Monday
When a person eats a lot of Bufukke and gets a bloated stomach, they will feel uncomfortable and start belching (ukhupa imbisha). Such persons are advised to sleep on a cold floor. Remember that there are two types of belching: one is out of satisfaction, and we call it khubetsakala, while imbisha is when the wind emitted through the mouth is actually smelly and is caused not by satisfaction but by overeating. Therefore, when one overeats, they are made to lie on the floor on their stomach for a few minutes, and after that, they will be fine, at least the discomfort goes. I do not know the link between the two, but we have seen it work on many occasions.
Bufukke is a mix of cassava, potatoes, and beans. The preparation starts with boiling the beans, which are prepared separately. The potatoes and cassava are steamed together until they are soft enough. At this point, the beans are added, and together they are mashed to form a smooth mold that is served with water or black tea. When eating Bufukke, it is always difficult for one to know that they have eaten a little too much until you drink water.
It was at this stage that Seperia started having difficulty breathing; he tried to call his wife but could not muster enough energy to call out his elder wife, whom we commonly refer to as Umukatsa. She was outside, in the kitchen.
From the kitchen, as if noticing that there was something wrong:
“Seperia,” Umukatsa called.
No response.
Tuesday
Seperia tried to respond, but could not. His belly was so full that there was no gap to allow him say a word. He thought that his stomach was going to burst, like how Wanesilikhe’s stomach burst after swallowing Selah. Sometimes, the tales of the Wanesilikhe when being recited to kids over and over and again would go to his head that he would come to think that it is true Wanesilikhe ever existed and used to occupy the hills of Bumanye in Bumasikye, or maybe those big caves of Wanale.
“O Seperia,” Umukatsa called again, which woke Seperia from the wild fantasies.
This time, it occurred to him that he could actually communicate with his wife the same way he talks to his cows in the wilderness. Still failing to mutter a reply, Seperia responded with a whistling.
“Ingwongele Bufukke (Should I add you Bufukke)?” she asked.
Again, Seperia responded with whistling.
“Namwe inguyile ikyewa? (Or I take you to the bush?)” (for that is how people call the latrine).
Seperia whistled back in the affirmative.
Wednesday
Umukatsa rushed to the sitting room where she had left her husband and assisted him to his feet. She slowly led him to the latrine, where Seperia spent some time before emerging with the limp of a person carrying a very huge load in his belly. He belched, looked at his wife, and smiled sheepishly. Communication born of the decades spent together.
His wife understood him, and he knew it. How else could she have noticed that he needed help?
Together, they walked back to the house, and Umukatsa pushed their sleeping mat away to make room for Seperia to lie down to treat his bloated stomach. They made sure that Seperia was not seen in this condition before the grandkids returned from school.
Thursday
Seperia’s condition had normalized a little bit by supper time, and since he did not join his fellow men at the drinking point, Seperia chose to tell the children some stories.
“What do you want me to tell you about today?”
Before they could answer, he followed with another. As if he had already made up his mind on what story to tell.
Friday
“Do you know that all these Bakhamunyu, Banambutye, Ba’alasi, Bawabuyi, and other clans of Bakyisu are closely related by blood, born of a man who came from Ethiopia and settled around Masaba?”
“Long, long time ago, our grandfather, Mutinyo came wandering from Ethiopia and settled among a people called Barwa, who were at the time occupying the land around Masaba. Some people say that these people later changed from Barwa to Batwa, but it was among the Barwa that Mutinyo admired a girl whom he later married. That woman came to be known as Nabarwa, and it was she who made Mutinyo get circumcised, for among the Barwa, a man could not marry unless he is circumcised. That is where the custom of circumcision hails from among the Bakyisu. It was introduced by our mother, Nabarwa as a precondition for Mutinyo to win her over”
Seperia was telling the story with clarity of a person who understood not only the geography of the region but also the politics and economics. The night time story would be ocassionally interupted by Umukatsa who would walk in to ask for something from her husband or one of the grandkids.
"Did Mutinyo have any brothers or sisters who are still there in that place you said he came from" one of the kids asked.
“Little is known of Mutinyo’s life in Ethiopia and what exactly caused his migration to settle around Masaba, but in those days, people used to wander and establish themselves away from their homeland. Even when he settled around Mt Masaba, Mutinyo had made friendship with a man called Watuwa, who was the leader of Babetsye, who had settled around present day Nyondo where the Catholics set their Mission.”
“Mutinyo and Nabarwa had many children, but most of them were killed by his in-laws. In the end, Mutinyo was left with only two sons (Nyeletsi and Washirekho) and a daughter, Namaulula. To save his lineage, Mutinyo decided to send his living three children to live with Watuwa among the Babetsye. Watuwa accepted to adopt Mutinyo’s children and integrated them with the people of Bubetsye.”
“The children of Mutinyo, when they grew up and married among the people of Bubetsye, would give birth to Bawabuyi and Banambutye from where most clans hail. Nyeletsi, who was the firstborn, gave birth to Wabuyi, Mutambo, and Lusambu in that order. These three split to become three clans. Washirekho, the second-born of Mutinyo, also gave birth to another branch of Banambutye called Bashibalayi, while Mutambo, Nyeletsi's second son is the father of the Banambutye of the Nyeletsi branch.” The kids were listening attentively as Seperia spewed the knowledge. Such is how history has been passed to generations.
Saturday
He continued “So the birthplace of most of our clans is Nyondo. When you go to places like Nabiiri, Nabumali, Khatwelatwela, you will find Bakatsa, Bakhamunyu, Bamasikye, Bawabuyi, Banambutye, and many other clans.”
“Of the three children of Nyeletsi, Mutambo settled in Manana near Watakhuna, Wabuyi settled in the plains of Busiu, and Lusambu continued farther west in present-day Bulusambu.”
Sunday
By now, Seperia’s words had become largely incoherent, some kids had started dozing and the attentive ones could not make sense of what he was saying. Slowly, his hands fell to his sides, and his chin dropped toward his chest.
Shortly, Seperia started snoring loudly. One of the kids ran to their grandma to tell her that their grandfather had fallen asleep.
Umukatsa walked to where her husband had slumped in slumber, sent away the grandchildren, and lovingly led her husband to bed.
Till then, we shall keep you posted!
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