Patrick has been attending a funeral in Ukambani, a semi-
arid up-country area east of Nairobi. The people living there, are
the Kamba (plural : Akamba).

Here are a few words for better understanding of the haiku following
below :

*muthokoi :* the delicious Kamba staple food of de-husked maize and
beans cooked together
*tyre sandals :* sandals cut out skillfully from cast-off car tyres
-- cheap and long-lasting
*lesso :* same as kanga -- a rectangular cotton cloth with
colourful prints and Swahili proverbs, worn as a skirt, as a turban,
etc. (there is a book with "101 uses for a Kanga"!)
*kiondo *: a sisal basket woven by women -- plural : vyondo
*Kiswahili :* the Swahili language (the Swahili prefix "ki"
corresponds to the Japanese "go" for polite language)

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MY EXPERIENCE IN AKAMBA BURIAL CEREMONY

I spent this Saturday at an Akamba funeral in Makueni District of
Eastern Province and I was able to capture some interesting moments both in
haiku and photos.

women stand
on one side of the grave,
men on the other

wreaths of red
and purple bougainvillea
placed on the coffin

muthokoi
is served after funeral…
heads droop in sorrow

fresh acacia branches
cover the red grave…
mourners disperse


*GENERAL HAIKU ON MAKUENI*

undulating green
and blue hills and more hills…
Ukambani

a narrow path
winding up the hill…
scratch of the acacia thorn

an old man in tyre
sandals struggling up hill…
a cooing dove

women in lessos
and rubber shoes…
vyondo on backs

even the children
fetch water from far --
undulating blue hills

a donkey strapped
with water jerry cans
struggles up the hill

on the roadside…
barefooted girls
looking after goats

walking along
mountain paths…
prick of sisal spikes

walking down the steep
path, my cloth gets stuck
on mimosa

butterflies in the air
after the army worms…
destroyed crops

red dusty paths
wind up and up
the hills

no Kiswahili
or English is heard…
I am stranded

~ Patrick Wafula




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*BACK to the Kenya Saijiki*

http://kenyasaijiki.blogspot.com/



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