Eating as a family can be fun, especially in Luo Nyanza where most families are large.

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However, there exists some rules that can make the experience a bad one if you cannot comply.

Here they are;

1. No eating without washing hands

In a place where people spend the entire day in the fields tilling and cultivating, it is obvious that you must wash your hands to get rid of the germs before combating the large plate of ‘Kamongo’ (local delicacy).

However, some people, especially boys forget to do the same, and are usually shouted at and even keenly watched as they wash their hands in the ‘nyaumbusi’ (small basin) below the table to ensure that they indeed do it.

This is because the 'yawuoi' (little boys) are known for their mischief and tricks and might at times only dip their hands into the water to fool the others.

2. Older people wash their hands first

A young person is not allowed to wash their hands before the older people have done the same as it is considered disrespectful.

The first one is usually the owner of the homestead, the grandfather in this context.The younger male members will do the same last, again basing on their age.

3. You ‘pinch’ the ugali from the bottom

Here, ugali is not cut ugali into pieces the way it is done in urban areas.

Instead, it a face-to-face affair where you manually attack the ‘kuon’ (ugali), the person with the biggest hands being the main beneficiary and the first one to get full.

A person who pinches from the top can be sent away to sleep (ifs its dinner), after a session of lectures and scolding.

4. Girls do not seat on the table with the male

In some sections of Luo Nyanza where traditions are still adhered to, the women of the house eat directly from the kitchen and girls in the sitting room but not on the table.

Consequently, the table only remain for the male, with the job of collecting the dirty dished also left for the girls and women.

5. Its mandatory to wash your hands after the meal

It is believed that rats will come out to scrap the ugali from your palms if you sleep without washing the bits off, leaving you with tiny and very painful scratches.

You will not feel the rats work on your hands because 'Oyieyo kayi to kudhi' (a rat bites and blows).

You are therefore expected to wash them after eating.

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