Meet the Bukusu proverb embalikha yarafua nga ekhilakhima – A tale of polygamy, the church and Elijah Masinde’s resistance.

poster A Bukusu proverb: embalikha elinga ekhilakhima, esiukha bichikhi!

As I equivocally stated before, we the people of mulembe are a people of love. The spirit of mulembe is that of warmth. That of love. Of companionship. That of a man loving his woman. And of women finding joy in keeping their beds warm; making sure her man is tethered to her sheets. Therefore, … Read more

Mukha Rarao Omutiti Obeya Busa: When A Son Could Take His Father’s Wife To Propagate His Generation

Wife inheritance was one of the key contributors to polygamy of the polygyny type (embalikha) among the Bukusu. The following cultural practice best described via the Bukusu words mukha rarao omutiti obeya busa, is still commonly practiced. Thus, it’s cultural importance is not lost on us. For a father to take his son’s woman, an … Read more

Khukona Mwikhokho: Back In The Day, It Was Sometimes No Taboo For A Father To ‘Take’ His Son’s Woman

Khukhona mwikhokho is a fast fading Bukusu cultural marriage practice whose contribution to polygamous marriages of the polygyny type (embalikha) of yesteryear is one hard to ignore. We feature it for cultural purposes. Possibly also to offer answers to a lost soul who on tracing their roots, came by a relation that in today’s westernized … Read more