Writing for Kenya
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kũrigwo nĩ gĩtũmi kĩa wega na ũũru’. Na tondũ ũcio-rĩ, tareke tũterete
ũhoro wa mũndũ na ũgĩ wake kana ũrĩa mũndũ amenyaga maũndũ
thĩinĩ wa gĩcĩgo gĩkĩ gĩgũka.
17. Ũrĩa mũndũ amenyaga maundũ
Kũrĩ andũ arĩa meciragia atĩ kũrĩa na gũtonga nomo maũndũ mega-rĩ
rekei tũmere atĩ ũguo tiguo. No tũkĩmera ũguo-rĩ, ti atĩ nĩ kuga tũkuga
kũrĩa nĩ kũũru, ona kana gũtonga nĩ kũũru, aca. No ũrĩa tũkwenda
kuga nĩ atĩ wega nĩ mũingĩ gũkĩra mawega macio merĩ ma ‘kũrĩa na
gũtonga’. Ningĩ wega wothe ndũtonyaga thĩini wa mũndũ na njĩra
imwe teyo ya kanua goiki.
Kwoguo-rĩ, kũrĩa nĩ wega ũmwe ũrĩa ũtonyaga thĩinĩ wa mũndũ na
njĩra ya kanua, na aga kũrĩa akahũta, akerirĩria kũrĩa, kwoguo rĩciria rĩa
Irio rĩgakoragũo rĩrĩ mũtwe wake thaa ciothe. Tondũ ũcio akamenya
atĩ kũria nokuo kwega, na hatirĩ wega ũngi.
Urĩa tũkuona tondũ wa ũhoro ũcio nĩ atĩ kũmenya kũrĩa ti ũgĩ,
tondũ ona nyamũ nĩ ciendete kũria, na itindaga o ikĩrĩa, ũgĩ wa kũrĩa
nĩ hĩndĩ irĩa ũkũmenya atĩ ngũrĩa irio na tondũ wa gitũmi kĩna. Ningĩ
ciagĩrĩirũo nĩ kũrugwo ũna. Ũcio nĩguo ũgĩ kũringana na ũrĩi.
He njĩra ithano iria igeragĩra ũmenyo wa mũndũ na ũmenyo ũcio
ndũthiaga Nda, ũthiaga mũtwe kana tombo inĩ wa mũndũ.
Nacio njĩra icio ni Maitho, Matũ, Maniũrũ, Kũhuha, Mũcamo; na
tũngĩrora wega-rĩ, no tuone atĩ njĩra icio ithano cia kũgera ũmenyo
hatirĩ itarĩ na wega wayo, na ũũru wayo, kana ĩtabataragio nĩ ũndũ ũrĩa
ũmĩiguithagia wega, na ĩkarakario nĩ ũndũ ũrĩa ũmĩigwithagia ũũru.
Ta atĩrĩrĩ, Maitho makenagio nĩ kuona kĩndũ kĩega, na makarakario
nĩ kuona kĩndũ kĩũru kana gĩtũti. Matũ makenagio nĩ kũigua mĩgambo
miega, na makarakario nĩ kũigua mĩgambo mĩũru ta ya hiti, kana ya
marebe makĩgamba. Maniũrũ magakenio nĩ kũigua mũnungo mwega, na
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171
When he’s doing his work, he loves doing it well. Th
at is to say he hates
bad work in his heart, and is therefore attracted by GOODNESS.
When the time comes to do physical work, he loves to build beautiful
things. Th
is means that BEAUTY attracts his heart.
Th
ese [good things] are done to get HAPPINESS, because happiness
attracts a [mature] person’s heart.
Now, if we repeat what we said at the start of this discussion, I think
you will understand the argument well. We said that ‘Intelligence is to
love good things and know their meaning. And foolishness is to love
bad things and to fail to know why they’re bad.’ Let us now discuss
man and knowledge, or how a person comes to understand.
17. How a person understands things
To those who think eating and wealth are the only good things, let
us say that is not so. To tell them this is not to say that eating is bad
or getting rich is bad. No. What we wish to say is that goodness is
more than those two other kinds of goodness, ‘eating and being rich’.
