Once in a while he seems to live in his past. His thoughts wander into the distant past. He begins to talk to some invisible friends. I know most of them. They slept long ago. Including two of my real grandfathers. One of whom he calls a small boy of yesterday They seem to be running somewhere in a hurry and somehow he has been left behind. He calls out to them to wait for him since he has tipped accidentally and dropped into some deep hole! He asks them to wait as he wipes the dust off. Suddenly he breaks into a song. I ask him what song that is and he smiles broadly before he declares, Eitonyu ne Komolyon sore!!! Nenyu no ane Longurat!! Eeeh soo weree! ( Thats a song in praise of my bull! This is something so close to his heart and he sings it for at least three minutes. I interrupt. The next minute he tells me of a disaster that led to a group of young men to die in large numbers. He kind of weeps before I ask him how they died. A dead cow had been poisoned by a white man. The men feasted on it. They died. He recalls a particular victim whom they underwent the circumcision rites together in 1935! He clicks and tells me regrettably, kipa chumek chekororon ornyo ( Good men of the chumo age set perished) I pity him. He sings another line or two in praise of his bull. Long distant event. Way back!! This is how I spent my morning today. With approx 99 year old man who is full of strength. He cant walk after he broke his leg some years back but has a heart of a lion. He tells me he wants a new spear. In his staggering thoughts he instructs me to get him a new spear. I ask him if he can still fight. He laughs. And dares me to a fight. do you even know how to hold a spear? He asks me! I say yes. He invites for a fight the following morning. He assures me he will only jump once and Ill be gone. I notice he hasnt lost a single tooth. He still munches roasted maize with the ease of a sixteen year old lad. And when we finally mention the horn or the traditional trumpet made from the Kudu animal only found in lake bogoria, he grins and smiles broadly!! He is at it again. Blows an imaginary horn and he boasts of having been the best in doing it during his time. He claims he can still shake the earth by a single blow. They always came for him for that reason. To blow the horn. We are in the distant past and we begin to talk about his mother. You should have heard how he praised his mother. The titles he gave her. And many other events in his youth. Particularly song, dressing and his long plaited hair painted red that swung in synchronous motion as they danced for their girls. we jumped as though we were being dropped from the sky!! The earth trembled! He boasted!! I am left to admire him. I promise to visit him more often. As I leave he goes back to his song. That of his Eito Much louder this time round. He praises his age mates. Calling them murenik che soptos!! ( men who are alive) Them that were circumcised together with him. I loved everything about this fellow who is a few months shy of a century. But then it kept me thinking, what if we live this long? What is that which will stay in our lips even if we were to go senile! Or in whose lips will you last even when you are gone? Just thinking. Long live Chemitei Arap Chepkoi. I see you hitting 120! Goodnight.
Posted on: Thu, 18 Dec 2014 19:36:38 +0000
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