Demanding for the payment of your debt can be embarrassing to the one owing you, especially if done in the presence of many other people.
It is for this reason that majority of people in Nyanza, especially women, have devised other indirect modes of debt collection, otherwise known as 'piroo' or 'bendho' in Dholuo.
Here are the terms used to bendho in Nyanza;
1. To gira cha? (What about my stuff)
This is used to remind you that you have some unpaid dues and a debt which you should be considering settling, and is usually said when you are in the company of others and cannot, therefore, be pulled aside for a more direct approach.
Its mostly used by people who are growing tired of your excuses, in a bid to embarrass and compel you into doing the necessary.
2. An ka (I am here)
This is how women send their debtors' children to notify their elders that the creditor is around and they should be paying up.
It is also indirect and can hardly be understood by outsiders who were not part of or do not have any knowledge of the deal.
3. Gonya wa? (why don't you untie me?)
This is common among the youth, specifically the male ones, and has picked up pace lately, being the most used on politicians who made a promise which they are yet to fulfill.
The term is quite rude as the ones demanding the payment make it look like your refusal to pay up is a becoming a hindrance to their operations.
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