REMINISCENCE: THE FUNNIEST TRADITIONAL GÎKÛYÛ CHILDREN GAMES

#Reminiscing_The_Glorious_Games_Of_Utotoism 🤩😂
#Preserving_Traditional_Gikuyu_Early_Childhood_Games_And_Sports

By the pen of Gitau Wa Kung'u 🖋️

If you know this Kikuyu children's song sing it. It was sung by children as they played. Just imagine it's playing softly in the background. Now, relax and get entertained generously!

"Kanyoni ka nja, chwicwhi! ×2 (The weaver bird that perches on the stoop, chwi! Chwi!×2
Kanyoni ka nja, Oh little weaver bird,
Kagûire nja na mîtheko! Perched on the stoop with laughter!)
,... ... ....

Ages ago, before little and big boys stopped sliding their hardened black buttocks downhill on rainy days doing "nderethi," I existed. I recall every fun time with computer precision. Now, being the only "kîhîî" (big boy) whose first teeth had been plucked with "furaithi"(pliers) without screaming the whole village to know Gitau was being initiated into "Kîhîî" from "kahîî(small boy) gained me admiration and indisputable respect among all the village girls in my age set.

Many fun games and sports were played I tell you! We played "hunia," "mûthaitî,""nderethi," "tiri" racing, "birikicho," "mbiira, "bano," tree climbing, "kûrugania," the sweetest of all game; "cha baba na cha Mami" and so many other games. You really want to know what were these games and how they were played, don't you? Now request for a full bucket of popcorns or njugu and afya juice 'coz I Gitau wa Kung'u, am about to make your ribs crack and your lungs out of breath. If are not careful, let me warn you in advance that you can "thuria"(fart). So relax and enjoy the story.

There was "hunia" game where we chased one another. If even one string of your clothes was touched by the person chasing everyone that meant you had lost. Then you were laughed at and be mocked as the slowest snail in the village and thereafter take the position of the chasers in the next game, "mûthaitî). Now would you want to be the chased or the chaser?

Those who were "touched" in hunia would be the chasers in the next funnier game, "mûthaitî." Here, about one meter diameter circle was drawn on the ground. It was like "hunia" only that if you managed to get in the center of the circle before someone touched you, you had won and would not be in the group of chasers in the next round of the game after the last person was either touched or reached the centre of the circle untouched. For fairness, none of the chasers were allowed to stay anywhere too close to the circle. If anybody did that, they were disqualified from the game and suspended from any other game for the whole week. Would you want to miss a whole week's fun? Chew another "njugu" now! It's getting crazier!

The next funnier and more lovely game was "nderethi." This game involved barefootedly sliding on wet ground when it was rainy season. When we missed it during sunny seasons, we would call for the great grandmother of all meetings and her offsprings. Each person would carry two 5 litre jerricans then we would run to the river for the fuel of the lively "nderethi" game. Then the whole area was swept furiously or every visible stick, mabati or stone thrown far from the site. Thereafter, we would slide on our bare feet or buttocks. God forbid if you happened to slide where any piece of broken glass, mabati, sharp stone or rock was covered in the ground! Karigi had once gotten his foot cut by a sharp stone. The one who would slide the farthest distance on a gently flat ground or down a hill without falling for most times was crowned the hero and joined the league of heroes. If you lost balance and fell, woe unto you! For the loudest soprano laughters and mocking song "Kîhîî kîhîu mûtwe!" (The big boy with burnt out brains) followed you home. You would get your Mother breathing fire and sweating concentrated hydrochloric acid as her hand held a big "nyasoya" stick to whack you ruthlessly for escaping your duties and household chores. Happy are those ",ihîî" who became members of the adored, feared and respected league of heroes. They were called "Champions!"

Champions enjoyed highly respected positions among us and enjoyed many rights and privileges. For example, they were "husbands" of the most beautiful girls in the village. They were the indisputable "dads" in the sweetest and most cherished game; cha baba na cha mami! They were every girls wish for future father of their children. Due to their actions of courage and conquest, they were definitely the guys who girls chose to enjoy the feeling of drinking from the sweetest well of pleasure; breaking their virginity. Which girl wants her cherry popped by a useless failure and coward? Now sip! Sip some afya it's getting sweeter, isn't it?

"Tiri" riding game was the other liveliest sport! I was the Karega village celebrated manufacturer of the best "tiri." "Tiri" was a wooden "vehicle" which was triangular in shape like a "tuk tuk" or wheelbarrow and had three little wheels. Two strong logs were joined together at the point where the first wheel was fixed then they were shaped like an isosceles triangle and 3 or 4 pieces of strong wood hammered to connect the two logs together and make the "seats" of the tiri. The wheels were made from circular pieces of a big log of "mûhûtî" tree and a hole burrowed "gûthegethwo" in its center where a strong circular stick would pass through for the wheels to roll. Liquid cow dung "gîcoro" was poured between the center of the burrowed wheel as lubricant. Those days grease was hard to know what it was leave alone to find! The "gîcoro" lubricated "mîhûtî" wheels would embarrass today's greased "bodaboda" wheels on free gear down a hill!
It started at the top of Ha Matîîe hill and the tiri would roll fast down the hill to "Gathima ka WaJulia" on the force of gravity. Girls would line up along the hill on both sides to cheer for the "Ihîî" (big boys) as we our tiris competed racing down the hill. As the tradition was, the owner of the fastest, strongest, masterly built that reached the bottom of the hill first was heavily rewarded! He would be the "dad" in the "cha baba na cha Mami" (mum and dad role in the family act scene game) and therefore boyfriend of the most beautiful girl in the village! My tiri was the fastest and I won every day. So you can imagine how proudly I enjoyed the rights and privileges of the "Champions!" Haha! I had secretly fixed metallic parts with ball rollings that is found at the center of bicycle/bodaboda/car wheels at the center of my "mîhûtî" wheels and so they rolled downhill at supersonic speed with just a lubrication of just a little "gîcoro." Two sticks were fixed at the back would be pulled upward so that one end scratched the ground to brake the tiri as you held to pull the other end upwards.
Woe unto those whose "tiri" broke down in the middle of the race! Woe unto those whose "tiri" lost control! Verily verily I say unto you, so unlucky were their front teeth, legs and arms; for theirs was not only being laughed at by the girls or meeting nuclear bombs of mothers waiting for them to go home crying and burst on them with "nyasoya" but also unbearable pain, joint dislocation, lost and broken teeth, swollen and bleeding bodies.
Now, you really want to know how the other games like "birikicho," "mbiira, "bano," tree climbing, "kûrugania," the sweetest of all game; "cha baba na cha Mami" went, don't you?
So let's have a date! God willing let's continue on that next Thursday, next tbt, same time, same place, sweeter entertainment! Shalom!
Written by Gitau wa Kung'u!