Kuna mdau ameniletea haya mshairi kuhusu mwanamke shujaa aliyeishi Kenya
na kutetea haki za akina mama miaka ya 1920's
****************************************************************
Katika kusherehekea Siku ya Wanawake Duniani, nakutumia mashahiri manne juu ya “mwanamke wa shoka”: Mary Muthoni Nyanjiru
omugasi nyangubho we chikikuyu
ÓBorn Again Pagan
my beloved sweet mama,
by 1920s kenya’s wananchi attempted
to regain their independence
through peaceful means;
lest we forget the history of one
mwanamke wa shoka wa kikikuyu
omugasi nyangubho we chikikuyu
very no-nonsense intrepid kikuyu woman
from weithiga village, fort hall, nyeri,
in kikuyuland during british occupation.
british wanaume bossed kenyan wanaume
dharau ran through mary muthoni nyanjiru
at kamukunji at today's university of nairobi campus
to challenged other kenyan men
one nairobi's chilly morning
of march 16, 1922 should be regarded
as memorable day
when wananchi (akina baba na akina mama)
peacefully demonstrated at kamukunji
for their inalienable rights
theirs was one goal;
to release one of their leaders
from police detention!
akina baba na akina mama
wananchi angrily demonstrated
to release their political leader,
harry thuku,
from the police detention
against professional organizational skills,
akina baba na akina mama
gathered and sent delegates
to speak to wazungu
in charge of the police station;
wazungu police officers
told assembled crowd
of akina baba na akina mama
their harry thuku was not there!
wazungu police officers’ reply
did not please one mama
mwanamke wa shoka wa kikikuyu
omugasi nyangubho we chikikuyu
very no-nonsense intrepid kikuyu woman
her name: mary muthoni nyanjiru,
of weithiga village, near fort hall, nyeri,
who challenged assembled akina baba.
wa kikikuyu
mary muthoni nyanjiru,
leaped to her two feet,
like agitated nyirobi park leopard,
to her shoulder level
pulled her dress to address the assembled
but timorous akina baba:
take my dress and give me your trousers!
what for?
the timorous akina baba:
wondered as mwanamke wa shoka continued:
you men are cowards.
what are you waiting for,
our leader is in there;
let us get him!
other assembled akina mama
in unison responded thrilling
in kikuyu ngemi - vigelegele - ululation
before their frightened akina baba;
ngemi ignited mary muthoni nyanjiru’s blood
and that of all akina mama:
they charged like jimbhwiga (killer bees)
towards corrugated iron fence
of police station
to release the man of hour,
harry thuku!
men joined in;
women approached
police station a yard away;
police readied their bayonets
to meet defenseless akina mama
with live weapons of instant destruction
from firepower.
on orders police knelt down,
on one knee, in firing position
as crowd of dauntless akina mama
kept on surging forward
towards police lethal weapons
at Kamukunji police station;
those defiant akina mama
kept on surging forward to bayonets
at their amabhondo throats distance:
fire!
mwanamke wa shoka wa kikikuyu
omugasi nyangubho we chikikuyu,
very no-nonsense intrepid kikuyu woman
mary muthoni nyanjiru
became the first casualty
before norfolk hotel drunk settlers,
joined in the firing;
drunken wazungu
pulled cocked-gun triggers
emptying bullets at defenseless crowd!
take my dress!
ÓBorn Again Pagan
take my dress and give me your trousers,
you claim to be brave: show your brevity now!
you brag to be a man; show it now!
mwanamke wa shoka wa kikikuyu
omugasi nyangubho we chikikuyu,
very no-nonsense intrepid kikuyu woman
addressed individual kikuyu man,
in total disgust:
let me exchange my uke
for your uume; give me your uume,
take my womanhood; give me your manhood!
mwanamke wa shoka wa kikikuyu
omugasi nyangubho we chikikuyu,
very no-nonsense intrepid kikuyu woman
mary muthoni nyanjiru,
did she demand the impossible?
what challenge!
akina baba coiled and hid away
their manhood on that chilly morning,
like frightened dogs!
this was 1920 kenya;
did akina mama know underwear?
how many men wore underwear?
perhaps,
akina mama wore luo’s otamang'eo!
that custom-made small pair of shorts
with a sewn-on wrap around
impossible to tell its front or back!
so mary muthoni nyanjiru
exposed her nakedness
before assembled men!
this was 1920 kenya;
there were no video cameras
to capture that rare moment
when mary muthoni nyanjiru
stood naked before her men
cultural expression of total disgust
to challenge and debase men machismo!
