THE YOUTHING MAGAZINE FASHION PASSION ISSUE | Page 23

TALES OF A
VILLAGER
BY TONNY OGWA
It has been a season of festivities
and celebrations all over the
country with people celebrating
graduations and parties after gradu
ations and animals slaughtered in
the parties after graduation.
Well, our humble hamlet wasn't
left behind this time round. We too
had our own equal share of this
grandeur. And it was grand. If it
wasn't I would have told you so.
My village is not known for
anything. Kamreri pacho has never
been mentioned in any news bul
letin or any of the local dailies. You
see, even you the brightest amongst
your kinsmen and the only hides
and skins degree holder from your
clan has no idea what I'm blabbing
continously about. This doesn't
mean Kamreri has never had her
own share of greatness. No omera.
Yet Kamreri sits at the heart of South Nyanza. Legends
have it that Mreri our ancestor was the most beloved of
Ramogi's grandchildren. Of course y'all know Ramogi is
the father of all Jorieko (intellects) south of the Sahara
and north of Limpopo. And I'm a direct descendant of
Ramogi. But you already know this so there's no wisdom in
reminding you.
I did not summon you under my tree today to tell you
about my village. You all have your own villages to talk
about. Neither did I call you here to tell you about my
ancestors. Y'all know how shrewd they were (yours truly is
their blood, ahem).
Still the bottom of this story does not begin before the
name of one or two of our most outstanding ancestors is
invoked. So I hail the spirits of Nyochieng Kogiri the valiant
worrier who lived and died in the nineteen pat opuk
(1900s). He wrestled rhinos, elephants and Lions to secure
us land. And when the white man came to steal from us,
he told him in verbatim to go hug a cactus tree then ride
atop a porcupine back to wherever hole he crawled from.
Today we excrete in large open fields thanks to his efforts.
And we are not very proud to say he would have made a
very good friend to the deputy president had he lived in
this time. Of course you'll know Uliam's appetite for land.