I'm reading E. Kezilahabi's Dunia Uwanja wa Fujo (The World is a Chaotic Place) and really think that this author needs to be translated into English. It's that good. (Incidentally, he got a graduate degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.)
I've read Rosa Mistika (a girl's name) and was quite impressed by it. Today, I came across this paragraph in Dunia and just really wanted to share it.
A mother, ill and dying, is giving her final farewell to her teenage son, who now stands to inherit a good deal of money and the family wealth all on his own. She worries about his judgment and his ability to handle the responsibilities that now await him. She gives three pieces of advice.
First, she says, don't marry for beauty. Marry a woman who has good behavior. Second, be careful with the money that you inherit.
It's her third point that I want to share:
Jambo la tatu na la mwisho ni hili. Tukumbuke sisi wazazi wako. Kumbuka unatembea juu ya udongo ambamo ndani mwake wahenga wamelala. Kwa muda wote utakaokanyaga undongo huu, tukumbuke kwa kila tendo utendalo, kwani matendo mabaya huwachukiza wazima na wafu.
The third and final thing is this. Remember us, your parents. Remember you are walking on soil inside of which the ancestors are sleeping. For the whole time you step on this soil, remember us in everything you do, after all, bad actions cause hatred among the living and the dead.
"You are walking on soil where the ancestors are sleeping." Few people really stop to think about this. That millions of people have come before us and when their time ends, they are gone. We inherit the earth from them. And, with our every step, we should remember those who came before us.
It is the hope of the dying and, to the living in this day and age, sounds more like sappy poetry...
