Soap – Kwihaka Thabuni
There was one bar of soap that was common in every home. It was the Panga Soap brand, and it is still in the market today. We called…
Fire Never Goes Out
Our fire never went out. I want to believe the fire we lit in our house in the late sixties when we moved to Nyandarua is the same…
No Unattended Homesteads
The fact that fire never went out in our homes also tells you our homes were never left unattended. You could not lock up a Nyandarua home and…
Granary – Ikumbi
This was the other very important building in a Nyandarua homestead, and every family had one. Be it made of mud walls, timber or iron sheets depending on…
Chicken Manure
“It is the best manure” my mother declared emphatically: and her word was law. She said you cannot get better manure for your crops than chicken manure (thumu…
Latrine
Wherever human beings live, a toilet is as important as where people eat and sleep. Every home in OlKalou had a latrine at the furthest corner of their…
Cubicle – Thingira
Thingira or simply Kiumbu. You identified a home that had teenage boys with the extra building further away from the Main House. As boys got ready for circumcision,…
Dance Parties
The kiumbu also spelt independence. A young man could come and go as he pleased without the parents asking questions. It was also in these kiumbu’s that the…
Sneak Out To Go Dancing
My brothers attended dances all over their friends Kiumbus, but they never hosted one. We did not have older working siblings who owned a record player and even…
Lazy Bones
The kiumbu’s were the pride of these young men. However, their lazy side always creeped up on them. Bed making was not one of the strengths of most…