The young always have a way of keeping each other on toes with what some may refer to as mchongoano or kutoana rangi.
Some refer to mchongoano as an aggressive verbal contest which must take place in the presence of at least two people, and in most cases it requires the presence of an audience. Others refer to mchongoano as hilarious jokes which are not meant to be little but instead may be used to pass time among peers.
It is also kind of a contest and the one who emerges the winner may be crowned as the king of mchongoano and may be required to defend their title every now and then.
Having lived in Nakuru for the better part of my life, I have come across various groups who have engaged in ‘chongoaring’ each other. Some of this groups have ended up betting on who will be crowned king of mchongoano whereby the said bet involves some money ( Kshs 50) and part of the amount will be given to the king of mchongoano once the competition is over which is when one party admits defeat.
Some of the phrases that have ended up sticking in my mind include;
1) Una kisogo kubwa hadi ID card yako imefura nyuma
2) Umezoea kuokoa jahazi hadi Safaricom wanakuuliza utahama lini
3) Umekonda hadi ukipita mbele ya nursry school Watoto wanashout ONE
4) Una mkono ngumu hadi ukishika computer inajiandika ‘ new hardware detected’
5) Ati unafanya kazi kwa poshomil hadi ukioga na maji moto kunanuka Ugali
6) Camera ya siku yako ni mzee hadi inatuma film
7) Wewe ni fala hadi unalaminate ATM card
8) Nyinyi ni wadosi hadi mna tea bag za uji
9) Wwe ni mweusi hadi ukichomwa na jua unanuka firestone
However, those who may be termed as faint at heart should are warned not to engage in this competition and to stick to being part of the audience.
This is because they may end up being physical as some of this ‘ mchongos’ may end up making the audience laugh so hard at you while pointing fingers at you, an act which may one angry easily.