There was 5 of us - me, Mama Eunice, Father of the Family, David - one of 3 sons, the sponsor of Wagego, my main co-worker, Juliet - the youngest daughter who was 19 years old and Flora - 5-year old orphan that had been taken in few months before I came to visit them. We created a lovely team together!
Life in Paradise goes in the same rhythm everyday, slowly, without rush, a bit more organised than on the mainland but with less rules and expectations.
From one side there is always time to stop on the road to work or school and greet other members of community, chat a little bit, smile to each other. Everyone knows everyone. As David said once: "Even if I see someone coming in the darkness I can tell you who is that". Greetings are a big part of culture and human interaction. You always have to say few nice, polite words before starting a conversation, it is seen rude not to greet someone, especially elders. Even shaking hands takes more time and is filled with more kindness than usually.
As in all Kenya - time is being measured differently on the Island. Days are passing by filled with waiting - for a friend to come, for the waterbus to take to you work or school, for the first client, for the fish to catch, for the motorbike, for the food to be done. Getting used to this state of waiting after few days makes you feel relaxed, you slowly start to understand that the rush of the life you know is completely unnecessary here. It might even get disturbing.
charging inner peace in Mawanga cave
However, for some, there is plenty of work everyday. Women are working the hardest from dusk to dawn. Their day starts with the sunrise or even before it with a walk to the Lake Victoria to bring water for cooking and washing. They are carrying 10 or 20 litres containers on their heads, keeping their straight backs and smilled faces. Then there is a breakfast to prepare, dishes to wash (in the lake), laundry to be done (also in the lake), lunch to prepare, cleaning the house, working in the field and to all that, every day there may appear some new tasks. Maybe some holes in clothes need to be sewn up, they might have to buy huge amount of omena (tiny fish that they sell everywhere and eat fried or cooked) and dry it on the sun, maybe there is maze to grind. All these tasks are being done by the mother of the family, sometimes with help of her daughter or if the mother is working - only the daughter. Everyday duties take much more time on the Island, because everywhere you have to walk, mostly up the hill. That extremely shortens the day.
Juliet carrying food for Mama that was working on the field
After the darkness falls, making work outside impossible, our family was gathering in the house for the dinner. That was my favourite time during the day, because we were all together, without any distractions. There was no smartphones, no television, poor internet connection, only an old radio that was playing reggea, gospel songs, corona virus news and african r'n'b which made us want to dance. And we were dancing! Lack of all the facilities of the "civilised world" was bringing us closer together. Evenings were the time to talk about all the day, to speak about plans for tomorrow, to sing, dance and laugh (mostly at me as I was often doing something that was completely inappropriate or just funny from their point of view - africans have very simple sense of humor, it is so easy to make them laugh!). I really loved sitting in the kithen-living-dining-bedroom with my african family, even though I could see everyday how Mama and Juliet are becoming more tired, how their eyes were closing while sitting, how hard it was for them to walk. Beside that tiredness they were still full of joy and love to each other and my heart was warming up watching them, feeling more and more part of this world.
One of the cultural differences that was interesting to watch was that the father had two wives. The second wife was living in a house next to ours and the father would be changing the place of dining each evenig. All his children and both his wives were still obligated to serve him, respect him and always be on his call. On Mfangano most people are christians from different sections of the church. They still allow poligamy that is deeply rooted in their traditional culture but they also find an explanation for it in the Bible. Poligamy can be found in the Old Testament several dozen of times, Esau, Elkanah, Solomon and Moses for example had few viwes, so why Kenyans can not?
I am very gratefull for the Agagwa family to take care of me and share with me their reality. It was so different from what I know, so stripped of urbanisation yet so beautiful in the simplicity and joy. During those three weeks I changed my point of view on how a happy life should look like, I've learned the importance of keeping the family together. I realised that I don't need much to feel happiness in my heart and that helping others and being involved in a live of community is what I want to devote my life to. The moment I will have opporunity to move from Poland I will put all my force to come back and visit them again to feel like in a laughter-filled paradise again.
with Flora - the sweetest child I know
I encourage you to get to know more about the Island if you haven't feel enough interested to visit it yet. Here is a link to a document about the island reality: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XC4PbLiQzxo&t=1341s
More about cultural differences and magic of primal life in the next post! Until then, appreciate your family and turn off technology for one evening - check how does it feel to be together :D
