, one of them clucked like a chicken. I have not heard them go ‘ee-I, ee-I, oh’ like the ones in Old MacDonald’s farm. I guess my neighbours pigs are of a Japanese-Polish breed. http://www.bamfield.eu/sounds.php mentions how pigs make different sounds in different countries: Pigs in Britain, Spain and Italy are thought to say 'oink, oink'. Portuguese pigs go 'roncar'. Japan, they go 'buu, buu'. French pigs go 'groin, groin'. German pigs, in c...

Dear Jerry, I have done a lot of thinking about what my workers have said about having you arrested once you set foot on my organization. It is said that you have been killing cows. I want you to know that the views expressed by my workers are their own and do not necessarily represent my views. I mean you and I have shared a strong passion for cow milk for ages. I know you can’t kill cows except perhaps for their meat, another of our delicacy. The main reason I decided to write you this letter is because our organization could do well with some funding since the credit crunch has bitten us. You see one of the conditions for our organization to get funding is to become a member of the Tea with Milk crew so I joined. Voluntarily. Nobody forced me to join. All members of the Tea with Milk crew must arrest anyone found to be killing cows. Secondly, you know how much I love cows. If I fail to arrest you, the other members of the crew might kill my cows in revenge. I do not want that to ha...

“Good morning, listeners,” Pepper said. “And with The King of Pop being laid to rest today. As a tribute to him, we have a question for you. What is your favourite Michael Jackson song? We’d like to hear from you. The number to call is 2345678 on all networks.” “My favourite of MJ’s song was Speechless. It sounds so heavenly,” said Charlie, her co-host. “Mine is Billy Jean because of the moonwalk,” Pepper broke in. In the background is ‘heal the world’. “Hello” said someone on the line. “People are dying in Soroti and you are here talking about MJ. Even you Pepper? Your uncle’s wife comes from Soroti but you can’t even think of talking about her people?” “Wait a minute. Listen to me young man and listen well. You have no right to tell me what is right and what is wrong. Before you ask me, what have you done for the people in Soroti? At least for me I haven’t only helped people from Soroti but I have helped people from other places as well,” Pepper retorted. “Besides, this is the only d...

Mudamuli…Mudamuli! How shall I describe you? Your words are feathers that catch their target by surprise because…they sting! And you seem to know the quickest formulae to provocation. Otherwise, are you well? Do tell. You seem to have a special liking for Eggie these days but let me warn you. He hates surprises. If you want to be his friend, don’t keep making disappearing acts. As for Cucumber, he loves attention. The more you ignore him, the crazier he gets. As for me, I get bored easily and when I do, I move on to the next exciting thing or person. I don't kwelumya . I like to enjoy life to the fullest without any qualms. Especially when it comes to women. Like the gorgeous lady I met last week. She had the perfect manicure and pedicure. We had a good time but Pepper is still the one I want. By the way, who is this Tamzel? Is she your sister? I found her post about me very amusing. How did she know I loved baking? Hmmm. Maybe I should give her a call one of these days and see...