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Thursday, October 28, 2010
GONE FISHING? NO SUCH LUCK!
To my esteemed readers,
With finals set for next week, I have found myself literary pitching camp in a dunk library. I have even acquired the musty odour emanating from the Kilimanjaro of books, encyclopedias, dictionaries and all other manner of publications stacked on the shelves. It's usual at times like these for students to go for nights without sleep which has the effect of making them very cranky whenever you interrupt them. Since a good number of them are avid readers of this blog, it is very unlikely that they are reading this but I wish them the best just as well. I too must take some time off and steal away to my favorite dark corner barricaded by Economics and Finance literature that goes back to the first publications of The Wealth of Nations! The smell may be hideous but the spot is suited to my convenience. Have a great weekend and be sure to check back on Friday next week for more postings.
You are the best.
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
REMEMBER THE ONE ABOUT THE GUEST WHO OVERSTAYED HIS WELCOME?
Assuming you went through a primary school in Kenya, you will no doubt be familiar with certain characters like Mr. Kamau, Mrs. Kamau, Tom and Mary in that text book Hallo children. You may also remember of a certain clown who appeared somewhere in class 3 called Mwalimu Jini and I am sure you did not pass that opportunity to nickname the classmate with the most pointed ears after him! Assuming also that you survived Mr. Kitosyo's "six of the best" landing on your posterior (my friend Pete calls it gluteus maximus) and against your most sound judgment, you decided to hang in there, probably rationalizing that even if the beatings never stopped, you will at least get "maziwa ya nyayo" to sooth the pain. If all the above describes you, then you will agree with me that the poem below was the most memorable that you ever recited back in the day. I pulled it off with two translations, one in English for readers not familiar with Swahili, and the second in Kikamba- dedicated to my grandmother who never stopped to remind me my Kamba stinks. Enjoy.
THE ENGLISH TRANSLATION
Mgeni siku ya kwanza For the guest his first day
Mpe mchele na panza rice with flying fish provide
mtilie kifuani embrace him, welcome him inside
mkaribishe mgeni Stranger who has come to stay.
Mgeni siku ya pili On the guest's second day
mpe ziwa na samli give him milk and butter too.
mahaba yakizidia If love can greatly grow in you
mzidie mgeni. give more to the guest come to stay.
Mgeni siku ya tatu Guest now on his third day
jumbani hamuna kitu Three cups rice is all we've got
Mna zibaba zitatu left to eat. Boil and eat the lot
pika ule na mgeni with the guest come to stay.
Mgeni siku ya 'ne Guest now on the fourth day
mpe jembe akalime To farm send him off with a hoe.
Akirudi muagane When he comes back bid him go
ende kwao mgeni and be gone, dear stranger come to stay.
Mgeni siku ya tano Look at guest the fifth day
mwembamba kama sindano Needle thin the guest has gone
Hauishi musengenyano Gossip now goes on and on
asengenyao mgeni 'bout the guest come to stay.
Mgeni siku ya sita Guest on the sixth long day
mkila mkajificha when you eat he mustn't know
mwingie vipembeni while you eat in corners go
afichwaye yeye mgeni Hide from guest come to stay.
Mgeni siku ya sabaa Guest on the seventh day-
si mgeni a na baa someone set the roof alight!
Hata moto mapaani Guilty man is known alright,
akatia yeye mgeni. It's the monster come to stay.
Mgeni siku ya nane Tell the stranger his eighth day,
njo ndani tuonane just come inside a moment, then
Atapotokea nje when he comes out again,
tuagane mgeni Goodbye, guest come to stay.
Mgeni siku ya kenda Tell the guest ninth day
enenda mwana kwenenda! go in peace, son, but go
Usirudi nyuma and don't come back, O
usirudi mgeni guest come to stay.
Mgeni siku ya kumi Guest now on his tenth day tenth day
kwa mateke na magumi with kicks and blows chase away.
Hapana afukuzwaye, There is no other who is chased away
fukuzwaye fukuzwaye yeye mgeni! But the guest come to stay.
I know of two people who would be glad to see a kikamba poem on print. One is my grandmother, who despite my best efforts to prove otherwise still maintains that my kikamba is horrible. I admit I have a few problems with the "tenses". I knew that the German I learned in high school would mess up my kamba! (You can relax, I won't do a German translation.) But I detour. The second person who would be particularly proud to see more vernacular on print is none other than Ngugi wa Thiongo, the long time lone howling voice against "linguistic" imperialism. So, to both, I dedicate arguably the first kamba poem to be put down on paper/word processor.
THE KIKAMBA TRANSLATION- THE UNABRIDGED VERSION
Mgeni siku ya kwanza Mueni muthenya wa mbee
Mpe mchele na panza munenge isyo na nthooko
mtilie kifuani muthokye nthini thome
mkaribishe mgeni Mueni ula waemeeie kwene
Mgeni siku ya pili Mueni sua wa keli
mpe ziwa na samli mukamie kalila ka n'gombe
mahaba yakizidia na wakiitwa ni wendo mwike nesa
mzidie mgeni. mueni uu waemeeie kwene
Mgeni siku ya tatu Mueni sua wa katatu
jumbani hamuna kitu Vatiele kasuku kamwe ka mboso
Mna zibaba zitatu Tinisya mbisu iko aye
pika ule na mgeni Mueni uu waemeeie kwene
Mgeni siku ya 'ne Mueni sua wa kana
mpe jembe akalime . Yiembe kituo muundani
Akirudi muagane Asyoka umwisuve athi
ende kwao mgeni . Mueni uu waemeeie kwene
Mgeni siku ya tano Mueni muthenya wa ndunyu
mwembamba kama sindano Amosie ekala tuvindi
Hauishi musengenyano Andu yu nimeumuneenea
asengenyao mgeni . Mueni uu waemeeie kwene
Mgeni siku ya sita Mueni sua wa thandatu
mkila mkajificha Twivithe twambe kuya
mwingie vipembeni Na matialyo ungu wa kitanda
afichwaye yeye mgeni Mueni uu waemeeie kwene
Mgeni siku ya sabaa Mueni sua wa muonza
si mgeni a na baa Nuu ula avivya kiala?
