Nololelela nisyo engokho elia sokilia ta! If you look at what chicken eat, you’ll never eat chicken.
My people, the Bukusu, consider chicken (engoho in Kimaragoli, éengokho Lubukusu) a honorable delicacy. The cultural importance of chicken among the Luhya cannot be understated. Therefore, when I say that chicken is ‘honored’ pay attention. And to those uncultured in the ways of mulembe, this is what I mean.
Mluhya na kuku
A Luhya and his chicken. By way of popular food Kenyan jokes and other pop media representations, you may know of the much touted cordial relationship between my people and chicken. It is a longstanding relationship whose age can be told by the sheer number of sayings on chicken that my people have. If in doubt, consider that the highest form of honor one can receive from a host in Mulembe is to be slaughtered for a chicken; and then be gifted a young capon or hen to rear when parting.
But my people aren’t into just any type of chicken. For avoidance of doubt , my people from the days of our great grandfathers and beyond, do their chicken free range and organic. Nowadays with this type of chicken being in vogue for its healthy attributes, today many initiatives in my home county of Bungoma focus on tapping this love and ages old knowledge of chicken husbandry.
Meaning of saying Nololelela nisyo engokho elia sokilia ta! If you look at what chicken eat, you’ll never eat chicken.
If you were to ask your mum back in the village, she without doubt offer its all about what chicken feed on. Free range chicken feed on anything they can find. They eat food remains, insect, worms, and all kinds of crawlers, grass, waste from other animals etc. In the village, we believe that its this diverse menu that makes chicken so tasty.
We need this myth on what chicken feed on to explain our world. Otherwise, we would be caught in quite a situation. Here we are as a people who have elevated the humble chicken and yet, as most will find it, chicken feed on the most revolting of anything. Including human waste. It is with this in mind that they came up with this saying.
The saying ‘nololelela nisyo engokho elia sokilia ta!’ simply cautions us that when you meet someone, they may have big flaws. One is encouraged not to focus on flaws but the sweet positive side of their character.
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