The Married Son’s Hut

One lovely Saturday afternoon, you get a chance to visit the historic Bomas of Kenya. You visit wanting to see if the place actually lives up to the hype it has been getting. What could possibly be exciting about seeing traditional villages? I mean, if you wanted to do that, you could as well go to shaggz and see all sorts of village houses, including those modern Wamugunda havens folks build these days. Problem is that this would only make you a bias egocentric. 

Going to shaggz will deny you the chance to see the beautiful Maasai Manyattas and the crazy rounded huts of the Kisiis. And you cannot afford to miss this opportunity, because you want to have an idea of where Nyashinski comes from, and where he spends his December holidays (Did you even know that Nyashinski is a Kisii?).

In the space of about 2 hours in the villages, you manage to roam the Mijikenda, Taita, Kamba, Luo, Maasai, Kikuyu, Embu, Meru, and Pokot tribes. Among all these, the Taita homestead captivates you the most. The homestead is unique and orderly, and the huts are arranged in a semicircular manner. 

Taita Village

At the entrance of the homestead stands the Husband’s hut. It is distinguished by double walls and two doors (front and back) smeared with mud. You can tell by the location of the hut that the man is meant to be the protector and the head of the home. Facing the main gate is the first wife’s hut. Her hut is located in position perfect enough to provide oversight and intelligence for whoever comes and leaves the homestead. She is the epicentre of the home, and even though the husband is the head, she is the heart. 

Not far from the first wife’s hut is another hut that you find interesting: The Married son’s hut. It reminds you of some of the things you’ve read before about marriage in Africa. It reminds you that in Africa, marriage is not only an event but also a celebration. A celebration for the bitter (rather than better) days to come. It is more of a compromise and a mutual agreement; Shelter and security for the woman in exchange for love and care for the man. And when you come from some tribes like the Luhya community, the love part must include child bearing and knowing how to cook.

A rather weird scenario as a man is when you think you need that one thing that is missing from your life, and once you get it, you’ll be complete. You keep waiting for it, not knowing when it will come. But before you know it, you are married and moving into your new home. The community has accepted you, and as a token of appreciation, you a blessed with a hut. A “Married son’s hut.” 

The hut feels empty and small, Just like your marriage at this point. It is your duty as a man to breathe life into this little empty hut. You feel weak, but you are a man, and men are not allowed to show emotions in any manner except anger. Because you can tell the greatness of a man by what makes him angry. And since you are a man, you realize that before you display that unfixable weakness, you would be damned. Nevertheless, you get reassurance because you are in love. And when you are in love, a cliff becomes a meadow.

So, you stand there and contemplate, embracing your new title of a married son. You know that one day your hut will stand at the entrance of the homestead, and your home will no longer feel empty. And just like your father, you will look around and marvel at how big you’ve grown. Because at that moment you will have a compound of your own, and there will be a 1st wife’s, a 2nd wife’s, and possibly a 3rd wife’s hut.

Your little man at the time will get an “unmarried son’s hut.” In this hut you will tell him great stories and teach him lessons by your forefathers. You will also tell him how you single-handedly saved the world from a disease that not even the white man could save himself from. And he will be there, listening and marvelling at how great you are. At that point, you will feel like a man, and in the eyes of your little man, you will be very great. His opinion of you would be the only thing that you care about. It will be the reassurance of love that you have always wanted.