SUNSET ON POLYGAMY (A Tragedy: Cultural Practices and Disease Epidemics)

In Joseph R. Alila’s first anthropological novel, SUNSET ON POLYGAMY, marital cultural lore and spirituality combine to breed a tragic confusion in a land faced with a deadly new disease epidemic, with public debates raging as to whether the killer is ancestral chira (curse) or Acute Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS).

In this work of fiction, Joe Ochom, a young man testing his verbal skills in the art of seduction, soon realizes that corralling an educated girl (Megan) requires more than adorning his high school blazer in the marketplace. He proves cowardly—a weakness his principal competitor, polygamist Jim Kokech, is quick to exploit.

With his attention on Megan, Jim suddenly faces a revolt from his wives. Felicia, the first wife, resolves to punish him; she locks him out of her bedroom, just when they must celebrate the planting season as the principal “spiritual co-owners” of the home. Jim’s pastoral calendar comes to a sudden halt—reminding him that the Luo Mikayi—the first wife—is key to a healthy spiritual life in a home. The home enters a conjugal lockdown. However, the crafty second wife, Milka, comes to the rescue: she engages Jim in a believable romantic ruse that fools even Felicia. Wrought with jealousy at her female archenemy, Felicia yields to Jim—prompting a stampede for access to him. He is not having fun.

Baby boom! A year later, Felicia looks on in anger as the home welcomes three newborns, with Maria, Milka, and Nyapora presenting a child each to their shared husband. Felicia has reached menopause, but instead of embracing her new physiological reality, and aging gracefully as the matriarch of her home, she becomes angry at Jim and her co-wives. Struggling with a broiling bout of jealousy at her co-wives and nursing unpredictable desires of her husband, Felicia brews one immoral “romantic” mischief after another and nearly kills her husband while trying a cultic remedy to her marital problems. Depressed, Felicia flees to the Big City to escape the shameful spectacle she has become among the women of Korondo Ridge.

Korondo Ridge still has no rest: Gina—a young widow who has just delivered the body of her late husband, George Amolo, from the Big City—refuses, to the utter dismay of elders, to welcome any man into her bed, arguing that her husband died of “a strange new disease”. The elders refuse to listen, asserting that George died of his father’s chira (curse), which only the very wise among them could cleanse. Amolo protests, saying Malaria killed George. Concerned for the spiritual health of their Korondo House, the elders eventually convince Gina to enter a one-night “marriage” with a akowiny (a vagabond) “to settle George’s restless spirit.” Reacting to the “technical marriage,” men troop to Gina’s house to proffer their applications, believing the vagabond (like the Biblical scapegoat), has wandered off with the chira that killed their fellow warrior.

Tragedy! The killer malady the elders call chira is AIDS—the killer the Luo aptly nickname Ayaki—I loot you. Gina soon develops loose morals and dispatches one man after another to his grave, their wives in tow. Tragic: Ayaki kills people and chira with which it shares symptoms, gets the credit. Gina’s misleadingly healthy look, beauty, and longevity only add to the tragedy.

Felicia returns to Korondo Ridge amid the Ayaki epidemic in the land, but even the epidemic has not changed people‘s ways: men still embrace polygamy; men still inherit sick widows, and sure, Jim has married young Megan, capping his conquest over Joe Ochom (the narrator). But as the Luo of old said, the ferocious buffalo provides the hide for a brave warrior’s shield—Jim dies holding a toxic jewel, leaving behind a bitter lesson in vanity and immoderation.

NEVER AGAIN, EVER

Fellow Kenyan,
Didn’t we all sing
Change is in the air
As the wise ones
Stirred the magic pot:
Divining, praying and prophesying in search
of the way forward?

Fellow Kenyan,
We all sang
And yearned for change,
The third liberation
Appeared to have been on course:
We hoped it would be
The liberation from tribalism;
We hoped it would be
The liberation from corruption;
We hoped it would be
The liberation from sycophancy;
We hoped it would be
The liberation from the politics
Of kickbacks and rewards.


Fellow Kenyan,
All that would not be,
Even as the people had willed
Change at the ballot-box
Because an evil cabal of oligoks
Would subvert the people’s will,
Yet again;
And turn you against me,
And I against you,
And wife against husband,
And doctor against patient,
And turn our ballots
Into weapons of mutual death.

Fellow Kenyan,
Wake up, my brother
Wake up, my sister
Do not be cheated into bearing
Arms ONE AGAINST ANOTHER.