Goodness does not enter someone by the mouth alone.
Eating is a good that gets into a person by mouth, and if he fails to
eat he gets hungry and desires to eat, so that the idea of food pervades
his mind all the time. Th
at’s why he knows that eating is the only good
and that there is no other.
What we fi nd here is that knowing to eat is not wisdom, since even
animals like to eat, and spend their time eating. Knowledge of eating is
when you know you will eat for a particular reason. Food is supposed
to be cooked in a certain way. Th
at’s wisdom in the fi eld of eating.
One’s knowledge passes through fi ve senses. Th
is knowledge does
not go to the stomach, but to head or brain.
Th
ese senses are sight, hearing, smell, touch, and taste. If we look
closely, each of these fi ve senses has its good and bad attributes, and
can make us feel good or bad.
Now, eyes are pleased to see something good and are displeased to
see something bad or ugly. Ears are pleased to hear a good voice and
displeased to hear horrible voices, like those of a hyena or of iron boxes
being beaten.71 Noses are impressed by good smells but displeased by
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makarakario nĩ kũigua mũnungo mũru. Mwĩrĩ, kana moko, makenagio
nĩ kũhutia kĩndũ kĩega, kĩhoro kana gũkoma handũ hega, no ikrakario
nĩ kũhutia kĩndũ kĩũru ta mwaki kana gũkoma handũ homũ.
Nako kanua ota ũrĩa ithuothe tũi gagakenio nĩ kĩndũ kĩ mũrĩo, na
gakarakario nĩ kĩndũ kĩrũrũ.
Ũguo nĩguo mũndũ amenyaga maũndũ na hĩndĩ irĩa ena gĩkundi
kĩnene kĩa maũndũ macio mega, no agakena. Na nĩ tuonire atĩ gĩkeno
nĩ ũndũ ũmwe ũgucagia ngoro ya mũndũ.
Th
ĩna wonekagĩra hĩndĩ ĩrĩa angĩkorũo nĩ migambo miega ũrathi-
kirĩria, kana nĩ maũndũ mariri ta mahũa ũrerorera, o kahinda kau
ũgeciria ũhoro wa kũria. Ũngĩka ũguo ndũrĩ wega ũngĩona wa maũndũ
macio mothe. Ona ndũrĩ ũndũ ũngĩ ũngimenya gĩtũmi kiaguo. Tiga o
kũgĩa ũngigia na meciria makunderu, matarĩ na kamweke ka maũndũ
macio mothe tuona maria, mothe meturanira mathiaga kũhoreria ngoro
ya mũndũ. Akoroũ, nĩ mũgĩ agakiria kwenda Ngai na kũmwĩtigĩra
tondũ wa wega ũrĩa mũingĩ ahete mũndũ ũcio.
18. Wĩra na aruti aguo
Tugire atĩ bata witũ ũrĩa wa mbere nĩ atĩ tũikare mouyo. Na ũrĩa
tũkĩagĩrĩirũo nĩ atĩ tũcarie maũndũ marĩa matũmaga tũikare muoyo,
na marĩa mongagĩrĩra muoyo gĩkeno.
Ũngĩaga kũruta wĩra, no ũtuike mũndũ ũtarĩ bata. Ningĩ ũngĩago
kũruta wĩra mwega ndũngĩona gĩkeno, ũngikorũo wĩ mũgĩ. No
ũngĩkorũo wĩ kĩrmũ, ndũngĩhota kũmenya wĩra mwega nĩ ũrĩkũ kana
wĩra mũru nĩ ũrĩkũ.
Hatiri wĩra hatarĩ andũ, kwoguo wĩra wonekaga tondũ wa andũ, na
ũrutagwo tondu wa gĩtũmi kĩna.
Mũruti wa wĩra o wothe angĩaga kwenda wĩra ũcio ekũruta,
ndũngĩthii na mbere.
Na tondũ woguorĩ, kwenda kũrĩa gwithi-inĩ wa mũndũ nikuo gĩthimi
kĩa ũhoti wa haria angikinyia wĩra ũcio.
