Mentalacrobatics » Mental

Jukwaani!

Mentalacrobatics — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 07:56:38 +0000

The centre of Nairobi is a very ripe onion. Layer upon layer upon layer upon layer. A tourist can “do” Nairobi in a couple of hours. Start at the Kenyatta International Conference Centre, drive past the houses of parliament, with the cursory nod to JK’s tomb, up Langata road to the Nairobi Safari Walk where in 45 mins a lady in cultured tones (through pre-recorded messages shared via loudspeakers) will challenge you to think of the Hyena as a friend not a foe, the obligatory visit to the Maasai Market for a bunch of spears you will never be able to get past airport security, rounded off with a meal at the Nairobi Java Coffee house before getting completely “plastered” on Dawa at Carnivore. That is the top most layer, the one most sensible people throw away before cooking with the onion. You can peel and strip and peel, layer upon layer in this magnificent city.

The Goethe-Institute, Nairobi and Alliance Française de Nairobi in association with the Kenya Cultural Centre have come together to remind us of several missing layers that in the same movement take us back to our traditional roots while also revealing our future to us.

For the past three days I have been watching Kiswahili (with some English and little bit of German) performance literature at Jukwaani! – a four day festival of literature as performance. Kiswahili poets and storytellers from up and down the East African coast holding fort in the cultural embassies of German and France, surrounded by an amazing traffic jam of Japanese, Korean, British and yes German and French cars, Nairobi is now spelt cosmopolitan.

A session called “Swahili Poetry” is simply magnificent. Moderated by Prof. Abdulaziz we hear from Ahmed Nassir, Ahmed Sheik Nabhany, Amira S. Msellem, Mahmoud Mau and Abdilatif Abdalla. What you see is not what you see. A poem about a family feud offers lessons on fighting corruption for example. Globalisation, infidelity and yes even love are all dealt with. However the strengths of classic Kiswahili poetry are also it weaknesses for how much influence does this poetry have on the people, does it move them, does it influence them, does it bring about changes? Is the message to hidden, in this age of instant communication who has the time to search for the hidden message of each piece? It was widely acknowledged that the greatest challenge facing the Kiswahili poets is that very few people know of them, their work is hard to find, making it next to impossible to engage in their discussions. After a couple of hours of feeling very irrelevant and inadequate it was good to see relevance again. If there ever was a problem that blogging was created to solve then this is it, giving people with a lot to say but nowhere to say it a place where they can say it, in their own words without relying on anyone.

These are voices that need to be heard. Take Abdilatif Abdalla for example, one of the most well known Kiswahili poets and scholars. Abdalla holds the inevitable distinction of being probably the first Kenyan post independence political prisoner as Kenyatta felt it fit to throw him in jail for sedition for his pamphlet, “Kenya Twendapi?“. He was incarcerated in Kamiti, Kenya’s most notorious prison. He shared with the audience that his three years in solitary confinement there rather than break him simply strengthen his convictions. Those convictions and the convictions of all the Kiswahili poets, storytellers, and artists can be shared and distributed rather easily through blogs. Like I keep saying, blogging is the most African thing you can do online today.

Jukwaani! Is a project by Goethe-Institut and Alliance Française in association with the Kenya Cultural Center. It is a joint initiative supported by the special fund for cultural projects established by the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of both France and Germany created on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the Elysée Treaty sealing reconciliation and friendship between the two countries. The festival is held in conjunction with the conference “Swahili poetry in performance” organized by Bordeaux and Bayreuth universities and IFRA at IFRA-BIEA.

For other perspectives on Jukwaani! check out Harvesttone and the Professor.

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Is there any person in America who hasn’t heard of Barack Obama?

Mentalacrobatics — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 06:56:46 +0000

Is there any person in America who hasn’t heard of Barack Obama?

Yes … and his name is DMX.

Q: Are you following the presidential race?
DMX: Not at all.

Q: You’re not? You know there’s a Black guy running, Barack Obama and then there’s Hillary Clinton.
DMX: His name is Barack?!

Q:Barack Obama, yeah.
DMX: Barack?!

Q:Barack.
DMX: What the fuck is a Barack?! Barack Obama. Where he from, Africa?

Q:Yeah, his dad is from Kenya.
DMX: Barack Obama?

Q:Yeah.
DMX: What the fuck?! That ain’t no fuckin’ name, yo. That ain’t that nigga’s name. You can’t be serious. Barack Obama. Get the fuck outta here.

