A Land of Magic

I’ve never had much of an interest in fantasy stories and tales of magical places like Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings or King Arthur, but here it seems as if such an education might prove useful.  Magic and superstitions play a big role in guiding people’s behavior and decisions.  Below are a few things I’ve noticed, and I’m sure that is just the surface, especially since I don’t speak the local language, so miss out on a lot.

*Sweeping at night invites evil into the house.

*Stepping over a pumpkin can make it dry up.

*A few years back, a woman in this village was struck by lightning while fetching water.  Because she died in such a way, the majority of the villagers believe she was a witch. 

*A woman living near Mau Forest is believed to be a devil-worshipper by nearly all of the people in her area.  She waters mushrooms daily that she grows in containers outside her house.  They claim that she uses the mushrooms as medicine and can also poison a person with them, if she wishes to curse them.  Her house was even burned because of this.  People claim it is definitely true because a crow came and nabbed a mushroom, rescuing it from the flames.     

(Seems like witch trials and accusations in the U.S. a few centuries back). 

*If devil worshippers come visit your home, your crop or milk production will decrease or your clever children will become poor students. 

*Many people swear that if people quarrel about a boundary, lightning will come to settle the boundary dispute, scorching the earth in a line where the fence posts ought to be placed.  Likewise when people quarrel, lightning will appear in the shape of a cock with an axe in the sky.

*The Kisiis are said to be night runners.  According to the people around here, this means that they run naked at night and can be on one ridge, but if you reach there trying to capture them, they will suddenly be on the other ridge of the hills.  They are also said to ride people’s dogs at night and so you may find your dog sleeping all day.  A Night Runner’s wife is supposed to keep her feet on the fire and only eat warm food.  If she removes her feet or eats leftovers, he will be caught.

*According to the Kipsigis here, the Luos practice a lot of witchcraft, making it undesirable to eat in someone else’s home, because you may be poisoned.  I asked one of my Luo colleagues about it and he claims it’s true and that when travelling you cannot look nice or you must travel at night.  If you appear successful, someone will become jealous and curse you.  This may mean losing one’s wealth or going mad. 

*Also, there is a man around here who let his wife make a decision about when to return to their home after staying with relatives.  Because he didn’t make the decision and “followed” her home, there was a lot of talk with people insisting that she must have given him traditional medicine: a “love-potion” even, to make him behave in such a way.

With all these notions, life is always interesting.  They can’t easily be dismissed.