This song is sang - as night long macabre mtc events - all you hear is that the moment is that IS less than distance btw the nose and the mouth. Women screaming, crying, the menacing songs.
The men just saying : the mother is smelling - not sure about direct translation. The moment is nigh!
By then my father had pointed his long sword at me - promising to have me drown to sondu river to Kisumu - if I dared cried - join Jaluos.
My face oily - from smearing of all sort of oil.
There I was with gumboots - armed with ceremonial head gear - and a some long branch - that would be brought tomorrow- to our home - a sign of my personal triump as kalenjin warrior.
Past midnight - screams - songs - and dancing - we were led 5km away - at middle of night - to the main house.
There we would be joined by 100 more boys - about 10 house of MTC - huge crowd now of maybe 1000 people or more - the songs louder.
Now we were stripped naked. I was told to discard my gumboots, my blanket, everything. Everything. 100 boys - lined up - on your kness- arse to arse - you put your head on the next guy arse - in long file - it looks like a gay party
- and you walk on knees around huge round house - long file - arse to head -very tightly- whipped - safari ants thrown - walking thorns - as macabre songs are sung - for like 200m each round - 4 times - and that is just midnight - the chaos would continue until morning - 100 scared boys - until morning around 4am - when we would walk back - and wait for the knife -
our doctor disappeared - they improvised - no anathesia - the first cut I felt nothing - the next ane -it;s called HONEY (I actually thought it was real honey - they said wait for the HONEY:)- I dont know how I made it - it's ngwait where they turn all the half chopped penis back - to create the bridge
- the worse pain all my life. For kalenjin - nothing really get chopped off - maybe small piece - but the prepuce (whatever) - is left hanging in first cut (bantu cut)- and then in the 2nd cut - the hanging piece is turned right back at bottom - to create a dick ring
- nothing is thrown out - and that most painful. For 2nd part if you cry - nobody really care - the celebration on first cut is already reveberating in the village early morning.
The rest are classified. Everything important is done at dead of the night. The most dramatic month of my life. Out of it you'd create life long brotherhood - of 7 guys we were with - they are nearest to my family - they are almost family. You go through all sort of torture. By 1st week - one guy in my MTC - attempted suicide!!!!!! There were fun moments. You're forced on food - you can go puke - but we ate every two hours - and we had to finish - some time though food would be place on a manger or banana leave - definitley no modern plates or spoon allowed - but lot of food. Lots of singing. Lots of archery and hunting. Four major events - about a week each making transition from wearing blankets to wearing skins of several types - some done under water -
freezing cold water at 3am...and finally a long one that lasted 4 days non stop culminating in graduation ceremony.
Big mistake to speak english or kiswahili - you''ll be beaten blue dead. Anybody can beat you. You lay your back open on request and received strokes. Some had blisters all over their back...esp daft ones that could not follow instruction.
Ultimate aim - turn a boy into a man - a warrior - that fear nothings. And it's only time that Kalenjin take a oath - the oath never to reveal MTC. Otherwise hizo ya ICC about oathing ni fake.