Africa In Full Colour.

My baby sharks have been having silent maandamanos (protests) for a long time. I refer to them as silent because they throw hints now and then about the state of our old TV which mummy shark bought me for my 40^th birthday. My son is the leader and sponsor of the motion to upgrade to a smart TV. It doesn’t help much when he goes to my sister’s house and finds a TV that’s the size of the wallpaper in her living room. Yes, it is that big.

My kijana gets stressed when he’s hosting his pals at home because we don’t have a smart TV. He feels they might ridicule him. Sema peer pressure. I try to use the situation as a teaching opportunity by showing him that it’s not the TV they are coming for, it’s their good pal. And if they want to visit him at home then he’s already a cool guy and doesn’t need a smart TV to validate him. We adults also suffer from our version of the smart TV complex. It’s time we worked more on ourselves so that our validation comes more from within than externally. Maybe we need to view ourselves as smart internally whether we have a smart TV or not.

Last week I attended my first Kalenjin wedding. My brother decided to run after a girl from Eldoret. Being a man from the mountain, he must be the fastest Kikuyu I know at least in matters of the heart for him to catch up with a girl from the newest city in Kenya and the home of champions.

We set off on Thursday from Nairobi with my sister and travelling buddy Sancho. The last time I was in Eldoret was when my dad worked there as a branch manager for Housing Finance Bank. I was impressed yet again at the road infrastructure in our country. It was a smooth ride apart from the trucks on some parts of the road, especially after Nakuru. The fresh farm produce on the side of the road kept catching my eye. I’m those guys who buys veggies and fruits on the road every time I travel. My pals hate it but my family doesn’t complain. I picked this habit from my Mzee. He once knocked a wild animal many years ago and some nearby Masais slaughtered it. He went on to carry some nyama home. That left a lasting impression and maybe that’s why I’m a loyal customer of roadside produce.

We got to Eldoret at about 6 pm after six hours of travel with a few stops. We settled into our BnB at Unity Homes estate where most of the Nairobi crowd had booked. It was fun doing a trip with my sis and even sharing a house with her. I got to learn her a bit more because the last time we shared a house was in our parents’ home growing up. I can confirm she is still our mother hen. I enjoyed being spoilt and threatened to eat my food. Seeing that food is my love language I gave in to the threats with a smile hehe.

At dinner, we all gathered at the communal hall of the estate. We were briefed on the activities of the next day. It was going to be a packed day because we were going to have 3 events in one day for the wedding to happen. We drove to the bride’s home at 8 am the following morning. A few of the Wazees (now that I’m 50 I qualified hehe ) and Vijanas were selected to go into the house for the negotiations to commence. Everyone else stays outside waiting for the proverbial white smoke to signify that both parties have agreed.

I was eager to witness the negotiations so that I can learn new customs and traditions. For Kalenjins, negotiations are done in the morning so that if the parties disagree then you leave haraka. Mapema ndio best is their policy I think hehe. For us folks from the mountain we first feed you then ask you who you are and why you came. The wazees had a smooth give-and-take conversation that ended with my bro identifying his bride. Then both fathers blessed their couple. To wrap it up we were served with mursik, a local drink made of fermented milk served from a gourd. I loved it.

Round one done, we were pretty upbeat as that’s the most important in the process. We then proceeded to a short garden wedding ceremony and blessing which ushered in the reception. That went on for the rest of the afternoon and into the evening. More beautiful differences between our tribe and the Kalenjins played out here. One that stood out was the MC calling the various groups of men, women, siblings and friends from both sides to come on stage in turns. The groups would stand on opposite ends, one from the groom’s side facing the group from the bride’s side. Boxes of gifts would then be placed in the middle between the two groups and then the DJ would play a Kale song.

 Here everyone is supposed to pick a gift (most were those Masai blankets) and exchange it with someone from the other family. The music would play until everyone on stage had given a gift and received one in return. Both sides would then dance together and hug as a show of unity and acceptance. Again, I loved it. For the wababas (of which I was one hehe) we exchanged gifts and showed acceptance by raising our walking sticks in the air and knocking them together with our new in-laws.

Life is truly in colour and full HD in Africa. Our cultures, traditions and way of life are unique and beautifully different. We should be smart to embrace the differences and not use them to separate ourselves from ourselves. If we can do more of that then our continent will show better on smart TVs all over the world ama?