Na tondũ ũcio-rĩ, tũngĩenda kũmenya haria mũndũ angĩkinyia wira
mũna-rĩ no tũrore kwenda gwake ũrĩa kũigana.
Tondũ rĩrĩ, ũngĩambĩrĩria gũcimba mũgũnda ũtekwenda ona hanini,
no ũremwo ũtanakinyia ona ha,
No ũngĩambĩrĩria wĩna kwenda, kũnyinyi hihi wahota, gũkinyia
gatagatĩ.
No ũngĩambĩrĩria wina kwenda kũnene wahota kũnina gũcimba
mũgũnda ũcio onarua.
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173
bad smells. Th
e body or hands are impressed when they touch a smooth
thing or rest in a comfortable place. But they are displeased if they
touch something bad, like fi re, or rest on a rugged place.
As we all know, the mouth is pleased by something sweet but dis-
pl
eased by something bitter.
Th
at is how one knows about matters. When someone has a host of
good things, he is happy. We have seen that happiness is something
to attract the human heart.
Problems start if, when you listen to a good voice or look at beautiful
things like fl owers, you also start to think about eating. If you do this,
you will get no pleasure and, moreover, fail to grasp the relevance of
anything else. You will have only a simple mind, with no time for the
things we have seen above, all of which combine to soothe the human
heart. It is an intelligent person who knows God and fears Him for the
great good He has given.
18. Work and workers
We have said our greatest need is to survive. What we should do is look
for whatever enables us to survive and adds happiness to life.
If you do not work you will become a nobody. If you do not do
good work, you will not fi nd happiness, although perhaps you might
be intelligent. But if you are a fool, you cannot know which work is
good and which bad.
Th
ere is no work without people [to do it]. So, work succeeds when
there are people who work for a specifi c reason.
Any worker who does not love his job will never progress.
So the love inside a person is the best measure of how far he can
work.
If therefore we want to know how far someone will do some specifi c
task, we can look to see how much he loves the work.
Th
at is because if you start digging a piece of land reluctantly you
won’t go far.
If you start half-heartedly, you may perhaps get half-way.
But if you start with great love,72 you may fi nish digging the entire
piece of land.
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Tũgakĩona atĩ wendi kana kĩyo kĩa mũndũ nikĩo gĩtũmaga ahane
ũrĩa akoragwo ahana. E mũtongu kana e mũkĩa. Na ari mũgĩ kana
e kĩrimũ.
Tondũ ũcio tiwega kũruma Ngai hĩndĩ ĩrĩa ekuga atĩ arita (akĩga) nĩ
ũhoro wa Ngai kana, athĩna nĩ ũhoro wa Ngai. Tondũ ũngĩkorũo ciĩga,
ciaku ciothe nĩ ng’ima-rĩ, ũguo nĩ kuga ũkorũo ndũrĩ mũtuĩku guoko
kana kũgũrũ, kana o kĩga giaku o gĩothe-rĩ, nĩ wĩra waku gũtũmĩra
ciĩga icio na kũruta wĩra wa hinya.
No ũngĩremwo nĩ gũtũmĩra ciĩga icio tondũ wo-thayo na gũthũra
wĩra wa hinya-rĩ, ndũrĩ na bata kuga atĩ Ngai nĩwe ũtũmite ũthĩne kana
wage bata, we mwene nĩwe wĩyagĩire bata mbere.
Ũngĩkorũo nĩ ũkaigua ũhoro ũyũ ũtegũgũkenia-rĩ, tondũ wa gũkwĩra
harĩa ũhitĩirie-rĩ, githĩ ũguo tiwega gũkĩra gũkwĩra maheni atĩ wĩna kĩyo
kana maũndũ mega hĩndĩ ĩrĩa ũtarĩ namo.
Ngai nĩatũhete indo ciothe, na agatũhe ũgĩ wa gũcimatha, ũngĩremwo
nĩgũtũmira ũgi ũcio nĩ igũrũ rĩaku. Na hatirĩ njĩra ĩngĩ ya gũtũmĩra ũgĩ
ũcio tiga o ya kũruta wĩra na hinya.
