Bull: 1, Rachel: 0

Yesterday was excruciatingly frustrating. I can confidently say it was the worst day of the trip. Provided nothing worse happens, I can at least allow future incidents to roll off my back a bit easier.

Yesterday was the date of reschedule for the bull sacrifice (mentioned in my "Murder Investigation" post). I will take a moment here to explain that this murder was not random, and I am completely safe. Essentially, the murder was the result of cattle rustling. As the Pokot elders do not approve of cattle rustling (or murder!), they are making a very big example out of everyone remotely involved in this murder and cattle rustling event.

Michael wanted to ensure I would be present for the entire bull sacrifice ceremony, so we planned to leave Kapenguria for Lelan at 5:30am. After getting fuel and picking up an elder, we ended up leaving Kapenguria at around 6:00am.

We arrived in Lelan sometime between 7:00 and 7:30am, where we waited and waited. And waited. Fortunately, waiting is something I have, at least, come to expect in Kenya. I think Luke will be pleased that I've developed a better concept of patience during this trip.

That morning, a Lelan local treated our entire crew (Michael, Peter, Lomaler, Nelly, the elder, and myself) to chai, but Michael cautioned me not to "take chai" because he wasn't confident it was prepared in such a way that killed all of the bacteria in the milk. This is because Lelan is a small rural town that is not accustomed to tourists.

It reminded me of an Old West ghost town, with a dirt road that abruptly comes up to a short strip of parallel shops. Only, instead of tumble weed, a sheep would occasionally trot by. Skip, you will be pleased to know that the electric guitars in the opening song from Once Upon a Time in the West queued in my head.

Me thinking about rolling down the hill.

So, after watching people drink chai, Michael apparently got an update regarding the location of the ceremony. So, we drove maybe 3 miles out of town and parked off the road in a pasture. Where we waited some more. Peter, Nelly, Lomaler and I climbed a small hill and the view was amazing. Not only could you see the haphazard patchwork of farms and pasture and homesteads in the valley below, but we also had a clear view of Mt Mtelo to the northeast and Mt Elgon to the west-northwest. I'm convinced that if I started to roll down the west side of that steep hill, the only thing that would stop me from reaching the valley miles below would be a solid fence or two.

After waiting there for about an hour, hour and a half, Michael received another phone call, and we headed back into Lelan. Where we waited and waited. At this point, a handful of elders showed up. So, I jumped at the opportunity to ask a few questions and get a better understanding of the ceremony. Before, I understood that sacrificing someone's bull is only one step down from corporeal punishment. Well, that actually isn't the case. From greatest to least in severity, after corporeal punishment in Pokot, the next biggest punishment is whipping or beating the criminal, then it is lapay (which is essentially a HUGE fine for damages rendered), then the bull sacrifice, then forced excommunication, and finally, voluntary excommunication.

Speaking with some elders.

After getting my questions answered, one of the elders treated our crew to more chai. This time, I had a Sprite. At this point, some of the shops had opened, so Nelly and I went into a clothing shop just to kill some time. Not much of a selection. After waiting some more in Lelan, Michael and the elders were getting up to go somewhere, so I chose to follow.

We climbed a huge hill, where there were more board members with stackable plastic chairs, presumably determining where on the hill to have the ceremony. Nelly and I wandered around the hill and found the ruins of an old house or something, so we hung out there until one of the elders called out to us to come.

Notice I am carrying one chair and Nelly is carrying three...

We picked up some of the chairs and followed the elders halfway down the hill to a clearing where a man was moving some brush aside. This seemed to be the place they decided on. But we did some more waiting. And I found out we were waiting on some elders who had just left Kapenguria. It was around 12:30pm when I learned this, so that would place the elders in Kapenguria at around 2:00pm. While we waited, I got to watch Peter perform the Pokot way of extracting ear wax. Apparently, they allow ear wax to build up until it is the size of a pea, and then someone fashions a tweezer out of a stick and attempts to fish out the ear wax from their patient.

Then, it started to sprinkle, so the elders picked up the chairs and walked back to Lelan. If it started to rain hard, they wanted to be close to a building that they could retreat to. There is an area, just outside the "city center," that appeared to be for auctions or public addresses, and that is where the elders finally settled. I dozed off at around 1:45pm for a few minutes. At 2:15pm, things were finally getting started.

By 2:30pm, about 100 people had gathered, and an elder stood up and welcomed everyone. Michael pointed out the criminal to me, and I asked him where the bull was. He said he didn't know. About 2 hours later, it started to rain. Hard. So, everyone retreated into a nearby sheep shearing shed. I didn't understand what was going on, but somehow the bull sacrifice ceremony turned into a peace meeting between the Pokot and Marakwet. There was no bull, there was no sacrifice.

