Everything Luhya folklore in the contemporary society. Meet our superheroes and characters from our oral traditions passed on from generation to the next. We tease them out in music, visual art and modern media depictions.
NOTE: For proverbs, we have a dedicated page for Luhya proverbs and sayings from all 18 Luhya houses.
A story from my childhood on my first ever meeting of yabunje the royal rat; and all Bukusu culture about this fabled rodent. True story. We had closed school. August it was, sometime in the early nineties. An August unlike this past one where children were in school as the pandemic disrupted the school calendar. … Read more
Find the English translation and meaning of the Bukusu proverb engila sebolela okenda. English The road does not tell the traveler what lies ahead. What is the meaning of bukusu proverb engila sebolela okenda This Bukusu proverb is about the uncertainties of life. Truth is only arrived at by walking the journey to its full … Read more
Here at mulembenation.co.ke, we have been reliably informed by our coverage on Luhya culture. From trees of cultural cultural significance among the Luhya to this latest installment of life lessons from our environment that looks at birds of cultural significance among the Luhya, our thirst for knowledge from our ancestors is satiated. Today I want … 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
The rains are back, which means I finally got around to one of my favorite things: farming. Wele blessing us with water also means it’s time for my other favorite thing: taking in the glory of nature. Because, as the soil wets, new life is forth. Speaking of new life, last evening, I saw a … Read more
Somewhere hidden among the vishigas of Vihiga, is a giant footprint of Jesus. Yes, the son of Joseph once rolled through these parts preaching mulembe, so goes the legend. If in doubt, there’s reason why Mary Sinaida Akata, Nabii Yohana (V), Yesu wa Tongaren and Jehovah Wanyonyi are all our people! It must have started … Read more
Some time back, we named our babies. Though we are yet to explore the whole shebang of naming and how luhya names come about, but some justice was done with our piece on Bukusu naming traditions. Today we talk about a phase in a baby’s development that can be the most embarrassing for young, inexperienced … Read more
This story illustrates a Maragoli folktale value to epidemiology. It is months like May that make Christmas sneak up on us. May is a dull, action dry month. It is not planting season like February, Easter season like March or April; not even likembe season that August gifts us. The fifth month of the year, … Read more
It’s not often that one can link African oral literature with the modern science of epidemiology. Such an intricate exercise is within the realm of medical anthropology, whose practitioners locally shouldn’t fill the fingers of one hand. But for an ‘old’ disease like smallpox, you could be in some luck. It shouldn’t therefore be lost … Read more
Today, lets talk Lubukusu, the language of Mubukusu. Lubukusu is rich: lustrous when spoken, immensely expressive in song and damn descriptive in capturing the quintessence of our ways such as when naming our children or when tying the knot as in khuboa chinyinja. Look, I am Bukusu who was majorly schooled in Maragoli land. I am one … Read more
