What happens when one is caught in the act? Bad things my brother. Horrible things. Luhya myths on infidelity utilize shame to keep the woman in check. For the man, the threat is death. An immediate, shameful death. As you may know, there’s little outside shame that the female psyche fears. For men, death is a constant fear that stalks everyday of their waking lives. In part six of this series, we detailed how it wasn’t always a man’s world in traditional mulembe societies. While death features prominently in that chapter, none of the incidences speak of anything as graphic as khuuna kumusakhu.
Back when I was growing up in the village, something happened that stripped away my innocence. I’m talking of those days when the most ideal place for someone my age to urinate was on the ‘pavements’ of my grandmother’s house. Days when wiping my nose with the back of my hands and eating the proceeds from picking my nose was a favorite pastime. These days were before social media, but still, everybody knew everyone. And not just that, what everyone was up to. Like Makunja’s new liking to rats.
Makunja’s Rat Eating, A Cheating Wife and A Tree Of Cultural Value To The Luhya. The Result? Khuuna Kumusakhu
The body of Makunja, a middle-aged man, was found by the roadside. When alive, Makunja was a hardworking luhya man who made an honest living as an animal trader. He traded in chicken, sheep, goats and cattle, and had built a reputation as a fair businessman.
So much so that he was the go to guy in the whole of the land inhabited by Sudi’s descendants. In fact, if one managed to raise six well fed chicken, Makunja would exchange them with a sheep.
What killed such a handy person like Makunja? It wasn’t so apparent at first. Nobody could tell. Nobody, except those in the know of luhya myths on infidelity, given the state that his body.
Tracing Makunja’s Last Steps
It was reported that Makunja had gone to the market the previous day. As is common practice, he passed by Naliaka’s busaa den for one for the road. He was spotted also at Nakhumicha’s and the newly opened Murakori’s den that had stole all of Naliaka’s and Nakhumicha’s regulars.
A common Bukusu saying goes, sonywa munyngu chibili ta! A man shouldn’t drink from more than one pot. It’s said that the reason is that it is easier to find the culprit in the event of poisoning. But as we shall see, the meaning of this bukusu saying extends to other spheres of life. Makunja had siphoned busaa in more than one pot the day before his death. First mistake.
Enter Wafukho, The Jilted Husband
The sour might have bedeviled him to satisfying his extra thirst by munching someone’s wife. Unfortunately, the wife ‘owner’ one Wafukho, had done his homework. He laid a trap for Makunja. Wafukho was a security guard at a local school. Thus he spent most of his nights away from his house. It is alleged that Makunja had taken over Wafukho’s roles in the home including paying school fees, tilling the land as well as laying Makunja’s wife.
This steamy affair between Makunja and Wafukho’s wife was in the public limelight. In spite of this, Wafukho was unexpectedly calm. So much so that he was assumed to be timid. Those who tried ‘hinting’ it to him, said Wafukho looked the other way every time the discussion about his philandering wife came up. However, unbeknown to anyone but himself, that fateful day, Wafukho laid a trap.
Makunja Caught Eating Rats
Wafukho pretended to leave for work from home as usual. He hid in a thicket nearby and watched until the flicker of light in his house went off. He stayed put until it came back on sometime just before the middle of the night. In the thin light of the stars above, he could make the gleam of the metal from a bicycle belonging to Makunja.
The bicycle was safely parked next to the mango tree in front of his house. I imagine Wafukho might have felt a strong urge to thrash the bike, but chose to keep his focus. It is alleged that Wafukho was overcome with pain. He had already cut a strong branch of Kumutelende tree and hid it in some bushes not far from his house.
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Kumutelende Tree And Khuuna Khumusakhu
Kumutelende in lubukusu, is an indigenous trees with cultural value among the luhya that grows primarily near rivers. It brings forth Kamarende fruits. Kumutelende tree has branches with thorns. This tree is used to defile bodies of notorious social deviants. Hold this thought for a while.
Now, onto Makunja’s second mistake.
Wafukho did find Makunja in his matrimonial bed making love with his wife. A cousin of mine, a wambumuli of sorts, has one rule that he holds that all rat eaters should observe: Never sleep or conduct your business in a house you haven’t paid the rent to. His wisdom must have stemmed from knowledge passed on from our forefathers. What Makunja had done was unacceptable in Bukusu culture. You should not defile a man that way.
By way of a jilted husband’s fit of rage — whose result was Makunja’s naked, defile body by the footpath — naive little ones like yours truly came to learn what the words khuuna khumusakhu meant way before we should have.
Wafukho not only killed Makunja, but also pushed a branch Kumutelende tree up his backside. Now I don’t know which comes before, but the heinous act is what is known as khuuna kumusakhu.
A Shameful Send Off
When this happened, the village mourned Makunja. He left behind a widow with two young children. However, culturally, the people did not find fault in Wafukho’s heinous act. But the state had other ideas, Wafukho was to be picked up by a blue police land-rover. The animal trader has not been seen to-date.
Khuuna Kumusakhu Outside The Context Of Infidelity
The late Kisache WaMwasami’s hit “Icha Mulole” talks of such a situation as that of Makunja. The incident of Khuuna Kumusakhu in the Bukusu folk music maestro’s happens after the victim is caught night running.