19. (Mwako) na aki
Nyũmba citũ nĩ kĩndũ kĩmwe gĩa kuongerera muoyo witũ gĩkeno, ona
gĩa gũtũma mũndũ aikare muoyo, tondũ rĩrĩ, ũngĩaka nyũmba njega,
no ũkenage. Na ũngĩaga nyũmba ũtuĩke atĩ ũrĩraraga nja, no ũragwo
nĩ heho, na mbura, na andũ oru.
Tondũ ũcio andũ aria ogĩ magĩrĩirũo nĩ gwaka nyũmba njega, nĩguo
magĩe na gĩkeno. Ningĩ ikenagie maitho tondũ wa ũthaka wacio, nayo
ngoro ĩkene oro ũndũ ũmwe.
Nyũmba njega-rĩ, nĩ kuga nĩ Nyũmba theru, na nene, ya gũtũra
matukũ maingĩ, ona thaka. Tondũ ucio-rĩ, tũngĩciria ũhoro wa nyũmba
iria tũtũraga rĩu-rĩ, kana iria twatũraga tene-rĩ, on kana iria andũ
aitũ aingi maikaraga ona rĩu-rĩ, no tuone atĩ itiri, na maũndũ macio
tũgwetire, gũthera kũneneha, gũtũra, gũthakara.
Ningĩ ciothe nĩ cihanaine. Na ũngĩũria gĩtũmi, no wĩrũo atĩ nyũmba
o yothe yagĩrĩirũo nĩ gwakwo te-rĩengĩ, na warĩ mũgiro gwaka ũndũ
ũngĩ tiga o ũcio wakagwo nĩ andũ othe.
Kwoguo mũtugo niguo warĩ mũhĩnga wa andũ maũndũ-inĩ mothe.
Tondũ wa gũtuĩka nĩ mũgiro gwaka ũna, kana gwĩka ũna, maũndũ
mothe ona ciĩko ciothe ciahuanaga ta ciakinyite mũthia. Onamo meciria
ma andũ atene tiga hihi anyinyi ao, matariĩ o ũguo kũgĩa na gĩturi.
what should we do, our people?
175
We therefore see that a person’s love or eff ort determines whether
he becomes rich or poor, intelligent or foolish. So it’s no good insult-
ing God by saying that if one is foolish, it’s God’s fault, or if poor, it’s
because of God. If all your limbs are functional, that is, if your hands
or legs are not amputated, it’s up to you to use them to work hard.
However, if you fail to use your limbs because of your stupidity or
dislike of hard work, you have no right to say that God has made you
poor. You are the one who fi rst made yourself of no consequence.
If you feel that to point out your error like this has harmed you,
isn’t it better to keep quiet rather than deceive yourself that you are
hardworking, or to praise yourself without reason?
God has given us everything, [including] the wisdom to look for
these things, and if you fail to use it, that’s your problem. It cannot be
used other than by hard work.
19. Buildings and builders
Our houses73 are one of the things that add happiness to our lives and
enable us to survive. For if you build a good house, you will be happy.
If you don’t have a house and live in the open, you will die of cold,
rain, and in the hands of evil people.
Th
erefore, intelligent people should build good houses so that they get
happiness. Th
e houses should also impress the eyes with their beauty,
to gladden the heart.
A good house is clean, big, durable and beautiful. If we think of the
houses we live in today, or of those in which we used to live in the
past, or even of those that some of our people live in today, we will
fi nd that they do not have the characteristics we have listed, cleanli-
ness, size and beauty.
Besides, they all look alike. If you ask why, you will be told that a
house should be like any other. It was a taboo74 to build a house other
than how people always built.
So a custom closes the door to what people want to do.75 Because it
was a taboo not to build in a certain way, everything seemed to have
reached a dead-end.76 Even the thoughts of people in the past, with few
exceptions, seem to have reached a dead-end. People just followed one
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Na tondũ ũcio andũ mageraga o njĩra ĩmwe na ngunderu maũndũ-inĩ
mothe, meciria-inĩ ona ciĩko-inĩ.
