Muthenya wa ngū nī wa ngū or so they said. A day of firewood is a day of firewood. This a proverb used to admonish people not to leave something half done just because it has taken a longer time to complete than they deemed necessary. They should embark on completing it even though it takes the whole day, after all a day of firewood is a day of firewood.
A long time ago people would go to the forests to collect the firewood and since the forests were far away they’d go in the morning only to return in the evening their backs laden with said firewood.
However the chilling stories about encounters in the forests leave me wondering if I’d endure such real life movies.
The Ndemi age group that dates back to
(1792 – 1826) decided they’d had enough of eating bushmeat and so started tilling land. This is probably the age group we should credit for coming up with our Gītheri delicacy. So this age group cleared bushes and tilled land which meant that forest land soon became miles and miles away from people.
Have you ever been advised by someone on how to confront a lion in the jungle, alone. They’d tell you to cut a branch and sharpen it on one end and when you encounter a lion and it roars at you, you insert the sharp end into its throat. SMH.
Then there’s this one about a leopard and how it would lie down on a trail wagging its tail waiting for you to pass. If you passed by without any drama, the same leopard would pass through the thickets and surprise you yet again by lying by your wayside. This would go on and on again until you reached home. It’s like the said leopard was escorting you and if you remained dramaless all would be well. How I was supposed to pass by a leopard calmly and not scream at the top of my lungs is a phenomena my adrenaline glands cannot fathom.
The last tale however is the most hilarious: It’s a tale of when an elephant would lift you on it’s back using it’s trunk. As the elephant continued to move through the thickets and bushes you were advised to cut branches and load on its back. When the load was heavy enough for the elephant to still think you were still on its back you’d surreptitiously hang onto a branch and off it would go believing it was still carrying you. Haha now Mr Elephant did you still think you were wiser than the sons and daughters of Gīkūyū and Mūmbi?
Even though I’d love to ride on an elephant in the afterlife, that is if there are elephants on that beautiful shore; I still can’t think how I, Nyar Kaheti can pull such a stint on a 15,000 pounds mass of flesh.
But for now let me chill and think of what to cook with this firewood. I’m back after a whole day in the forest. Gatubia is in plenty.

StillTheChronicler.