Fellow Kenyan,
Wake up, my brother;
Wake up, my sister
Never again ever
Shall we allow ourselves
To be played ONE AGAINST ANOTHER
By a manipulative, powerful
Cabal of evil elites.

Fellow Kenyan,
Wake up, my brother;
Wake up, my sister,
Lest we again become
Mere expendable pawns
In this war of a manipulative cabal
of voracious, evil-and-powerful elites.

Fellow Kenyan,
Wake up, my brother;
Wake up, my sister,
Never, never again should we
Allow our ballots to be turned
Into child-killing
weapons of death.

Fellow Kenyan,
Wake up my brother;
Wake up my sister,
There is only one mother
between us, and that mother
is our Dear Kenya;
And we must not allow her
To go to these manipulative
Crows of Nairobi.

Source: RATENG' AND BRIDE (a poem)
by Joseph R. Alila, June

http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B002QD5TDM

Author JR Alila

Author, Poet and Novelist Joseph R. Alila is a native of Kenya. JR Alila is a Chemist by training. JR Alila considers creative writing to be a natural consequence of the aging process. JR Alila has written extensively on his Luo people's marriage and other cultural practices, criticizing them where criticism is due, and shedding a sage's light so as to put meaning to old traditions. JR Alila's mournful caution against the practice of polygamy in the era of the AIDS virus comes in SUNSET ON POLYGAMY. JR has written extensively on pride, bigotry and prejudice in the spiritual/cultural novels, THE MILAYI CURSE, NOT ON MY SKIN, and SINS OF OUR HEARTS.
In his writings, JR treats each of his characters as "the total person"---a writing style that has made such works as WHISPER TO MY ACHING HEART, SUNSET ON POLYGAMY, THE LUO DREAMERS' ODYSSEY: FROM THE SUDAN TO AMERICAN POWER, NOT ON MY SKIN, and THE WISE ONE OF RAMOGILAND, to be informative anthropological treatises on people and their physical, spiritual, political, cultural, and social circumstances.
When JR set out to write he had no voice or agenda. His objective was to tell stories about his Luo people and his experiences as a Christian, a Luo, an African, and a World Scholar uprooted from his home base to chase scientific dreams. But Eight Novels and two Epic Poems (RATENG' AND BRIDE and THIRTEEN CURSES ON MOTHER AFRICA) later, he finds himself speaking increasingly for the burdened and voiceless African women and widows (in THE THIRTEENTH WIDOW, SUNSET ON POLYGAMY, and WHISPER TO MY ACHING HEART) whose yokes are the marital culture and practices whose original intentions were protective, but now turned spiritual death traps from which there is no escape.
JR has found his political voice in RATENG' AND BRIDE (Kenya's 2007 Presidential contest), THE LUO DREAMERS' ODYSSEY: FROM THE SUDAN TO AMERICAN POWER (A historical-cum-spiritual fictional march of the Luo into the world's only citadel of power---inspired by Obama Presidency), and THIRTEEN CURSES ON MOTHER AFRICA (An Epic Poem; theme: Africa is deluded with perilous crises, a lot of which are due to amnesia, poor leadership choices, greed, greedy friends and brother-on-brother conflicts, with Ebony the African Woman and her children bearing the brunt of their deadly consequences).
Eight novels and two epic poems later, in THE WISE ONE OF RAMOGILAND and THE LUO DREAMERS' ODYSSEY: FROM THE SUDAN TO AMERICAN POWER, JR Alila comes out as a sage's torch illuminating various aspects of the Luo journey, Luo cultural practices, Luo spirituality, and Luo thought.
Finally in the novel, NOT ON MY SKIN, JR Alila describes the American experience, consciousness and attitudes at street level, inside houses of worship and at the work place. This author has come of age.

These books are now available at Amazon AUTHOR CENTRAL, where this Author/Poet/Novelist from Nhiwa (Kenya) is proudly featured. This author has come of age, friends and fans.
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B002QD5TDM

THE LUO DREAMERS' ODYSSEY: FROM THE SUDAN TO AMERICAN POWER

Author Joseph R Alila had a successful book-signing event July 4th, 2009 in Binghamton during the First Annual Graduate-African Student Association Organization’s Alumni meeting. This hopefully will be an annual event in different parts of the United States of America.

Interest was high for Alila’s THE LUO DREAMERS’ ODYSSEY: From the Sudan to American Power. https://www.createspace.com/3373494

Alila’s poetry collection,Thirteen Curses on Mother Africa (http://www.lulu.com) written with the literary fearlessness of the late Africa Literary Okot p’Bitek had a very soft spot for some of JR Alila’s fans.

JR Alila signed other copies of his other novels and poetry collections.

