"There are no such things as strangers, only friends we haven't met yet."
Anonymous
"Odd how much it hurts when a friend moves away - and leaves behind only silence."
Pam Brown
"You can make more friends in two months by becoming interested in other people than you can by trying to get other people interested in you." Dale Carnegie
"You can hardly make a friend in a year, but you can easily offend one in an hour."
Chinese Proverb
"It is the friends that you can call at 4 A.M. that matter." Marlene Dietrich
"In times of prosperity friends will be plenty; in time of adversity not one in twenty."
English Proverb
"Each friend represents a world in us, a world possibly not born until they arrive, and it is only by this meeting that a new world is born." Anais Nin
"God save me from my friends - I can protect myself from my enemies." Proverb
"A friend is one who knows all about you and likes you anyway." Christi Mary Warner
"A friend can tell you things you don't want to tell yourself." Frances Ward Weller
Friends are born, not made. Henry Adams
"Life without a friend is death without a witness." Spanish Proverb
"We are all travelers in the wilderness of this world, and the best we can find in our travels is an honest friend" Robert Lewis Stevenson
"The most I can do for my friend is simply to be his friend." Henry David Thoreau
How can sincerity be a condition of friendship? A taste for truth at any cost is a passion which spares nothing. Albert Camus
Friendship often ends in love; but love in friendship never. Charles Caleb Colton
What a wretched lot of old shriveled creatures we shall be by-and-by. Never mind the uglier we get in the eyes of others, the lovelier we shall be to each other; that has always been my firm faith about friendship. George Eliot
A friend may well be reckoned the masterpiece of nature. Ralph Waldo Emerson
"Friends are God's way of apologizing to us for our families." Unknown
"No person is your friend who demands your silence, or denies your right to grow."
Alice Walker
My best friend is the man who in wishing me well wishes it for my sake. Aristotle
Friendship is a single soul dwelling in two bodies. Aristotle
This communicating of a man's self to his friend works two contrary effects; for it redoubles joys, and cutteth griefs in half. Francis Bacon
Friendship is a strong and habitual inclination in two persons to promote the good and happiness of one another. Eustace Budgell
"My best friend is the one that brings out the best in me." Henry Ford
"If I had to choose between betraying my country and betraying my friend, I hope I should have the guts to betray my country." E. M. Forster
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
Celebrated Ceremonies and cultural events
As promised in the last posting i will be discussing different ceremonies and cultural events that took place during my stay in the village. Some of these ceremonies have been very important in influencing my adult life and also enabling me to appreciate and value our cultural heritage and diversity.
Nyoluoro
This ceremony was held immediately after harvesting in appreciation to the abundance in harvest that God had blessed the community with. Why 'nyoluoro'? It was named so because of the nature of organizing this ceremonies where each home ( household) was expected to contribute and prepare foodstuff and brew local beer for the villagers to celebrate. This was a rotational event moving from home to home until all the homes within the village were exhausted hence 'Nyoluoro' meaning to go round.
I particularly liked this ceremony because it was always an avenue to meet so many old men, women and friends who always accompanied their parents to such events. While the old men and women enjoyed the local beer after a hearty meal of Nyama choma and ugali, roasted tripe and even the tripe bowel (known locally as Ojuri) we took the time off to play some football, volleyball and even competed in races. it was a great moment and the competition was very tight if i look back now i think it has been a worthwhile adventure and learning ground for me.
Usually the climax of the events was traditional dances and even traditional music that was always played to entertain the village folks. There would be the chorus guy leading these songs, in most cases this was Benjamin Okumbe, the rest of the women folk would ululate and sing along in a beatiful rhythm and such was the harmony and peace that we enjoyed growing up in the village. During these songs, there would be uniform dance style and the whole group would move from the main house dancing and singing upto the gate of the home and back again and this would go on and on for different songs till dusk.
It is quite nostalgic remebering these things so many years later when there is only one remaining old man still surviving out of the whole lot of them. As i write this piece i see clearly my grandfather Enoka Gauna, Riako Ndisi, Mariko Otiato, Ogude Apiyo, Nyangute Kasure, Ambila, Otana, Mawere Odiyo, Odipo Dalmas, Ndege, Peter Ogoyi, and the only surviving group member Benjamin Okumbe wuon Oyola. To the demise may God Rest your souls in Peace.
expect more in the next blog as we continue our village experiences.
Nyoluoro
This ceremony was held immediately after harvesting in appreciation to the abundance in harvest that God had blessed the community with. Why 'nyoluoro'? It was named so because of the nature of organizing this ceremonies where each home ( household) was expected to contribute and prepare foodstuff and brew local beer for the villagers to celebrate. This was a rotational event moving from home to home until all the homes within the village were exhausted hence 'Nyoluoro' meaning to go round.
I particularly liked this ceremony because it was always an avenue to meet so many old men, women and friends who always accompanied their parents to such events. While the old men and women enjoyed the local beer after a hearty meal of Nyama choma and ugali, roasted tripe and even the tripe bowel (known locally as Ojuri) we took the time off to play some football, volleyball and even competed in races. it was a great moment and the competition was very tight if i look back now i think it has been a worthwhile adventure and learning ground for me.
Usually the climax of the events was traditional dances and even traditional music that was always played to entertain the village folks. There would be the chorus guy leading these songs, in most cases this was Benjamin Okumbe, the rest of the women folk would ululate and sing along in a beatiful rhythm and such was the harmony and peace that we enjoyed growing up in the village. During these songs, there would be uniform dance style and the whole group would move from the main house dancing and singing upto the gate of the home and back again and this would go on and on for different songs till dusk.
It is quite nostalgic remebering these things so many years later when there is only one remaining old man still surviving out of the whole lot of them. As i write this piece i see clearly my grandfather Enoka Gauna, Riako Ndisi, Mariko Otiato, Ogude Apiyo, Nyangute Kasure, Ambila, Otana, Mawere Odiyo, Odipo Dalmas, Ndege, Peter Ogoyi, and the only surviving group member Benjamin Okumbe wuon Oyola. To the demise may God Rest your souls in Peace.
expect more in the next blog as we continue our village experiences.
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