assembled akina baba
feared police brutality;
they feared to be detained
and possibly to under-go torture
by their fellow police
under wazungu officers’ commands!
mary muthoni nyanjiru
became the star of the show.
she stood up naked to face police brutality
to her death!
she came to the earth naked;
so she gave her life to return to earth naked!
mwanamke wa shoka wa kikikuyu
omugasi nyangubho we chikikuyu,
very no-nonsense intrepid kikuyu woman
of weithiga village near fort hall, nyeri,
died and buried by both akina baba na mama
as her words sank into each kenyan man:
you claim to be brave: show your brevity now!
you brag to be a man; show it now!
kenyan rose park or kenyan lone tiananmen square youth
ÓBorn Again Pagan
that historical political, economic,
religio-cultural conflicts
kati ya mkoloni na mtawaliwa
sparked off the incident and death
of mary muthoni nyanjiru
who believed before the mwanza group:
kutawaliwa ni fedheha!
mary muthoni nyanjiru became
rose park of kenya;
us rosa park defied
racial discrimination in us south.
rosa park refused to vacate seat
for mzungu, while us black men
coiled their tails.
but unlike us rosa park,
kenyan mary muthoni nyanjiru
never lived to witness the triumph
of her passive resistance
against colonialism and racism!
mary muthoni nyanjiru became heroine,
like lone chinese youth standing facing
and stopping advancing red army tanks
in tiananmen square, beijing city;
unlike lone chinese,
mary muthoni nyanjiru
never lived to witness the triumph
of her passive resistance
against oppressive regime!
mary muthoni nyanjiru incident and death
are like thread through the eye of the needle
to mend torn kenyan societal fabric;
unlike thread through the eye of the needle,
mary muthoni nyanjiru left a temporary line
in the historical seam of kenya!
no monument!
ÓBorn Again Pagan
akina mama wa kenya
rise the time is now
for elevating name
of mary muthoni nyanjiru
on its rightful pedestal
in historical annals of kenya!
alas, no alley or avenue,
no circle or dam,
no highway or plaza,
no promenade or road,
no street or building,
no fountain or mall,
no park or shop,
no stadium or store,
no theatre or airport,
no college or harbor,
no hospital or institute,
no police station,
no military or police academy,
no school to commemorate
mwanamke wa shoka wa kikikuyu
omugasi nyangubho we chikikuyu,
very no-nonsense intrepid kikuyu woman
mary muthoni nyanjiru!
alas, no brochure, no documentary movie,
no flier, no heraldry, no music album,
no music cd, no ngonjera,
no postcard, no radio program,
no song, no television program,
no theatre play, no web site to surf
courageous mary muthoni nyanjiru;
no book, no journal, no tabloid,
no ma thesis, no phd dissertation,
and no poem to enliven into continuity
mary muthoni nyanjiru’s courage!
akina mama wa kenya
rise to reinstate mary muthoni nyanjiru
to her rightful pedestal
of social-political gender equality
uplift her name juu kwa juu
kama mkungu wa ndizi bila wasiwasi!
ÓBorn Again Pagan
my beloved sweet mama,
by 1920s kenya’s wananchi attempted
to regain their independence
through peaceful means;
lest we forget the history of one
mwanamke wa shoka wa kikikuyu
omugasi nyangubho we chikikuyu
very no-nonsense intrepid kikuyu woman
from weithiga village, fort hall, nyeri,
in kikuyuland during british occupation.
british wanaume bossed kenyan wanaume
dharau ran through mary muthoni nyanjiru
at kamukunji at today's university of nairobi campus
to challenged other kenyan men
one nairobi's chilly morning
of march 16, 1922 should be regarded
as memorable day
when wananchi (akina baba na akina mama)
peacefully demonstrated at kamukunji
for their inalienable rights
theirs was one goal;
to release one of their leaders
from police detention!
akina baba na akina mama
wananchi angrily demonstrated
to release their political leader,
harry thuku,
from the police detention
against professional organizational skills,
akina baba na akina mama
gathered and sent delegates
to speak to wazungu
in charge of the police station;
wazungu police officers
told assembled crowd
of akina baba na akina mama
their harry thuku was not there!
wazungu police officers’ reply
did not please one mama
mwanamke wa shoka wa kikikuyu
omugasi nyangubho we chikikuyu
very no-nonsense intrepid kikuyu woman
her name: mary muthoni nyanjiru,
of weithiga village, near fort hall, nyeri,
who challenged assembled akina baba.