THE LUO DREAMERS' ODYSSEY: FROM THE SUDAN TO AMERICAN POWER

I'll be signing copies of my new novel THE LUO DREAMERS ODYSSEY: From the Sudan to American Power in Binghamton NY July 4th.

https://www.createspace/3373494

WAYS OF A WIDOW

Otin looked past Apiny to his stepbrother, who continued to eat unconcerned, with his eyes set on Apiny as if daring him (Otin) to touch her. Otin wondered why nobody had addressed him. The silence was noisy and uneasy. His stepbrother was eating as if nothing was going on. But even without the childish noises he occasionally made, and the workings of his teeth against tender goat ribs, Magundho’s location and silence should have been a loud-enough announcement of his presence.
And there was Apiny who continued to give Otin that sympathetic, motherly look only a mother could have given.
Then a voice told him, "Otin, my son, it is time to move on. You are a young man with a lot of life ahead of you."
Magundho coughed again, forcing Apiny to turn around and face him. This time, she wore a mother’s stern look on her face— the kind of look reserved for a child, who was about to dip his fingers into a bowl of special soup reserved for his father. Magundho stopped eating, wondering whether the woman was about to give him his marching orders for being rude to Otin. Wasn’t he, Magundho, the impostor between two lovers whose relationship had lasted for more than three decades?
Otin looked at the two gray heads engaged in nonverbal confrontation, then smiled as a voice told him, "My son, this is the way of a widow; she neither has scruples to pick, nor bounds to obey; no man, however long he stays in her arms, can claim to own her. Wake up, my son; leave her alone; move on; go to your wife and children."
Otin left without a word.
"Magundho, I don’t appreciate your being abusive toward Otin," Apiny broke the silence. It was some five minutes after Otin had left.
"He deserved it. He should have read the signs outside instead of entering here like a bull on heat," saying so, Magundho went back to his meal.
"Men! O Men!" Apiny Nyodero whispered—wondering whether the eating elder behind her was a better bet for the future than the retreating, youthful father of her children.



Source:
WHISPER TO MY ACHING HEART

A novel by Joseph R. Alila.

https://www.createspace.com/4341373

ISBN 978-1438207513

BOOK RELEASE

The long-awaited novel, "SINS OF OUR HEART," by Joseph R. Alila [ISBN 978-1438200132, Published by CreateSpace (http://www.createspace.com/3339874)] is now available for purchase through http://www.amazon.com/ and through other major bookstores such as http://borders.com ; http://waldenbooks.com; http://www.target.com

In "Sins of Our Hearts," novelist Joseph R Alila visits what lies beneath our ready smiles; he narrates the fate of a congregation in which the sins of prejudice and hate, nurtured by affluence, race, poor elder leadership and a hands-off-pastoral style, threaten the very purpose of a church--which is to foster love and empathy among its membership. The lessons learnt should have a universal application.

Review

Pastor Rew Smith heads the affluent New Hope Oakpound Church in which things appear to be well, but there is a deep spiritual problem: His church suffers from a shortage of Love. New converts are called names , and go unattended to, as the young Pastor spends most of his evenings at Oakpound Big Boys Health and Fitness Club. His Lay Leadership basks in self-righteousness, and a form of spirituality without of any force of love behind it. Led by Mrs. Smith, some members of the Women Wing have introduced a controversial Foot-Washing method for its convenience, but in which the virtues of humility and selfless love are virtually dead.

The African Woman in Joseph Alila's Poetry

African woman is lionised in several poetic verses in Joseph R. Alila's "Thirteen Curses on Mother Africa," (ISBN 978-14303-1592-6), lulu( http://www.lulu.com)/ , and justifiably so:

The African woman is largely localized in her rural domain--often passed by time and rural-urban migration--yet she must feed, protect and mould the character of her son only to lose him to the corrupting influence of urban life. The African woman must continue to walk five miles to the spring for water; she must till the same piece of barren land of thirty years before; she must feed her orphaned grandchildren the way she fed her children, only with even fewer resources. The African woman must face the vagaries of endless wars, unpredictable weather, a cesspool of diseases, constant pangs of hunger and abject poverty--often alone--as her lazy husband is either dead, inebriated, lost to some urban center, or simply overwhelmed by his situation.