Q: You’re telling me you haven’t heard about him before.
DMX: I ain’t really paying much attention.

Q:I mean, it’s pretty big if a Black …
DMX: Wow, Barack! The nigga’s name is Barack. Barack? Nigga named Barack Obama. What the fuck, man?! Is he serious? That ain’t his fuckin’ name. Ima tell this nigga when I see him, “Stop that bullshit. Stop that bullshit” [laughs] “That ain’t your fuckin’ name.” Your momma ain’t name you no damn Barack.

Q: So you’re not following the race. You can’t vote right?
DMX: Nope.

Halfway through this interview it becomes pretty clear that this cartoon lives in his own world. Thank goodness I grew out of gangsta rap a while ago!

Via Kottke

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One big happy(ish) family

Mentalacrobatics — Sat, 02 Feb 2008 12:42:00 +0000

A few years ago I posted a comment on a friend’s blog (which sadly no longer exists) in which I remarked that the Kenyan Blogs Webring reminds me of a typical African extended family. Fluctuating from supportive to destructive, from connected to disjointed, from sane and united to crazy and dysfunctional. Those family members who always believe that there is someone in the family out to get them and thus they constantly whisper conspiracy theories while looking over their shoulders? Well KBW has them too. Luckily we have a lot of sane, sensible and funny family members too.

Every once in while I get reminded that some people have way too much time on their hands! In the past 12-18 months I have been slowly switching webhosting companies as I search for more reliable, personal and courteous service. The webhosting company I left was called BlueHost

and the webhosting company I now use is called A Small Orange.

(Some of you sharp ones will have figured out by now where this post is going!)

Bluehost’s primary colour is, naturally, blue. A Small Orange’s primary colour is, naturally, orange. Kibaki’s Party of National Unity primary colour is blue and Odinga’s Orange Democratic Movement primary colour is orange. If this was not proof enough that I am Odinga’s number one fanboy, the mere fact that I choose a Webhosting company with the word orange in its name and now display a button with an orange is proof enough for some that mentalacrobatics.com is embedded within Odinga’s camp. Hehe.

People, sometimes a webhost is a webhost and not a declaration of political affiliation! Honest!

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Video: Kenyans talking with GSU – Kenya Election 2007

Mentalacrobatics — Sat, 05 Jan 2008 10:16:15 +0000

I managed to capture a few short video clips of Kenyans talking to the GSU during the confrontation at Hurlingham. This clip shows Charity Ngilu asking the officer in charge why the rally is not allowed to continue. It is a bit shaky and ends mid sentence but at least it shows some sort of dialogue.

For those who have asked, the pictures on the original post and this clip were all taken by me at around the same time. Feel free to use them on your blogs and websites under the terms of the Creative Commons license.

kenyaelection07

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Site administration – Ground rules on comments

Mentalacrobatics — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 21:23:48 +0000

Due to the sporadic nature of my internet connection these past few weeks I have not had much time, to read and engage with those of you who are leaving comments. Making sure my pictures and posts are uploaded correctly usually takes more time than Safaricom/Celtel GPRS gives me before it gives up on me. I would like to thank the vast majority of you again for coming out and engaging with me and with each other in a respectful yet passionate manner.

However, it is sad to note that some of you are using the space I provide for your comments to spread hate and violent tribalism. I WILL NOT STAND FOR THAT. No doubt many of you were unaware of this blogs existence before this election and thus may not be aware of where I stand on this so let me some things clear.

I do not blog as part of a popularity contest. I do not really care if I get no comments on my posts (search my archives, I have said this before) as I believe there are other ways to measure a blogs impact. I would rather have one sensible comment that 20 comments shouting nonsense.

Secondly, I am not here to spoon feed you or even debate with you what does or does not make valid commentary. My younger cousins who are just out of their teens and about to join high school know the difference between intellectual and valid commentary and hate speech. So do you. I will not enter into a lengthy debate on whether your comment, that we should “finish” this or that tribe is valid because of some socio-economic-political-historical injustice you quote. For crying out loud our country is burning. You fuel the flames here and I will burn your comment, i.e. I will delete it.

