The Story of Basawa Misiko

-

 After the Bukusu Resistance in 1895, those arrested were taken to Elureko, later known as Mumias, and assigned luggage to carry all the way to Kaboto (around the Kenya-Uganda border in Endebess sub-county). Kaboto is a Bukusu pronunciation of a supposedly Kalenjin name Kapoto. 


According to the late John Wanyonyi Manguliechi, Babukusu were made to carry chikhuli, chinindi and bufu (flour) as punishment for their rebellious behaviour. 


On the first day, they trekked from Elureko and by the time the sun was setting, they were in Kabula in Chief Namachanja's region. They stopped here and rested till the next morning. They heard hyenas laugh, tietie (cristocolas cristicola) spoke to them, the sparrow also spoke in the dark of the night, kamacharia also spoke. Their night was filled with different sounds from the jungle. 

They resumed their journey the next morning. When evening came, they had trekked all the way to Nalondo and were at the Lukoba of Muse (the fort of Muse). Here, they were amazed by the beauty of a girl called Nandayi from the clan of Bamuki Cholinjo maleke. She was good to them because she attended to them very well--fed them and gave them a place to sleep. Hyena (namunyu) laughed, leopards growled, hissed and chuffed, buffaloes grunted, and the night was full of sounds from the jungle. 

Different sounds woke them up in the morning. Guinea fowls chirped and yelped, cristocolas cristicola spoke and chikhuchuru sounded loudly in the morning. They reminded them that it was morning; a time to start their trek again. 

After a whole day's walk with their luggage, they came to Maeni in Kimilili. Here, they rested in the fort of Sirengo the son of Mwone from the Batukwika Bakwangwa clan. While asleep, hyenas whooped, buffaloes grunted and spoke to them, leopards chuffed, kibeu also spoke to them that night. 

When morning came, Guinea fowls cackled, cristocolas cristicola chirped, cholee and chikhuchuru all spoke to them at dawn. Bukusu gallant soldiers embarked on their walk and came to Maliki where they rested till the next morning. They heard the usual sounds from the jungle since the surrounding was bushy and sparsely populated. 

They took the Babton route through Lukhome and Saboti towards Endebess. They slept in a cave where wild animals rested (Lie esang'i). Here, they heard the same sounds from the jungle as they had heard every night. The next day, they rested in Mubere, then went to Mundebe (Endebess) and later Emukhuwa. Finally, they came to Kaboto. According to Musician Simiyu Makhanu, Kaboto was the border of Bukusu and Karamojong'. 


A story is told of a man called Mualakha from the clan of Bamwoyayo. He became very thirsty as a result of the long walk from Elureko. His friends looked for water to save him but found not even a drop. They resorted to urinating in his mouth, and that did the trick, at least for some time.  Mualakha is said to have died later when the voyagers arrived in Sichei. 

When they safely set foot in Bungoma, it was 1896; when the community was preparing to circumcise the fifth omusawa. So, they decided to name the age set Basawa Misiko. Misiko in Lubukusu means luggage. This was in remembrance of the toil and torture their brothers had undergone as they carried luggage to Kaboto. 


This was the origin of the name Misiko among the Babukusu and their brothers, Banyala of Navakholo and Tachoni. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Life, Career and Death of Nyongesa wa Muganda Kwasaba Kwalia

-
Image
 Early Life Eliud Nyongesa wa Muganda was born to Muganda wa Kwasaba in 1946 in Karima, Naitiri Scheme. He belonged to the Abamakangala clan of the Kabarasi sub-tribe. His mother was from the Basenya clan of the Banyala sub-tribe of the Luhya people of Western Province. He was circumcised in 1962 and belonged to the Bamaina age set. His father, Mukanda wa Kwasaba, was both a vocalist and a guitarist while his grandmother, Sitawa Kwasaba from the Abangachi Clan, was a renowned singer of circumcision songs. Legend had it that she would be hired for weeks to sing in the neighbouring Kabras and would come back with loads of gifts as an appreciation for her prowess as a singer. According to Nyongesa's widow, Anne Nyongesa, he inherited his talent from both his grandmother and father.  Nyongesa's siblings included Rajabu Mafunga, Kilon'gi, Namalwa and Nasimiyu and Iswa, Wangwe, Naliaka, Alfayo and Shadrack from the wife his father married after Nyongesa's mother died. He w...
Read more

Missing Out

-
 Plot The story talks about a Sudanese man, Majdy, who is a PhD student in London. At the beginning of the story, he has failed the qualifying exam for the PhD.  He talks to his mother on the phone, and she would have none of his nonsense. She has had to make several trips to the Central Post Office in Khartoum just to encourage him to continue with his quest to secure a PhD.  She's a very staunch believer in his prowess in academics. She remembers how he's always done well in his high school days. In fact, he had  shaken the president's hand for doing excellently in his secondary school exam. So, she cannot fathom how he could become a dunderhead all of a sudden.  His mother embarks on a campaign to get him a wife. She believes this may help his son change his attitude and pass the exam. To her, loneliness is the cause of his resigned attitude. So, she organizes a marriage between him and Samra.  Majdy embarks on a serious redoing of his studies and, in Ju...
Read more

Stones Bounce on Water

-
Image
 Plot Stones Bounce on Water is a story written by Dilman Dila, a Ugandan writer. It details events that take place before and after the murder of Winnie, one of the Paulsons' visitors from London.  The story starts on a night lit by a full moon, and the visitors enjoy the scenery since it's one they are not used to seeing in London. The conflict unfolds when a firecracker that's forgotten on the lawns after a birthday party the day before goes off. It sets the stage for a foreboding that prepares the audience for Winnie's impending death. In fact, she lays bare her suspicion that her five friends: Tim Collins, Peter, Chelsea Creole, Meg Paulson and Joe Paulson are planning to kill her for their own varied reasons. The next day, Simon, the cook, takes Tim to the pond, where he shows him how to make stones Bounce on Water. Simon also reveals that the pound is a taboo site for the locals since dead bodies are usually deposited there by murderers. When this topic is starte...
Read more