Isaac Wechuli

  Language- Collective Nouns. Abanyala ba Kakamega have names that refers to a group of things in their language: Olunyala (K). The folowing are some of the collective nouns. Abasinde-  group of singers escorting a circumcision candidate. Ebiteki  bia emikachi- stacks of sugarcane.  Ebipoliko  bia enyungu, esongo and ebibaange. This is a collective name for earthenwares.  Ebikhali  vya enuni- bandles if simsim sticks.  Ebiutikha  (ebiteki) bia amatumwa, emikachi- stacks of maize Eicho  lya enyuni- flock of flying birds.  Ekanya  la enjukha- coil of snakes.  Embumbu  ya amakonge- collection of sisal leaves.  Emoni  chya owule, amabere, amatumwa. (Grains of sorghum, millet or maize) Emuma  ya enuuni- a ball of groundnut. It was jined using honey.  Engopi  ya amachi- one gulpful of water. Enjala  chia owule- (Millet) Enjoli  ya enjofu- a heard of elephants.  Enungo  ya ekhwi- ...

  Story of the Twins and its Twins'Dance. Owukhino   wa   ebasa,  can be translated as the 'dance of the twins.' It is a dance done on the day of  bringing   out the  twins to  ' see   the   sun ' for the first time. It is  usually   vulgar  in  performance  both verbally and non verbally. This dance is usually done by the  elderly  from both mother and father's families for the purpose of 'cleansing' the twin. If the family of the girl or the girl herself refused to participate in the twin dance, then the girl was send away in case of first born twins. It was an acceptible divorce case. Unfortunately for culture lovers, this dance is among the few cultural dances that is almost getting extinct due to cristianity. Birth of twins is still being witnessed but the cultural practice of the dance has now almost become dead. Its vulgar content has made it an easy target for attack. Indeed, it is a dance that ...

  Language- Onomatopoeia and Idiophonic Words The following is an exposition of onomatopoeia and idiophone found in  Olunyala (K).  The  Olunyala (K)  is a sub-dialect of Luhya language spoken by the Abanyala in Kakamega. Olunyala (K) is internationally coded as ISO 939-3 nle. Onomatopoeic words in Olunyala (K) are words that are an imitations of the sounds they represent. From the list it will be noted that most of them are attributive nouns. They perform the gramatical function of being both nouns and verbs: they name the immitated sound in the action of the verb therein and at the same time they are adjectives for they describes the sound named therein. These attributive nouns are formed by adding the prefix  omu~  and a suffix  ~o  to an onamatopoeic verb  to add meaning of sound-manner related to the verb. In the list, the ideophone is provided next to the verb in brackets. Omuaano- sound related to the cry of cattle or donkey in ne...

  Indigenous Games and Sports. Abanyala ba Kakamega had various sports and games for children and men in the society. Women only played a role of teaching children the games. The following were the major games. Amakhu - These were fights involving cattle- specifically bulls. The game spantoniously took place at the grazing fields where people enjoyed by cheering and jeering. At times, heardsmen could goad the bulls from one herd to fight with another bull from another herd. This was done after grazing and ignited by forcing the bulls to smell blood from a tick.  No specific organised days and events were reserved for amakhu among Abanyala ba Kakamega.  It was just a grazing field event. Also, the children had soil made animal-toys that they played with imitating the animal fights in a game that they too called amakhu. Amakoora - game played by young girls and young boys. The players sit in a circle around a hole on ground filled with 20 to 30 small stones or marbles. The ...