Omwami Mwene 
Kumuchanjasi is a shrub or small tree that grows in swampy areas or river banks or water ponds. It is a tree of immense cultural value to the people of mulembe. Quick Facts on Kumuchanjasi Scientific name Euclea divinorum Hiern Local Names Kumuchanjasi (Bukusu) Common Name: Magic Guarri Key Charachteristics It has a grey-black stem. … Read more
The gecko, namukhokhome, loves his caterpillars, esa, for food. But it reaches a time that even the gecko rejects what it loves: Namukhokhome kafucha esa. This Abanyala saying means that however much we try to hide the unsavory contours in our characters, they time to time get exposed. Case in point is namukhokhome in this … Read more
That Bungoma is a hotbed for musical talent isn’t a fact in dispute. From the days of yore, we had legends such as the late Kisache Wa Mwasame. Today, the likes of Wanjala Okumu keep dropping them hits. Moreover, new age musicians from Bungoma and it’s environs – the likes of Steve Kay from Bumula … Read more
The dancing lizard GIF is one of the most popular internet memes out there. But why do lizards mindlessly bob their heads when still? Why do lizards, without asking or warning, break into dance ever so often? You guys loved our hilarious take on 40+ popular emojis in Bukusu, good thing it is then that … Read more
What if the fox had a friend? Folklore from around the world informs us that this friend to the fox would sure as day soon suffer from the wily ways of fox. Like in the Bukusu proverb: Kumukhuyu kwasinya enjusi; it hasn’t been any different for the kumukhuyu/ omukhuyu tree; a tree of cultural significance … Read more
In the delight of a blog, Dimples, the author in narrating the lives and times of Bukusu forefathers, writes: “Enywee Bamasaaba, nabawa chimbabasi. Kene mumenye mumakunda kano mindali ne mindali. Mbao omusiku olibarusiamo ta! Mukhabe nge kumusola. Mukhakhebe babana mubulala.” (You Bamasaaba, I bless you. You will live in the land forever. In peace You … Read more
Among the Luhya, it mattered how one went to be with the ancestors. Because this had a say on the death and burial rituals that were to be performed in your honor. Unnatural deaths -those by way of accidents, lightening, suicide or murder as we saw in the case of khuuna kumusakhu– were taboo events … Read more
Our forefathers depended entirely on their lived environment for sustenance. Many of the jewels of the earth that fed, healed and protected our forefathers are still with us. We rediscover these gifts of mother nature by highlighting their cultural value. Kumwimbwi is one such the gift that keeps on giving. Kumwimbwi at a glance Scientific … Read more
In our previous post on the Kinyarwanda and Maragoli connection, we traced the roots of these two East African Bantu languages spoken by a combined over 15 million East Africans to that point before the great divergence in central Africa. Today, we highlight what the two languages, Lulogooli and Kinyarwanda, carried with themselves. Our focus … Read more
The world renown, Kwita Inzina, the Rwandan gorilla naming ceremony that takes place annually at the Kinigi headquarters of Volcanoes national park, had me curious. The words, Kwita Inzina, reminded us of home as they sounded so close to my tongue. Now this happenstance isn’t uncommon among Bantu languages. However, it still got me curious … Read more
