As children, growing up in the village, it was almost an insult to be called by your Christian name. You jealously guarded it, like nuclear launch codes, because your ‘enemies’ would eviscerate you with insults that often passed as jokes to others. We spoke mother tongue with same linguistic prowess as PLO Lumumba. We didn’t care. We were proud. We still are now, despite a few hiccups
It might have been different from others, but high school was the definitive stage, where we wanted to distance ourselves as much as possible from having come grown exclusively in the village. Thanks to our peers whose form of entertainment consisted of watching The Beat, MTVBase, and every other conceivable music channel that played American pop music.
The ‘Mayeah’ as we called them, danced like the stars, dressed like them (even in school uniform they showed glimpses of ‘westerness’). We wanted to be like them because they were a definition of coolness. Yet our village upbringing, where electricity, let alone piped water, was a great hindrance. And then we came to universities in towns where the ‘mayeahs’ came from, and we realized, dismayed, that it was all smoke and mirrors.
But then the effect has lasted longer for some, where millennials want to raise their children with the same standards as those of the ‘mayeahs.’ These kids, mind you, are raised in the village and the only mother tongue word they know is greeting. It’s a little unnerving seeing this trend where kids don’t know their mother tongue. Language is the most fundamental aspect of any culture. Even the African-Americans have their own language, distinctive to them.
Language comes with culture, and culture of the tribe. Sadly, tribalism in Kenya is quite a negative word. Anthropologists can tell that tribalism is anything but a positive thing, that provides an identity to a people. on the contrary, politicians have perfected the art of ‘politics by the tribe’ where every five years, the second name is more of a campaign policy.
Nowadays, it is comical for one to have an accent. Someone said that we should not laugh at such a person, because he or she knows one more language than we do. Nearly all comedians we have currently have their jokes based on a certain accent. As we laugh, maybe we should be more proud of these languages, since it may be the last thing we cling to once westernization cycle is complete.
Mother tongue should also be taught in schools. It enables children to appreciate their culture, as well as learn their history. However, it is the responsibility of the parents to ensure their children know their native languages.
#Hivisasaoriginal