Hata moto mapaani Ti ungi no ula mueni
akatia yeye mgeni. Mueni uu waemeeie kwene
Mgeni siku ya nane Muthenya wa nyanya
njo ndani tuonane ita mueni wii muneenanye
Atapotokea nje Alika umwie "kyalo kiseo"
tuagane mgeni Mueni uu waemeeie kwene
Mgeni siku ya kenda Muthenya wa kenda
enenda mwana kwenenda! "savali nzeo, mwana, indino thi
Usirudi nyuma na ndukasyoke ingi nongi "
usirudi mgeni Mueni uu waemeeie kwene
Mgeni siku ya kumi Muthenya wa ikumi
kwa mateke na magumi ni ngundi na nthele
Hapana afukuzwaye, vayi ungi ukulungwa
fukuzwaye fukuzwaye yeye mgeni! no ula mueni waemeeie kwene!
Sunday, October 24, 2010
CELEBRATING A KENYAN HERO
Today with Professor Ngugi Wa Thiongo at the Shield of Faith where the Kenyan community gathered to celebrate Mashujaa (Heroes) Day. The lady seated in front of me couldn't capture the occasion more eloquently (despite the obvious linguistic assault her scarlet T-SHIRT deals on the word "mashujaa"). Professor wa Thiongo gave an harrowing account of a colonial era in which he was raised with the promise of freedom and the disillusionment of the subsequent regimes that were keen on muzzling political dissidents. His writings, some of which he paid for dearly by imprisonment without trial include The River Between, Weep Not Child, Petals of Blood, A Grain of Wheat, Devil on the Cross, Wizard of the Crow and his new memoir Dreams in a Time of War. Earlier this year, speculations were rife that Ngugi would be the 2010 Literature Nobel laureate but contrary to expectations someone else was named. (although hundreds of journalists had camped outside his gates on the chilly night before the disappointing announcement was made.) But Nobel prize or not, you have to admit that the professor deserves even a higher honour of being regarded a "shujaa." The Professor is currently a distinguished professor of Comparative Literature and English at University of California at Irvine.
Friday, October 22, 2010
LOOOONGEST!!
It may interest you to know that the official longest word in English language is Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis. Allow me a second, that word has taken the wind out of me! It's the name usually used to describe a lung disease that miners catch by inhaling fine silica dust. It 's also not a word people usually work into a conversation unless they are intent on acquiring blisters in the mouth or worst still break their entire jaw. Of course, Smiles may still be considered the unofficial longest word in English. According to the joke, there is a mile between the beginning S and the last S. As for me, I like a word I can actually use. Even now.. as I wish you a day filled with SMILES!
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
ORIENTATION...FOR ART'S SAKE
Art is one of those subjects you can't fully define and yet you can easily recognize when you see. The history of Art starts right at creation when God created Adam, not out of marble or clay, but from dust. No artist or sculptor that ever lived has been able to do so since. Skipping over a considerable period, we arrive at primitive ages when art took the form of cave paintings, mostly of creatures that either were eaten by stone age man or by which stone age man was eaten. Following that period was art most of which comes from the early civilizations of Rome, Greece, Egypt, India and China.Fast forward to the Renaissance period, a movement that began in Italy between the 14th to 17th century.Art in this period focused on beauty and harmony.Among the notable artists then were Michelangelo and Leonardo Da Vinci who did so many other things like hydraulics, anatomy, military engineering and physical science it is a wonder he ever got round to painting. You may have heard of his famous painting Mona Lisa. He also painted the above art work titled The Last Supper. The forerunners of what came to be the Impressionist period were two artists with nearly similar names, Monet and Manet (FYI: The Manet with an A came before the one with an O.. that's how I remember). The Impressionism era was followed by the Expressionism whose art was influenced by artists like Munch and Vincent Van Gogh who painted in a frenzy and cut off one of his ears in a fit of anger. Art in the 20th Century is mostly abstract and many artists of this period are called experimentalists. People who have no idea of this art form can be excused to think that the paintings are the result of an artist splashing paint on canvas with the eyes closed. I have to admit that sometimes I catch myself tilting my head just to confirm that the gallery did not accidentally hang the painting upside down! Abstract is sub divided into so many other was forms ranging from cubism which was originated by Pablo Picasso, surrealism by Salvador Dali ( How this artist influenced my love for art is a story for another day), feminist art, dadaism, mamaism (just kidding!), fauvism and many others I am unwilling to get into because I fear I may not get out. I guess if a painting can speak a thousand words, the one above can speak ten times as much. It is Leonardo Da Vinci's The Last Supper, a piece derived from the scripture after Jesus had announced to the disciples that one among them would betray him. Observe the way the artist was able to capture the drama and excitement as the disciples questioned who it was. By the way, can you spot Judas?
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