She was born, brought up and got married in Mambrui
She links her age to the British Colonial period by stating
that when Kenya got independence, she was 11years old. Therefore she was born
in 1952. Halima experienced life during the colonial time and after
independence .She fondly refers to this as “maisha wakati wa mkoloni na maisha
wakati wa Kenyatta”. Her grandparents worked on a farm, growing food crops and
cutting firewood. Her grandmother also baked bread for sale (mkate wa mofa)
many times, Halima helped sell the bread costing only ten cent. (Peni la Uingereza
la tundu) an Englishman’s coin with a hole at the center. For the same coin,
she could buy a match box, a pound of sugar and some tea leaves. Even though
she came from a poor family by the standards of Mambrui village then; there was
always plenty of food for everyone to eat. Women did most household chores.
 |
| Baobab Fruit (Mabuyu) |
Teenage girls were given special care by female adults. They
were educated on how to maintain hygiene during their monthly periods and
generally how to carry themselves responsibly as young ladies. This education
was provided by mothers and other mentors referred to as (Kungwi). Sanitary towels were unheard of in those days. Girls
were taught how to stitch pieces of Khanga (absorbent cotton fabric) together
in a way to create a thick padding at the center with strings attached to the
ends. The pads would be worn and strings tightened to prevent unnecessary dropping.
The stitched pads were washed and aired on strings tied under the girl’s beds
so that no one else sees them. Beds were made from wood, woven papyrus (miyaa) and raised to allow sufficient
air to pass underneath for the cotton pads to dry up. After menstruation; they
would wash their hair with shampoo locally made by boiling baobab seeds and
pulp in water to foam. They would then perform ablution (ghusl) (kutia maji kichwani mara tatu, kisha mabegani), an Islamic religious
tradition. Parents always watched out for the routine and frequency of their
daughters boiling the baobab seeds. If any of them failed to boil her baobab
shampoo; the parents would note that she had not had her period and would
carefully watch out for possibilities of pre- marital pregnancy. Even though
the girls were well protected and educated about sex, some got pregnant before
marriage. Whenever this happened, it was frowned upon by Society but support
was given to the girls to carry the pregnancy to delivery. However, babies born
out of wedlock were not told who their fathers were but were raised by their
maternal grandmothers.
It was regarded as respectful behavior for girls to hide in
rooms whenever doors were knocked by visitors and strangers. This prevented
visitors from seeing the girls as they would easily think of sending marriage
proposals, yet at that time, it was an affair purely left to parents and close
adult relatives.
Discussions during marriage proposals were done by adults in
the family, without both the girls and boys knowledge of who their future
husbands would be. The boy’s parents would visit the girl’s parents home to
propose. Weddings were arranged as soon in marriage proposals were accepted.
Halima observes any child’s character (mannerisms) depend a
lot on how their parents, especially mothers bring them up. On accepting
marriage proposals, special female teachers experienced in sexuality were
assigned the duty of teaching the girls how to live in marriage; particularly
how to prepare themselves to have sex with their husbands).
Matrimonial life.
Girls were taught and
given guidelines on how to live with their husbands. How to receive them
whenever they come back home from work, to show respect to their in-laws, how
to adorn their bodies in preparation to going to bed, how make love/have sex
with their husbands’ e.t.c.
On the wedding night, a white cotton sheet was spread on the couple’s
bed by the kungwi and close female relatives before consummation of the marriage.
This was then shown to close family members after consummation to prove the
virginity status of their girls. If stained after sex, the girls would be
congratulated for guarding their virginity and special gifts given by husbands
to appreciate that.
The bridegrooms would be given spiced milk (maziwa ya kungu) to stimulate them and
make them bold in preparation for the act of sex on the first night of the
marriage.
For seven days following the wedding (fungat), the bride was not allowed to cook to prevent her heena
decorations from fading and her body from smelling smoke and also to give her
and her husband a lot of time to bond (one week equivalent to honeymoon). On
the seventh day, her family members (mother, aunts and sisters together with
her teacher came to teach her and supervise her cook). Of course while growing
up, she had been taught how to cook. Then from that day, she would always cook
for her husband. In the past, there were no bakeries.