wa kikikuyu
mary muthoni nyanjiru,
leaped to her two feet,
like agitated nyirobi park leopard,
to her shoulder level
pulled her dress to address the assembled
but timorous akina baba:
take my dress and give me your trousers!
what for?
the timorous akina baba:
wondered as mwanamke wa shoka continued:
you men are cowards.
what are you waiting for,
our leader is in there;
let us get him!
other assembled akina mama
in unison responded thrilling
in kikuyu ngemi - vigelegele - ululation
before their frightened akina baba;
ngemi ignited mary muthoni nyanjiru’s blood
and that of all akina mama:
they charged like jimbhwiga (killer bees)
towards corrugated iron fence
of police station
to release the man of hour,
harry thuku!
men joined in;
women approached
police station a yard away;
police readied their bayonets
to meet defenseless akina mama
with live weapons of instant destruction
from firepower.
on orders police knelt down,
on one knee, in firing position
as crowd of dauntless akina mama
kept on surging forward
towards police lethal weapons
at Kamukunji police station;
those defiant akina mama
kept on surging forward to bayonets
at their amabhondo throats distance:
fire!
mwanamke wa shoka wa kikikuyu
omugasi nyangubho we chikikuyu,
very no-nonsense intrepid kikuyu woman
mary muthoni nyanjiru
became the first casualty
before norfolk hotel drunk settlers,
joined in the firing;
drunken wazungu
pulled cocked-gun triggers
emptying bullets at defenseless crowd!
take my dress!
ÓBorn Again Pagan
take my dress and give me your trousers,
you claim to be brave: show your brevity now!
you brag to be a man; show it now!
mwanamke wa shoka wa kikikuyu
omugasi nyangubho we chikikuyu,
very no-nonsense intrepid kikuyu woman
addressed individual kikuyu man,
in total disgust:
let me exchange my uke
for your uume; give me your uume,
take my womanhood; give me your manhood!
mwanamke wa shoka wa kikikuyu
omugasi nyangubho we chikikuyu,
very no-nonsense intrepid kikuyu woman
mary muthoni nyanjiru,
did she demand the impossible?
what challenge!
akina baba coiled and hid away
their manhood on that chilly morning,
like frightened dogs!
this was 1920 kenya;
did akina mama know underwear?
how many men wore underwear?
perhaps,
akina mama wore luo’s otamang'eo!
that custom-made small pair of shorts
with a sewn-on wrap around
impossible to tell its front or back!
so mary muthoni nyanjiru
exposed her nakedness
before assembled men!
this was 1920 kenya;
there were no video cameras
to capture that rare moment
when mary muthoni nyanjiru
stood naked before her men
cultural expression of total disgust
to challenge and debase men machismo!
assembled akina baba
feared police brutality;
they feared to be detained
and possibly to under-go torture
by their fellow police
under wazungu officers’ commands!
mary muthoni nyanjiru
became the star of the show.
she stood up naked to face police brutality
to her death!
she came to the earth naked;
so she gave her life to return to earth naked!
mwanamke wa shoka wa kikikuyu
omugasi nyangubho we chikikuyu,
very no-nonsense intrepid kikuyu woman
of weithiga village near fort hall, nyeri,
died and buried by both akina baba na mama
as her words sank into each kenyan man:
you claim to be brave: show your brevity now!
you brag to be a man; show it now!
kenyan rose park or kenyan lone tiananmen square youth
ÓBorn Again Pagan
that historical political, economic,
religio-cultural conflicts
kati ya mkoloni na mtawaliwa
sparked off the incident and death
of mary muthoni nyanjiru
who believed before the mwanza group:
kutawaliwa ni fedheha!
mary muthoni nyanjiru became
rose park of kenya;
us rosa park defied
racial discrimination in us south.
rosa park refused to vacate seat
for mzungu, while us black men
coiled their tails.
but unlike us rosa park,
kenyan mary muthoni nyanjiru
never lived to witness the triumph
of her passive resistance
against colonialism and racism!
mary muthoni nyanjiru became heroine,
like lone chinese youth standing facing
and stopping advancing red army tanks
in tiananmen square, beijing city;
unlike lone chinese,
mary muthoni nyanjiru
never lived to witness the triumph
of her passive resistance
against oppressive regime!
mary muthoni nyanjiru incident and death
are like thread through the eye of the needle
to mend torn kenyan societal fabric;
unlike thread through the eye of the needle,
mary muthoni nyanjiru left a temporary line
in the historical seam of kenya!
no monument!