Ona rĩu aingĩ aitũ matirĩ marehera gikundi-nĩ kĩu.
Gwĩciria kwa andũ gũtiri mũthia, no kũrĩ andũ matarĩ arute-rĩ
kwĩmũthia, tondũ ũngigeria gwĩciria ũhoro wa ũndũ mũna no ũgakinya
mũthia ũkarigwo nĩ ũrĩa ũngĩka torĩa tuonire mwambĩrĩrio-inĩ wa
ibuku rĩrĩ.
Na gĩtũmi nĩ rĩrĩ, nĩ tondũ Ngai ahenyanite ciĩga ciothe cia gũtũmĩrũo,
&n
bsp; na kĩga kĩmwe kĩngĩaga gũtũmĩka ihinda inene, no kĩremwo nĩ kũruta
wĩra ũrĩa kĩũmbĩtwo kĩrutage.
Na ũira wa ũhoro ũcio nĩ rĩrĩ, ũngĩkorũo, ndũmenyerete gũthiĩ
handũ haraya na magũrũ, tatuge mairo mĩrongo itatũ, na hĩndĩ ĩmwe
ũtuĩke nĩũgũthiĩ, ũgĩkinya kũndũ kũu wakorũo ũnogete mũno, ona
rĩngĩ ũrũare kana ũimbe magũrũ. No he mũndũ ũrĩa menyerete gũthiĩ
ũcio ti wĩra.
Ũguo nĩguo gũtariĩ kũringana na gwĩciria. Andũ aingĩ kuma maciarũo
matitũmagĩra meciria mao. Tondũ worĩa makoraga arĩa mari mbere
yao matekũmatũmĩra. Na nĩkĩo hĩndĩ ĩrĩa ũngĩenda gwĩciria ũndũ ona
ũkiendaga no ũkaremwo, tondũ wa kwaga kũmenyera gwĩciria.
Na tondũ ũcio-rĩ, aki a nyũmba citũ magĩrĩirũo nĩ kwaga mũthia
wa meciria mao ta andũ acio atene. Nĩguo mahote gwaka nyũmba cia
mĩthemba mĩingĩ. Na matige gwĩciria atĩ nyũmba yakwo ũna, nĩ mũgiro,
wagũtũma andà makue. Kana kũrũmirira mwakire oro ũmwe ta tene.
20. Mwako wa matukũ maya
Matukũ maya, ti mũgiro gwaka o ũrĩa mũndũ angĩenda, gĩthiũrũrĩ
kana kĩmĩena ĩna, tondũ worĩa tuonete atĩ Comba ndũkuaga, tondũ
wa gwaka o ũrĩa mũndũ ekwenda.
Nĩ twagĩrĩirũo nĩ kũgunĩka o makĩria tondũ wa gũka gwa Comba
bũrũri-inĩ ũyũ witũ. Na tũtingĩgunĩka tondũ wa kũmathũra kana wa
gũthũra maũndũ mao. Tondũ tũngika ũguo no mũtino tũngĩona, na
mũtino ndũrehage gĩkeno. Na nĩ tugire atĩ ũndũ o wothe ũtarĩ wa
gũtũrehere gĩkeno nĩ wagĩrĩire kũninwo, twatua gũthiĩ na njĩra ĩno ya
kũhĩga.
Tondũ ũcio-rĩ, nitwagĩrĩirũo nĩ kwenda maũndũ mao mothe marĩa
mangĩtwagĩrĩra, na tũtige marĩa matangĩtwagĩrĩra.
Mwakĩrea wa Nyũmba cia Comba wahota gũtwagĩrĩra, tondũ wĩna
maũndũ marĩa tũgwetire magĩrĩirũo nĩ kũgĩa na nyũmba njega. Na nĩmo
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narrow way of thought and action. Even today, many of us have not
emerged from such thinking.
Th
inking is limitless, but to those who have not been taught, it has
its limits. For if you start thinking of something, you can come to an
end and fail to realise what comes next, as we found at the beginning
of this book.
God gave us organs to use, and if an organ remains unused for some
time, it can fail to perform its proper function.