Joseph R. Alila

Kenya: A Long, Perilous Year Ahead

I. Kibaki is a Prisioner to PNU Affiliates

There may be no quick agreement between ODM’s Odinga and PNU’s Kibaki because, while the former has shown a willingness to move away from his earlier positions such as “Kibaki must resign,” Kibaki has become a prisioner of the constituent parties which have propped-up his government and for which power is the end and the means. This view is reinforced by what Kalonzo said when he landed from abroad (any deal must be constitutional), and Mr. Poghosio’s announcement that any deal brokered by HE Annan will not affect ODM-K’s power-sharing agreement with the minority PNU government.

II. ODM must go for Executive Prime Minister

The emerging deal is so far in favor of Kibaki– he is the President. ODM should not sacrifice further than it has done. Recognizing Kibaki’s Presidency has been a bitter enough pill for ODM to have swallowed. With this in mind, nothing less than an Executive Prime Minister for ODM (based on BOMAS and executed quickly by Parliamentary legislation) is agreeable. This would ensure that ODM, as the majority party, will be Head of the Government; it would also preserve ODM’s identity as a party for 2012, and multi-party democracy will have won. Mr. Kibaki can remain a ceremonial President in charge of the Defense and State affairs.

III. Ideally, an interim Gov’t must be reasonably short

While the a prolonged Interim Government (six-month one called by ODM has been shot down by negotiators at City Hall) would allow the country to heal and allow the internally displaced persons (IDPs) to resettle, it would prove to be a slow-killing pill that would in the long run neuter ODM, in particular, and multiparty democracy, in general, as the boundary between Opposition and Government becomes blurred in the eyes of the people.

IV. ODM must think long-term

As the Annan negotiations move towards its critical stage, ODM must think long-term because its image of a Movement ended with the 12/27/2007 elections. That is why it should prefer a constitutionally mandated (through parliamentary legislation) and quick Executive Prime Minister Deal to any other form of power-sharing arrangement. Otherwise, it is better to remain in the opposition than be in a long-term, coalition arrangement –a multiparty democracy killer.

V. ODM should not bank on any elections being called before 2012

Fact: As long as the internal refugees are still in the camps in Kibera, Kondele and the Rift Valley, and their plight shamelessly played to every tourist visiting Kenya, Kibaki will not call any election whatever the Annan Deal. The helpless IDPs have become mere pawns in what is emerging as a political sport among the protagonists in Nairobi. I am very pessimistic about Kenya’s future; I am looking at 2012 for the next electoral face-off.

JR Alila

Kenya in Turmoil

Lawyers (ICJ) suggest a way out of the current crisis that has set Kenyans against one another:
An interim Govt by politically inactive civil servants and professionals;
Community based nagotiations;
Constitutional Reform along the lines of the Bomas Draft.
They also reveal that the widely discredited ECK has the powers to annul the Presidential Results.

They make sense to me.

JR Alila

http://www.nationmedia.com/dailynation/nmgcontententry.asp?category_id=1&news...

Kenya in Crisis

Guests

Look at this peaceful protester's pose next to a Kenya Police flagpole (Daily Nation, Kenya).

J. R. Alila


http://www.nationmedia.com/dailynation/nmgcontententry.asp?category_id=1&newsid=114823

THE KENYAN REFUGEE

Fellow Kenyans at Home and in the Diaspora,

1. Does it occur to you that by announcing a fumbled electoral tally in favor of the incumbent (President Mwai Kibake) the Chairman of The Electoral Commission of Kenyan (Mr. Kivuitu) has made some of you refugees either at Home (As Internally Displaced Person), in a neighboring country (like those who have fled to Uganda and Tanzania) and in the Diaspora (because they have no home to return to) ?
2. Do you see the sense to work extra hard to avoid this getting worse than it already is to about 500, 000 Kenyans?

3. What can you do to reverse the chaos that threaten to make Kenya another Failed State?

4. What can you do to help those displaced?

5. Do you know that SILENCE does not help in this situation?

6. Do you understand that careless talk in the blogs and chatrooms can worsen the situation?
Let me hear your views on the Next Step.

J.R. Alila (Author: The Wise One of Ramogiland)

watch and listen to this
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7vvbUFrU7dM

The Milayi Curse

In Joseph R. Alila's "Milayi Curse" (Lulu(http://www.lulu.com))%20centuries-old/centuries-old bigotry, prejudice, unresolved wrongs, spiritual curses, and intraclan rivalry meet the reality and power of frienship between two boys, and the power of charity from one rich man to a boy from the other side of clan divide, with Fr. James O'Kilgor as a witness and Keeper of Secrets. Mrs. Milayi's prejudice must be cleansed by her Priest in her self-made spiritual deathbed. She would live as a witness and agent of peace, understanding and intraclan healing in this spiritual drama.

Joseph R. Alila (Author)