The oddities of rural life
Mwananchi newspaper on Wednesday March 10, 2021 reported of some families in Nyang’hwale District in Geita Region keeping hyenas. According to that story, those who keep hyenas do so because they use them for hunting purposes and as a means of transport.
The District Commissioner, one Wilson Shimo, directed that those who are keeping hyenas in their homes release them to the wild before an operation is launched to find those keeping the animals without permits.
The DC issued the directive after reported human fatalities and injuries because of hyenas’ attacks.
It is difficult for anyone who was not born into rural life to fully appreciate the intricacies of that life.
Though not part of the report in that Mwananchi story but to many readers it will not be strange at all to associate keeping hyenas at home and witchcraft beliefs. To others, the whole story must have felt strange and alien.
Courtesy of the many TV channels about wildlife, some animals like lions or leopards, though far too dangerous than hyenas, are more acceptable in a domestic setting.
The hold the unknown has on our lives can be so strong. It is impossible to fully understand a life one has never lived or no longer lives.
Camara Laye’s The African Child leaves one nostalgic about the past, about life in rural areas, especially the aspects one did not fully understand.
About drifting and ending up a misfit in rural life and urban life. It is a lifetime constant where different aspects of rural life pops up every now and then while one leads her life in urban areas.
Or Ngugi wa Thiong’o’s The River Between and a tragedy life of one of the characters who could not see herself beyond the confines of her life in the confines of the society around her.
There is also Chinua Achebe’s description of life that divided crimes into gender and the belief of people into children who belong to the gods.
Some of us grew up in places where it was forbidden to venture in a certain forest, or when walking and the person you are with has their eyes glued on the ground.
The reason? To see whether there are snakes in the area and how big or small they are.
There are some societies where once a woman is widowed, they cannot remarry as they are confined to the so-called “grave marriages” while there are no such restrictions on men.
There are some societies where if you arrive at a time of a meal, no greetings or questions are exchanged, you join the meal first and the rest will follow. Why? You could be a bringer of bad news. Your hosts would prefer to hear such news on full stomachs.
Almost everyone knows everyone as such many aspects of life like weddings or funerals are shared.
Weddings are communal affairs with all invited and meals prepared by “the mothers” because they participated in raising the couple.
Their weddings are still decades away from being the financial stress affairs urban weddings have come to be.
The dead are buried by an entire village and life comes to a standstill with exception of essential services like grinding machines.
Politicians are the biggest beneficiaries of this reality of rural life.
Unlike national campaigns which can be generic in many ways, local aspects election campaigns are unique in many ways, and more often are rarely won or lost based on policies of the candidates.
It could be about a candidate’s family and their perceived arrogance. It could be something a candidate said which rubbed the voters the wrong way like saying their cooking pots have never cooked beans.
Of course, there is also the thriving business of fortune tellers and all sorts of so called witch doctors who advise a candidate on how to better to navigate the treacherous waters ahead.
Life in rural areas is still tailored to the community and not the individual.
