X-FILES FROM THE VILLAGE - CHRISTMAS RUMBLINGS

 Monday 

As we grow old it is very easy to forget about things like "tsukulilo", those moving creatures we used to play with in the dust. Then the cassava pods which we used to balance on the tip and swing around. We would call them "mutukyele" as we sing "wachacha". Now we make cameras and planes out of paper for our young siblings! 

Tuesday 

We then pass by the village football field full of girls singing, wailing that you may think there is a death only to realise that the girls are hunting for ants "tsiswa". You hear the young girls calling onto the ants to come out to be eaten, in a sweet voice like the monster "Wanesilikhe" who wooed "Sela" in a sweet voice according to the common folktale. When the ants refuse to come out,  the girls' tone suddenly changes to cursing. You will typically hear them sing "woowoowoo woowoowoo tsingalabuyi, tsitanyisa kumurwe" meaning hunting for ants causes headache!

Wednesday 

After circumcision, the local surgeon commonly known as "umushebi" must induct the candidate about the basics to life. It is a long standing belief that boys don't spend much time with their fathers the way girls do with their mothers. It is therefore a pre-requisite for every boy that after initiation, they must be told things like not to urinate while on top a tree, not to sit on the cooking stone "liyika", not to sit on the mortar "shiwili" and to always respect their parents. Boys who don't undergo such inductions always turn out to be a disgrace to society, they say! 

Thursday 

If offered a meal by a man which rarely happens, you should not thank him after eating. The appreciation is always reserved for the mother of the house. Whether she is the one who cooked or your elder sister, after eating it is the mother to be appreciated. Even by the elder sister who could have cooked. "Mayi watekhele" or in  short "watekhele" is expected from all including father. We adore the woman who works hard to bring the food to the table! 

Friday 

Now is the time when people start selling off their animals and other valuables in preparation for Christmas. By now the families have prepared the animals to be slaughtered. They normally pool money monthly for this purpose. Everyone eats meat for Christmas. Some families prepare food from a central point on a rotational basis. Now that there is friction with the two families of Mwalye and Wanda, we don't know which family will attend and which one will boycot but it is in such times that families would come together to settle disputes at that round pot over a beer (malwa) party! 

Saturday 

There are generally 3 tough times for anyone who has been circumcised; when umushebi cuts a vein "kumusiya", the minutes after circumcision, "tsisaalila", and the third day when "umushebi - the local circumcision surgeon" comes to initiate you officially into manhood with the great words of wisdom. We call it "shabalye". On that day, removing the bandage from the wound can take 6 hours and whichever food they bring will always remain tasteless. But it is just a great moment when you command what to eat at anytime. 

Sunday 

You will always find a recently circumcised boy/man, who will call "umufulu" moving around in his sister's skirt or lesu. Those without sisters borrow their mother's and there is nothing wrong with that. In Bukyisu where imbalu is held in high regard and celebrated, umufulu is that boy who is nursing the circumcision wound, which honour lasts for at least a month and half. On a day like this, some years ago, we were wondering why Wanapwaka was taking longer to heal. Some woman suggested that it can be because of his big "member"? 

But till then, we shall keep you posted