Thirdly, if you do engage in the nonsense highlighted above, not only will I delete your comment but I will probably ban your IP address as well. There is too much at stake here for me to spend time fighting hate here and if you spread hate I really do not care if you feel aggrieved at being locked out of my blog. I will not engage with you and more importantly I will not give you a platform from which to spread that hate. If you really must, then start your own blog and spread your nonsense there. I have banned people from commenting before and I have banned IP address from this domain before and I can tell you for sure that it works as, surprisingly, each and every person I have banned from this blog returns a few months later with a cleaner mouth (and new IP address). Some are even taking part in this debate about the aftermath of the elections, perhaps they will be brave enough to share why they are back after being banned. This shows to me that many of irresponsible people only leave hate comments because they feel they can get away with it. So I will not let you get away with it here.

Now to the vast majority of my visitors, who have left comments, thank you i appreciate you and I urge you, please, please start your own blogs and add to the voices from Kenya. Ignore the rant above it was not directed at you.

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This thing called life

Mentalacrobatics — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 10:02:12 +0000

Observation: it is slightly disturbing when your real life starts to mirror a comic strip!

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Tumechoka

Mentalacrobatics — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 15:10:13 +0000

The tsunami that promises to sweep through the Kenyan political landscape and usher in a new breed of leaders continues to pick up pace as the Wanainchi use all methods available at their disposal to ensure that they are not excluded from the national debate. Many are turning to the internet to get their voices heard.

One example of this is the music track Tumechoka by Ill Phil Artists. Tumechoka is a Swahili word which translates into English as we are tired/we have had enough. Ill Phil Artists released the song and video online via the MARS Group Kenya website. You can listen to the track and read the lyrics below (largely in Kiswahili with loose English translations). Please share and distribute it widely. It’s free and the artists have waived their royalty rights for internet download and radio play.

More information on the MARS Group website where you can also download the file in its original Real Media player format.

Intro

Sisi sote tumekuja pamoja kusema Na kuskika, hatunyamazi mashida zetu Kama kitambo,
(We have come to speak in one voice, we will not be silenced as before)

A voice against our leaders, ni kura itaongea, pigeni kura pigeni kura pigeni kura..
(Our vote will speak, Vote people Vote! Vote!)

Baken
Nashindwa niajee, kuishi kiwasi wasi nitaongea ki wazi wazi viongozi vikohozi
(Why are we living in fear with leaders who make us sick)

Na niajee, Mtaani tunawika nayeye anacheka straight to the bank,
(Why are we living in ghettos as our leaders laugh straight to the bank)

Mi na hustle ye ana manga bila hata kungangana, kwanini akuhonge baadaye akunyonge
(I have to hustle, he enjoys without labouring, why should he bribe us, later he hangs us)

Kamba shingoni ya kujitia mwenyewe, wanajifanya waelewi kula kuva
(A noose around his neck this time, he thinks he is better than us)

Yote C.D.F na round hi, Shida zetu tunyazmazi.
(This time let us end our problem)

Chorus
Tumechoka na sema tumechoka kufinyiliwa down tunasema tumechoka (tumechoka) x 4
(We are tired of being pressed down – We are Tired! x 4)

Leftie
Mshahara tunampa, na kazi hatuoni, pesa zetu mnakula na bunge mnalala,
(We pay you well but your work is unseen. You eat our money and sleep in Parliament)

Mnasema mko kazi Ndio sisi wenye vipaji, vitambi vinatokea ungedhania Ni kiriba,
(You claim to be hard at work)

Tunafinywa Kwa makini, laini shinda maini maazi kufanyiziwa
(We are oppressed)

Malazi kufinyiliwa, wanadai in the ghetto na nyimnaangalia nimekula huu usongo
(In our homes we are oppressed they say in the ghetto)

Ndio maana ninalia, nakaa hamtawacha kura yangu hamta pata, this time mkicheza tutampiga
(This is why I am crying. No vote for you from me this time.)

hiyo marando, taadhari tafakari Leftie akiwa nare mtakuwa kwenye hatari tunataka maendeleo, hacheni huo ukorofi,
(Watch yourself I am getting impatient. We want development not corruption.)

Chorus
Tumechoka na sema tumechoka kufinyiliwa down tunasema tumechoka (tumechoka) x 4
(We are tired of being pressed down – We are Tired! x 4)

Hawkins
Followed my heart through all the roads into the jungle, seen so much pressure
Told my body, just handle, this is nothing, Compared to what we thought,
Bad governance and leadership is what we fought, dark ages, black pages, rough ages
Men make history but this is to much, I earn all the money but you say I can’t touch, unajiongezea Mshahara nikipinga unanipiga, si protest Kwa Street Ndio maana niko Kwa beat nakuonya roundi hii nakutoa wewe shindwa
(You increase your salary when I protest you have me beaten – I am warning you now this time I will throw you out!)