Women activities
There was plenty of
food, in Mambrui, when the elementary school started (Arab Primary School), only
boys were enrolled. Children were taught Koran education but girls were not
enrolled for the elementary education. Almost all households in Mambrui had
come to an agreement amongst themselves about that. When some of the boys were
asked to pay school fees, they would work, to get coins to take to school; it
was not strictly a parent’s duty to pay school fees. Halima remembers from what
her late husband told her that one time he ran errands for people and paid
30cents as school fees at Mambrui Primary school for one year. There was
regular inspection by Colonial Officers in schools and after class 7- most
young men were employed to start earning salaries. A few who came from wealthy
families managed to proceed for further education, those from poor families had
no choice but to settle for employment. Her husband and many other boys were
recruited by force to attend school. Colonial Officers would come to their
village with guns to threaten them to go to school or risk being shot, of
course no one was shot for refusing to attend school. She also notes that the
kind of knowledge, understanding and wisdom about life that young men had after
class 7 in those days was more than what most form four school leavers of today
have. This is because in the past the sense of responsibility, diligence,
respect and other virtues that society approved of were more upheld in the
village than today’s situation.
Handcrafts.
Weaving beds, carpentry,
basketry, crocheting, stitching hats (kushona kofia).
Farm work
Most people, planted maize, cowpeas, green grams, simsim,
cotton, millet, cashew nuts, mango trees, citrus fruits (oranges, lemons,
limes), pumpkins, watermelons and many other food crops.
Maize was harvested in large quantities and preserved in a
granary (uchaga), raised from the
ground and fire wood lit underneath to smoke the maize dry. Whenever needed,
enough quantities would be taken from the granaries and pounded in mortar and
pestle ( kinu na mti) and cleaned before
cooking. Maize pounding was done by women but men being more energetic enjoyed
helping their wives and daughters do
it as well, although that was rare.
As a child, she helped her grandfather harvest cotton, clean
to remove chaff, pack in sacks. These sacks were then taken to a banda near
Riyadha Mosque in Mambrui. Trade in cotton was popularly handled by men. Cotton
seasons were also a trade season for ladies who would make and sell Mahamri,
juices, teas at the market.
Leisure activities for
women
·
Heena
painting
·
Dancing
chakacha
·
Lelemama
– during weddings
·
Visiting
family members, friends and neighbours in their houses to catch up with local
news and ongoing gossips.
·
Ngoma
ya Makungwi/Msondo – special dance in which girls were taught how to dance for
their husbands, this dance was only attended by women, in a closed up place so
that men could no see. Women and girl
getting ready for marriage danced with minimal dressing.
Some of the teachers (kungwi she remembers are _ Bi. Shebani
wa Sadala, Bi. Baraka Kifua mbele and Bi Rupia Bahamisi.
Taxes
Taxes were paid at the Chief’s Office. Many times, askaris
were sent around to collect taxes. Each household would pay Ksh.2 and get a
stamp to last them one year. Even at this minimal rate, many men would be heard
bragging that they had run away when Police Officers came to collect tax, some
men hid in granaries to evade the taxes, somehow, the chief and police knew about this and in their rounds, they
would search granaries too. All men over 30years old were expected to pay the
tax.
Safari to Mombasa
There was a wealthy
man in Mambrui (Bw. Said Abdallah Basadiq) with a long bus (Leyland) that was
the main means of transport from Mambrui to Mombasa. There were no good roads. So, the vehicle passed through mavueni –
milimani, kaloleni and the journey to Mombasa she heard took a very long time
as the vehicle moved at a slow speed.
Provisions for home use
Commodities from shops
were sold at an affordable price. Both the rich and the poor could afford to
buy. A cup of milk cost 10cents, several pieces of bajia with on a skew (like
mshakiki) cost 5cents. A bottle of Fanta Soda (popularly known as soda ya Jeffrey) in a tall narrow bottle cost 2 shillings
and 3cents.
Families whose children went to school beyond Primary level,
which mama Halima remembers are.
·
Sheikh
Salim Ramadhan – long time health office, now a very old man.
·
The
Naji Family -Prof. Abdullah and his
brother Mansour
·
Sheikh
Ali Kidiku – Senior Health Officer
Interview conducted by Doris Kamuye, Malindi Museum
I
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