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Watching the land and working on the net, August 9th, 2008 |
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August 9th, 2008
I got around early at 6AM to prepare breakfast and take it down o the men watching the newly installed fence posts on my property. I boiled some eggs and with a loaf of bread, some margarine and things to make chai I went to the jobsite. The guys were very excited to have been there through the night as they enjoyed the outdoors. They were thankful for the breakfast and especially interested in the alcohol burner I was using to brew the tea. Since it was made from tin cans and it worked very well, David especially, they were very interested in how this thing is built. After serving breakfast I came back with David and picked up some fresh mandazi’s that were being cooked by a friend of mine Jeremiah for me and David to bring for breakfast at home. I let David off at the place where he wanted to and went to the masonette. After having a couple mandazi’s I went straight to work on the seine to take to Rongo on Monday.
I had to purchase netting that was only 26” tall so I had to tie two of them together to get the depth needed to harvest the fish. I cut the length to 27’ and then cut another and began tying the two together. After that was done I threaded the float line onto the net with floats every meter along the whole length. I then threaded the lead line and began tying machine nuts to it to give it some weight. Lead is not available here because of health issues. That is so ironic since there are so many health issues here that are not even addressed. Guests for a birthday party started arriving so I had to let the work go and will finish it tomorrow. I got things ready to go down and spend the night with Eric and David to stand guard over the poles again.
After loading everything I needed for breakfast and the night I went to the property. David and Eric were there and we sat on the ridge talking about counting stars (Eric says it is what he does) and watched the poles below as the moon was bright and you could see plainly even without a light. The property I own is right on the lake shore of Lake Victoria and the omena fishermen were out in force. They use floating lamps to attract the fish to the top and then close in a net around them. With all the lights on the lake it looks like a huge city. There are literally thousands of lights floating on the lake. A beautiful sight to be sure. In the distance we could hear music playing behind us and from across the lake from funerals. After a while we built a fire and sat around the fire talking about Luo customs and superstitions and how they compared to some of the wives tales in the states. Seems one of the things the old timers here believe is if you leave your house and move to another outside of the community for a while and then move back into the former residence you will die shortly in that house. David and Eric both said that had been proven wrong but it was still a widely held “taboo”. Another one had to do with what parts of an animal women were allowed to eat. Seems the elders have it set up where the men get the best cuts and the women get the less desirable ones. I can only guess who came up with that one! We talked of Luo culture and they very much expressed the abhorrence of drawing blood on another human being to them. Luo’s are not a violent people in the least and will work very hard to get along. Even if it means telling you what they think you want to hear rather than the truth. As the night progressed the temperature cooled down so I moved into the van, reclined back and covered up with a blanket. I could not find a decent pair of trees to tie my hammock onto yet or I would have set it up. After a while I awoke to see how the guys were doing. They were keeping watch better than I as they were awake (although I did hear one of them snoring in the middle of the night). By now the moon had passed, the clouds had cleared and the stars were just magnificent!! Add to that floating city of fishermen and it was a beautiful sight to be sure. I did not hear any hippos but the funeral music continued to play. There is something really cool about looking up at the stars while on the equator (when there is no light pollution we have in the states) with African music playing in the background, good company and fresh air. All in all a peaceful combination. I drifted in and out of sleep through the night and when morning came I got up and made David and Eric breakfast and then returned to ICIPE to bet ready for church as it is now Sunday. I am looking forward to spending at least one more night on the place before leaving here to return to the states.
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