A new breed of ‘men’ and the strangeness of our times

While last week we discussed about money and the toughness of starting calendars, there is something else. The abnormalities of our times. Lately a short clip of a Dar es Salaam resident has been circulating online. A decent male, living in Buguruni, working in a bank. Neighbours are quoted saying he would come out of his house dressed well but little did they know the ofisa (or mtanashati) bloke had a weird secret. His place was found stuffed with loads of rubbish that one neighbour concluded “ even flies were not interested.”

This collector of takataka was then associated with juju, or black magic.

Alas.

This oddity is obviously universal.

Correct?

A long time ago I was astonished when I visited a normal-looking guy I had befriended in Rio de Janeiro because he also liked reading. When you visit a good reader’s house, books and journals would be part of the furniture. Right?

While living in Dar es Salaam in the 1970s I used to go see a seasoned, passionate writer. The late Karim Essack was an exile from South Africa. He used to broadcast his programmes against apartheid ferociously, daily. His Kariakoo house was a mountain of books, newspapers and reference papers. This is common with writers and researchers. The flat was quite clean. Not as ramshackle as what I am about to tell you.

Having entered the Brazilian chap’s kingdom, I was expecting a Karim Essack-type of dwelling. Lo and behold, I was met with hills of discarded boxes, tattered clothes, unwashed plates and stink. Not of dirt, but damp, frog smell and dunk. It reminded me of my childhood. Going to fetch water at a stream in Mori where I grew up in Old Moshi, Kilimanjaro Region. Ambling along water fountains and canals, we would encounter frogs, lizards, rats even tortoises. Up in the banana and mango tree branches, birds chirped and sang to warn of impending dangers. Birds are lovely creatures. One had this tune which in Kichagga goes: “Njekirye-fvaa!”

Meaning, I almost died.

Picture this.

As I sat with my Rio de Janeiro host that afternoon of 1992, I heard the (“almost died”) singsong thumping in my ears. The odour of frogs and damp soil sifted in and reminded me of rural Tanzania.

The Brazilian was interesting as he was strangely eccentric.

I was horrified when he offered me coffee in a cup that had lines of mud, ash and soot. I quickly made up a story that I had diarrhoea. He pointed to the toilet around the corner. I pretended dashing there and was even more terrified like being in a Dracula horror movie. Flies hovered around smells that sniggered and kicked my nose.

I wished I had real diarrhoea, but I managed to urinate and well, you do not want to hear the end of the story.

Our 2022 Buguruni man currently circulating online is equally rare. People who collect things for the sake of it are called hoarders. They cling to items because they feel scared. To such people we seem insane. We think they are unwell and weird.

On which side of the fence are you, pal? That or this?

And so we must speak of a Japanese cult leader, Mao Sugiyama. Nine years ago the 32-year-old artist removed his private organs, cooked them with a bit of spices and offered them to guests who paid money to “enjoy” the dish. Are you still reading?

Sugiyama’s act was part of a mission to become a nullo. It is summarised as “genital nullification”.

Null in legal terms, means invalid. No use. Null is zero in German. Nullifying something turns it useless and having no sexual organs makes one impotent. HE cannot procreate. In ancient days it was common to have castrated males who were referred to as eunuchs. They worked in high sections of society – servants, spies even confidantes to leaders. A bloke who cannot procreate, has no children or wife, and is subsequently “useless” , emotionally. In other words, he does NOT MIND. When we have children and wives, we are always careful and extra sensitive to lose something.

Inspired by Sugiyama, nullos are increasing in numbers worldwide. As we speak, numbers are estimated to be at least 15,000. Incidentally, an eunuch from Norway was arrested in London over a week ago while allegedly leading a ceremony to create nullos. A group of males were filmed and their act seen online (by pay per view) while transforming into nullos.

Newspapers headlines claimed that police had arrested “ castration cult members” aged from the 30s to the 60s.

Castration sends cold shivers to an ordinary man wanting to have family and children. When castration becomes a game (and art), then we start asking why? Why are some men feeling lost and valueless? Where are our women?