ÓBorn Again Pagan
akina mama wa kenya
rise the time is now
for elevating name
of mary muthoni nyanjiru
on its rightful pedestal
in historical annals of kenya!
alas, no alley or avenue,
no circle or dam,
no highway or plaza,
no promenade or road,
no street or building,
no fountain or mall,
no park or shop,
no stadium or store,
no theatre or airport,
no college or harbor,
no hospital or institute,
no police station,
no military or police academy,
no school to commemorate
mwanamke wa shoka wa kikikuyu
omugasi nyangubho we chikikuyu,
very no-nonsense intrepid kikuyu woman
mary muthoni nyanjiru!
alas, no brochure, no documentary movie,
no flier, no heraldry, no music album,
no music cd, no ngonjera,
no postcard, no radio program,
no song, no television program,
no theatre play, no web site to surf
courageous mary muthoni nyanjiru;
no book, no journal, no tabloid,
no ma thesis, no phd dissertation,
and no poem to enliven into continuity
mary muthoni nyanjiru’s courage!
akina mama wa kenya
rise to reinstate mary muthoni nyanjiru
to her rightful pedestal
of social-political gender equality
uplift her name juu kwa juu
kama mkungu wa ndizi bila wasiwasi!
Katika kusherehekea Siku ya Wanawake Duniani, nakutumia mashahiri manne juu ya “mwanamke wa shoka”: Mary Muthoni Nyanjiru
omugasi nyangubho we chikikuyu
ÓBorn Again Pagan
my beloved sweet mama,
by 1920s kenya’s wananchi attempted
to regain their independence
through peaceful means;
lest we forget the history of one
mwanamke wa shoka wa kikikuyu
omugasi nyangubho we chikikuyu
very no-nonsense intrepid kikuyu woman
from weithiga village, fort hall, nyeri,
in kikuyuland during british occupation.
british wanaume bossed kenyan wanaume
dharau ran through mary muthoni nyanjiru
at kamukunji at today's university of nairobi campus
to challenged other kenyan men
one nairobi's chilly morning
of march 16, 1922 should be regarded
as memorable day
when wananchi (akina baba na akina mama)
peacefully demonstrated at kamukunji
for their inalienable rights
theirs was one goal;
to release one of their leaders
from police detention!
akina baba na akina mama
wananchi angrily demonstrated
to release their political leader,
harry thuku,
from the police detention
against professional organizational skills,
akina baba na akina mama
gathered and sent delegates
to speak to wazungu
in charge of the police station;
wazungu police officers
told assembled crowd
of akina baba na akina mama
their harry thuku was not there!
wazungu police officers’ reply
did not please one mama
mwanamke wa shoka wa kikikuyu
omugasi nyangubho we chikikuyu
very no-nonsense intrepid kikuyu woman
her name: mary muthoni nyanjiru,
of weithiga village, near fort hall, nyeri,
who challenged assembled akina baba.
wa kikikuyu
mary muthoni nyanjiru,
leaped to her two feet,
like agitated nyirobi park leopard,
to her shoulder level
pulled her dress to address the assembled
but timorous akina baba:
take my dress and give me your trousers!
what for?
the timorous akina baba:
wondered as mwanamke wa shoka continued:
you men are cowards.
what are you waiting for,
our leader is in there;
let us get him!
other assembled akina mama
in unison responded thrilling
in kikuyu ngemi - vigelegele - ululation
before their frightened akina baba;
ngemi ignited mary muthoni nyanjiru’s blood
and that of all akina mama:
they charged like jimbhwiga (killer bees)
towards corrugated iron fence
of police station
to release the man of hour,
harry thuku!
men joined in;
women approached
police station a yard away;
police readied their bayonets
to meet defenseless akina mama
with live weapons of instant destruction
from firepower.
on orders police knelt down,
on one knee, in firing position
as crowd of dauntless akina mama
kept on surging forward
towards police lethal weapons
at Kamukunji police station;
those defiant akina mama
kept on surging forward to bayonets
at their amabhondo throats distance:
fire!
mwanamke wa shoka wa kikikuyu
omugasi nyangubho we chikikuyu,
very no-nonsense intrepid kikuyu woman
mary muthoni nyanjiru
became the first casualty
before norfolk hotel drunk settlers,
joined in the firing;
drunken wazungu
pulled cocked-gun triggers
emptying bullets at defenseless crowd!
take my dress!