At around 6:00pm, Michael said he was feeling very tired and told Nelly to translate for me, then left the meeting with Peter. Nelly translated a few things, but it takes her longer than Michael, as her English vocabulary isn't as advanced, which means that I'm getting more of a watered-down version than if Michael translates. This is fine for me, as I simply just want to get an idea of what is being said, but then she stopped translating all together. When Michael does this, it usually means the person speaking is simply repeating himself, or is saying more of the same of what has already been said. But in Nelly's case, Peter had once told me that Nelly (who is not originally Pokot) does not speak Pokot. In preparing for this trip to Lelan, I mentioned this to Michael, and he said that Nelly actually speaks Pokot very well. Well, this morning, while having chai, I observed Lomaler teaching Nelly how to pronounce Pokot greetings (phrases I have already learned). I'm sure Nelly must understand more Pokot than I do, but I don't think I can continue to depend on her for formal translations.

Finally, at 6:45pm, after sitting uncomfortably on a wooden bench for over 4 hours, the elder we came with stood up, made a statement to everyone in attendance, and then turned to leave. In response, Lomaler and Nelly got up to follow. Nelly even picked up my backpack and turned to me to say "just come."

"Wait, what's going on?" 

"We are leaving now," was her response.

I had no idea if the elder was opposed to something said, or if he was politely excusing himself, or if something was about to happen where women were not to be present (Nelly and I were the only women). So, I had little choice but to follow Nelly out of the shed to inquire further. Once we were a good twenty yards away, I asked again:

"What's happening, why are we leaving?"

"The meeting is ending, they are just going to pray now." 

"What?! Nelly, I can't leave. I need to see that!"

So I rushed back to the shed to stand at the open door. Nelly and the elder followed me, the elder asking 

"What did you forget?"

I expected Nelly to answer him, since I needed to pay attention to what was taking place, but he kept asking. So I turned to him and said (not knowing exactly how much English he could understand) 

"This is what I came all the way from America to see." I emphasized this by pointing into the shed. "I can't leave yet." 

A few minutes later, it was all over, and we headed back to the truck to meet up with Michael.

I asked Michael, "so they aren't killing the bull tonight?"

"Oh no. Not tonight." 

He then explained that the culprit was being difficult, saying he wasn't in compliance with the elders' ruling. But then he said he was and he has the bull here, in Lelan. So now, because he was being difficult, he must sacrifice 3 bulls.

"When was that decided?"

"Just now. At this meeting today."

"Oh. I didn't get a translation for that."

"Oh, really?"

"No. This is news to me."

I can't blame anyone for this. Michael, after waking up early and navigating a steep and bumpy drive to Lelan was rightly tired. Nelly, a woman attending an all-male meeting, culturally is not going to question an elder when he motions her to leave. Also, this is a Pokot meeting. I am clearly not Pokot, but most of my translators are. This meeting is far more important for them to experience than it is for me. This is their history in the making. If I don't get a complete translation because they are personally consumed with what is being said, then who am I to distract their attention?

What was frustrating for me was being pulled away early from the meeting. It wasn't waking up early and then waiting for 9 hours. It was the fact that, if I can't get a play-by-play translation of what is going on, then I can at least use my own eyes to absorb the experience. But if I can't understand what is being said, and I can't see and experience it either, then what is the point of me being here?

I feel I can salvage my research efforts yesterday, but it was extremely disconcerting to think that we almost wasted an entire day, $60 of gas, as well as Michael's time, my time, etc.

Not only did I listen to a ton of Pokot spoken yesterday (with little translation), but only two English phrases were uttered the entire car ride back to Kapenguria. 

Fun fact: I think the biggest reverse culture shock I will have upon returning to the United States will be English overload, where I will get overwhelmed with understanding everyone.

I didn't initiate an English conversation because I was so frustrated about what had happened that day that I thought I might start crying if I opened my mouth. In fact, at 8:20pm, after we got back and Peter brought me my water bottle from the truck, saying "I think you are tired Recho," I locked my door and completely broke down. After only eating half a protein bar and 3 slices of bread all day, I thought I would be hungry, but I had lost my appetite.

This morning, even though I still didn't feel hungry, I forced down 4 cups of chai. And instead of going to Daylight with Michael's family, I decided to recuperate at home today.

Before leaving for Daylight, Michael updated me that our trip to Alale will probably be postponed until this weekend. He only just submitted receipts, etc to the Daylight board, so we must wait for the wire of funds so that he can pay the Daylight staff before we leave, as well as pay for a few more acres of land for Daylight's new location.

From my experience in Kenya, something tells me we won't be going to Alale until sometime next week. But because I have this understanding, I can at least make the most out of my time while I wait for us to leave. 

All in all, I had both good and bad experiences yesterday. Unfortunately, months from now, I'm afraid I will only remember the bad ones that occurred yesterday.