Murder Investigation

So, I haven't posted in a few days because:

1. Nothing too interesting has happened 
2. Something really interesting happened, but I was waiting for the entire process to be completed so I could post on it all at once. Unfortunately, there has been a development that has hung up the completion of the process, so I might as well make an installment on the story to keep all ya'll interested in this here blog. 

So. This past Thursday, Michael disappeared for the entire afternoon and evening. On Friday, while we were having morning chai, he told me that he had been at a Pokot elder meeting. (Michael is not a Pokot elder, but is seen as a leader in his community, so the elders value his input.) Michael told me that the elders have been meeting all week about a very serious issue: a murder case! Michael asked one of the elders if I could attend the meeting on Friday afternoon, and they agreed! 

This is an amazing opportunity for my research!

Me with the elders and other respected community members.

On Friday afternoon, Michael, Peter and I went to a restaurant in Kapenguria where the elders were meeting in one of the upper rooms. When I entered, there were about 70 Pokot men between the ages of about 35 and 80 squeezed in a space that would comfortably seat 40 people. A few people greeted and acknowledged the three of us when we entered, but otherwise, my presence did not create a disturbance. How refreshing!!!

Michael sat next to me and whispered the English translation of the discussion at hand. All elders are considered equal, and all are welcome to speak freely. Although, sometimes a leader is nominated for a meeting in order to keep order and the discussion going. As elders feel they have something to say or contribute, one will start talking as he stands to address his fellow elders. Then is seated when he has said his piece.

The murder case the elders had been discussing all week involves a number of people:

1. The man who pulled the trigger 
2. His 5 accomplices 
3. The man who owns the gun that was used 
4. A man who provided refuge to the murderer and his accomplices 
5. A man who provided information to the murderer about where the murder victim lived 

Where's Rachel? Me with some of the elders.
Check out the guy's hat on the far left!

Friday's discussion pertained only to #4, the man who provided refuge to the murderer and his accomplices. By the end of the afternoon, the elders eventually ruled that the man's bull should be slaughtered, and determined the date for that ceremony would be Monday (yesterday). 

Michael explained to me that every pastoral Pokot man owns one bull which contributes to the man's status and is considered synonymous with the man...meaning the bull, to an extent, represents the man himself. Slaughtering a man's bull is only one step down from corporal punishment. By slaughtering this man's bull, it is almost as if the elders are "slaughtering" the man, and are sending a clear message to the man that he has greatly offended them; not to mention that reproduction among his cattle will, at the very least, be interrupted. Keep in mind that for a pastoral Pokot, cattle is his livelihood. 

At the end of the Friday meeting, four elders were sent to have the man removed from prison. (The relationship between the Pokot elders and local police is another aspect of this case I will need to learn more about.) And Michael and I were invited up front to address all of the elders about the research I am doing in Kenya. They were very pleased that someone would be recording what, for centuries (and in some cases, even millennia), has been an oral tradition. The leader for that day's meeting assigned an elder to fill me in on the rest of the case, and the secretary of elders extended the invitation for me and Michael to attend the slaughtering of the bull (in regards to that day's ruling) on Monday.

So, anyway, Monday came, and Michael contacted one of the elders to confirm the time and place of the slaughter. He learned that the police were refusing to release the man to the elders. Again, the relationship between the police and the elders is something I'd like to pursue and learn more about. The slaughter has not been called off completely, but for now, has been postponed until further notice.

Me at the Kapenguria Museum before going
to the elder meeting.

Michael and I were planning to leave for Ombolion today, a rural village where I can do more observation and interviews with people who are more closely following Pokot traditions and traditional way of life than those living in the Kapenguria area, but have decided to stick around one more day to see if there is any word about the bull slaughter. If nothing changes today regarding the slaughter, then we will leave tomorrow morning for Ombolion and return, most probably, on Saturday.

So, stay tuned!

Fun fact: I have yet to see a mosquito. Unfortunately, this is most likely due to the draught Kenya is currently experiencing. I certainly have a new appreciation for water as a precious resource!

Photo Tour

Everyone seems to be enjoying photos more than anything else. So, for your viewing pleasure, here is a photo tour of my living quarters and the library I have frequented a lot this past week.

Right: Michael's house and car park. Left: My "apartment."

My apartment. During the day, everyone opens their door and hangs a sheer cloth in the doorway.

Inside my apartment. This is it. Bed, bedside stool, mosquito net, folding/camping chair and my luggage.

The bathroom.

The toilet. For the life of me, I have not been able to get the latch on this door to work...so Nelly has been holding it shut for me almost every time! That must be fun for her...