ÓBorn Again Pagan
take my dress and give me your trousers,
you claim to be brave: show your brevity now!
you brag to be a man; show it now!
mwanamke wa shoka wa kikikuyu
omugasi nyangubho we chikikuyu,
very no-nonsense intrepid kikuyu woman
addressed individual kikuyu man,
in total disgust:
let me exchange my uke
for your uume; give me your uume,
take my womanhood; give me your manhood!
mwanamke wa shoka wa kikikuyu
omugasi nyangubho we chikikuyu,
very no-nonsense intrepid kikuyu woman
mary muthoni nyanjiru,
did she demand the impossible?
what challenge!
akina baba coiled and hid away
their manhood on that chilly morning,
like frightened dogs!
this was 1920 kenya;
did akina mama know underwear?
how many men wore underwear?
perhaps,
akina mama wore luo’s otamang'eo!
that custom-made small pair of shorts
with a sewn-on wrap around
impossible to tell its front or back!
so mary muthoni nyanjiru
exposed her nakedness
before assembled men!
this was 1920 kenya;
there were no video cameras
to capture that rare moment
when mary muthoni nyanjiru
stood naked before her men
cultural expression of total disgust
to challenge and debase men machismo!
assembled akina baba
feared police brutality;
they feared to be detained
and possibly to under-go torture
by their fellow police
under wazungu officers’ commands!
mary muthoni nyanjiru
became the star of the show.
she stood up naked to face police brutality
to her death!
she came to the earth naked;
so she gave her life to return to earth naked!
mwanamke wa shoka wa kikikuyu
omugasi nyangubho we chikikuyu,
very no-nonsense intrepid kikuyu woman
of weithiga village near fort hall, nyeri,
died and buried by both akina baba na mama
as her words sank into each kenyan man:
you claim to be brave: show your brevity now!
you brag to be a man; show it now!
Kenyan Rose Parks or Kenyan lone Tiananmen Square youth
ÓBorn Again Pagan
that historical political, economic,
religio-cultural conflicts
kati ya mkoloni na mtawaliwa
sparked off the incident and death
of mary muthoni nyanjiru
who believed before the mwanza group:
kutawaliwa ni fedheha!
mary muthoni nyanjiru became
rose park of kenya;
us rosa park defied
racial discrimination in us south.
rosa park refused to vacate seat
for mzungu, while us black men
coiled their tails.
but unlike us rosa park,
kenyan mary muthoni nyanjiru
never lived to witness the triumph
of her passive resistance
against colonialism and racism!
mary muthoni nyanjiru became heroine,
like lone chinese youth standing facing
and stopping advancing red army tanks
in tiananmen square, beijing city;
unlike lone chinese,
mary muthoni nyanjiru
never lived to witness the triumph
of her passive resistance
against oppressive regime!
mary muthoni nyanjiru incident and death
are like thread through the eye of the needle
to mend torn kenyan societal fabric;
unlike thread through the eye of the needle,
mary muthoni nyanjiru left a temporary line
in the historical seam of kenya!
no monument!
ÓBorn Again Pagan
akina mama wa kenya
rise the time is now
for elevating name
of mary muthoni nyanjiru
on its rightful pedestal
in historical annals of kenya!
alas, no alley or avenue,
no circle or dam,
no highway or plaza,
no promenade or road,
no street or building,
no fountain or mall,
no park or shop,
no stadium or store,
no theatre or airport,
no college or harbor,
no hospital or institute,
no police station,
no military or police academy,
no school to commemorate
mwanamke wa shoka wa kikikuyu
omugasi nyangubho we chikikuyu,
very no-nonsense intrepid kikuyu woman
mary muthoni nyanjiru!
alas, no brochure, no documentary movie,
no flier, no heraldry, no music album,
no music cd, no ngonjera,
no postcard, no radio program,
no song, no television program,
no theatre play, no web site to surf
courageous mary muthoni nyanjiru;
no book, no journal, no tabloid,
no ma thesis, no phd dissertation,
and no poem to enliven into continuity
mary muthoni nyanjiru’s courage!
akina mama wa kenya
rise to reinstate mary muthoni nyanjiru
to her rightful pedestal
of social-political gender equality
uplift her name juu kwa juu
kama mkungu wa ndizi bila wasiwasi!
Kwa habari zaidi za Mary Muthoni Nyanjiru someni:
Nawaheshimu na kuwapenda wanawake wote
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