THEM DAYS

EPIC BOYS

Play was more advanced as one grew older. For the boys there was “bano". This was a game that involved marbles, and dusty ground level enough to smoothly put your marbles into designated holes. Keen visual-spatial intelligence and mathematical genius were must-haves in this game.The critical and most exciting part of this game wa the term "Cracky no payee" This was a term that really made you frown. Your oppent would take a metal marble from his pocket and hit your marble so hard to an extent of breaking it into halves. There was also hunting with “feyaa" if you were a boy you would really enjoy hunting birds with feyaa “catapult" when you reached Zack's age and catching grasshoppers which you would eat as “nyama choma". It reminds me of when Sam and I decided to follow Zack and his friends as they went to hunt for the birds early in the morning during the school holidays. Zack was a guru in it coz he'd even return home with more than three live birds. But I still believe upto this day that it was because he was a lefty. It was not until Zack's mom warned him of the bird's mother coming for him at night to bite and scratch him. Zack would then result to setting them free. What we came to know was that Zack and his friends used to cook the bird's that did not make it alive after the hit. I think the most integral part in feyaa was the leather pad "kiraka" coz we'd here them tell each other yako haigongi poa sababu ya kiraka. We really admired their teamwork. There was one who came with a Matchbox for the fire, the other with salt to make the nyama choma tasty and the other with a metal tin to serve as a cooker. It is sad that nowadays the Matchbox is used to light cigarettes and bhang among teens speaking of those who have not even joined highschool yet. But before all of that happened Zack would go back home and steal hot water so that he can use it to pluck the bird. Let me remind you that all this time we were hiding while peeping on them. Zack prepared the meal very fast. We watched them eat and believe me you there was no side effects to them even after weeks. We later. came to know that not all birds were hunted, it was believed that “ mrogi feyaa" Red-bellied paradise Flycatcher would make your catapult kaput after aiming at it.