The shower. There is a hole, about 2 inches in diameter in the back, right corner that works as a drain. I bring about a gallon of water in a bucket in with me. The latch on this door works :)

The library: "District Information and Documentation," basically, all of the known archives concerning the Pokot. I even found a copy of a University of Minnesota student's dissertation from 1988!

Me cooking onions for spaghetti sauce. Michael requested that I make some American food for his family to try. Unfortunately, I decided to buy some tomato sauce at the Kitale market...that stuff is like a gel-like French salad dressing. Too bad. I did redeem myself this morning by making oatmeal with cinnamon, sugar, and raisins. That was a hit!

Fun fact: the item I have used the most from my first aid kit is Hydrocortisone. One day, I bumped a cactus; another day, I developed a small rash on my hand; and on another, I had a small pustule that itched on the top of my foot.

Whiteness

Before I begin, I must warn you that I will be making a number of generalizations in this post, and I will emphasize here that they are just that: generalizations; meaning, they do not apply to everyone.

I, like many other Americans, would like to believe we live in a post-racial society, where we are beyond discriminating or favoring people based on their ethnicity. Although the United States has made significant strides in the past century, I believe we still have a long way to go before we may consider ourselves "post-racial." Also, if I am to be successful in anthropology, it's time I become realistic about this social issue. Especially, since, I seem to be on the receiving end of a unique form of racism...

The day I conducted interviews in East Pokot, I received a wide variety of reactions to my presence from children who had never seen (but perhaps had heard about) white people. They would scream, cry, giggle, wave, hide behind their mothers or friends, or simply stand with their jaw dropped (one kid even dropped what he was carrying). It was not hard to notice that as we traveled farther away from Nairobi, the number of white people decreased. Here, in Kapenguria, I have seen only one other white person.

Reactions are not limited to children. Adults will also stare, or make comments about the "mzungu" (foreigner) in Swahili. I usually don't ask for a translation, but yesterday, Nelly told me one man could not believe I was carrying water on my head from the river along with her. Even Michael's family seems astounded when I insist on hand washing my own laundry, or bathing with a bucket of cold water like they do, rather than use Michael's connections at a nearby hotel to have hot water sprinkle from a faucet over my head.

There is so much attached to this concept of whiteness, another factor being wealth.

I was so beside myself the other day about this, that I called my friend and fellow board member, Nathan, who has visited Kenya a few times. He helped me see things a bit better from the Kenyan perspective. For instance, many people in Kenya are in "survival mode," living one day at a time, doing what they can to put food in their stomachs. As a person from the United States, I am perceived as a bottomless piggy bank.

Also, only a few people understand the concept of saving. Nathan advised me to not even try to explain what a budget or savings account is, because many of the people who are in survival mode will not understand how it is that I have this money but do not use it right now, in the present, for my needs (and their needs). They are opportunistic, rather than futuristic, doing the most they can do today to survive for as long as possible, because it is unknown what tomorrow will bring or not bring.

Yesterday was the first day I was explicitly asked for money or things by people who are more than strangers, who are friends of Michael's. One person asked for 100 shillings (about $1.50) to buy soap. Later, a girl knocked on the door of my apartment and asked if I could "assist her with drinking water" (I eventually gathered that she was asking to tap my supply of clean, store bought, bottled water). Then, at dinner, a man asked me "how many monies did it take for [me] to go to America from Nairobi?" and then if I would buy him a plane ticket to America.

In addition, I've conducted two interviews today that pleaded with me to support Daylight and tell people about it, because they realize education is the future and the way out of poverty, not understanding that I'm actually on their side, as a Daylight board member, and that my purpose on that board is to bring in more people to support Daylight. It's very exhausting and discouraging, as I feel I must explain or defend myself. Not to mention this all strays away from the main questions of my interview.

In general, it is hard for me to say no to people, but I know I cannot help everyone; my funds are limited too. It is still so frustrating to be in the midst of all this poverty and do nothing. I appreciate your thoughts and prayers as I experience these new challenges.

On a positive note! (I know I've been highlighting the negative a lot lately.)

I also visited Daylight Center and School yesterday. This truly was the highlight and joy of my day (even though I could not completely escape this issue of whiteness there either). Here are some pictures:

Michael suggested I bring candy to ensure no one would run away or cry!

Handing out soap to some very curious kids.

I assisted the kitchen staff by passing out porridge. You can see this kid still isn't sure about me!

High five! This started as a result of one kid coming up to me and waving at me only two inches away. So, I gave her a high five while saying "high five!" Well, then this happened...each of the kids wanted about 20 high fives. At another point in the day, they came running up to me, screaming "Hi Fi, Hi Fi!"

Visiting a classroom reviewing pronunciation of English vowel sounds.