Chorus (repeat)
(We are tired of being pressed down – We are Tired! x 4)

Jahfarel
Nabado wamesahau tumewapa hii works, Kulounge bila shukrani hatowi pesa zao
(They have forgotten that we are their employers, they are greedy and laze about)

Dem lying dem saying but they just destroying with false prophesies of a better tomorrow,
(They are false prophets and liars)

Na hii wakati, Ni Kura itaongea pigeni Kura pigeni Kura
(This is the time. Our vote will speak. Vote! Vote!)

Ending Chorus
(We are tired of being pressed down – We are Tired! x 4)

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What’s in a name?

Mentalacrobatics — Wed, 26 Sep 2007 09:20:54 +0000

My name is Daudi. Easy name. Daudi. 20+ years ago today when I was born that is what my parents decided to name me. Why then do so many people have issues with it? It has made for some ridiculous moments. Comme ca:

I was in the UK just after Princess Diana died and for a while a lot of people thought that I was related or connected to Dodi Al-Fayed. Yeah, Daudi = Dodi!

Then for a while many thought I was connected to or trying to imitate the Scottish International Doddie Weir, a guy whose first and last name are pronounced almost exactly as my first and last name. I lost count the number of times I would make reservations for something and turn up to find they had spelt my name Doddie Weir. They would expect a huge Scottish second row and instead get a smaller Kenyan loose head prop.

The most ridiculous moment connected to my name happened at the first day in a new job while I was in Manchester. My manager walked up to me, fixed me with a steely glare and stated in a loud voice, “David, you’ve spelt your name wrong on the form.” I leaned back and looked at her and asked her, “Just what type of a muppet do you think I am that I would misspell my own bleeding name, you cartoon.” Ok I wish I had said that. What I really said was, “My name is Daudi, not David. I do not misspell my name.”

She was British and perhaps you can understand why she would confuse, or prefer, David with Daudi.

What I find strange is that Kenyans equally have a problem with Daudi. There are many people who insist on calling me David no matter how many times I tell them my name is Daudi. Then there are those who when I protest at being called David announce to me, like it is breaking news, that Daudi is the kiswahili version of David.

Yes. I. Know. That. Believe it or not.

No one goes around calling David Daudi so why do they insist on calling Daudi David? In fact no one goes around calling Dawit David or Daud David or Dawd David. They just have a problem with Daudi! One time I had to renew an official document and the mad people behind the counter went and changed my name, in my official documents, to David! When I protested they said they were (and I quote exactly), “doing me a favour” ARGGGGHHHHH! And it is Kenyans. Tanzanians have no problem calling me Daudi, Ugandans have no problem calling me Daudi, all other Kiswahili speakers love to call me Daudi. But Kenyans, David, David, David!

I am attached to the name Daudi. It is my name. As in most societies around the world those who named me did not just pick a name out of the blue. Daudi was my father’s father. My grandfather. I am named after him and I consider that a massive honour. So when you call me David and I flip a little bit, be easy and understand where I am coming from.

Hehe, yeah I’ve waiting to get that off my chest for a while now – indulge me this once!

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Digital Citizen Indaba 2007

Mentalacrobatics — Sun, 09 Sep 2007 10:54:46 +0000

The second Digital Citizen Indaba is in full swing at Rhodes University, Grahamstown, South Africa. The conference was opened by Professor Banda who welcomed us to the DCI. Then Global Voices sub Saharan editor, Swahili blogosphere pioneer, Tanzanian blogosphere pioneer, and KBW member Ndesanjo Macha got things moving with his Keynote Address.

I spoke with on the Democratization of the Digital Citizen in the morning session on Fractured Identities. I shared the floor with my Tanzanian brother Ansbert Ngurumo. Our panel was chaired by Professor Guy Berger.

Check out the DCI wiki which is updated regularly throughout the day for a summary of all the talks, the DCI flickr stream for evidence that bloggers are the best looking people around!

digital citizen indaba

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If I were a headline writer

Mentalacrobatics — Wed, 29 Aug 2007 07:25:32 +0000

Tedious, Tiresome, Terrible, Tormented Toro Backs Baks

(Inspired by one of the best headlines of all time.)

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