Culture – Beauty of life

Intermarriage Complications

Henry Masinde

Kenya has more than 40 tribes so it is very common nowadays to see people marrying from other tribes. In the old days, people used to marry only from their tribe because they mostly only interact with people from the same tribe but from other clans. Today, schools, churches, and towns have diversified having most if not all tribes participating together in all affairs of society, therefore, interacting with each other. That has led to an increase in intermarriages among tribes in Kenya. There are, however, a few challenges up to date. There are people, especially old people who are laggards and do not want to see people in their families marry someone from outside their tribe. There is also a little bit of language barrier between the extended families as highlighted by the couple in the video above. Despite the challenges, the number of intermarriages in Kenya has been on the increase. This is a positive as it helps diversify cultures and create peace between people from different parts of the country. In the Bible, Solomon used to marry princesses from other nations to foster peace between his country Israel and its neighbours.

Campus Culture

Henry Masinde

Joining campus is the aim of every high school child. There are expectations from parents and society as a whole for their children to join tertiary institutions to pursue degrees or diplomas. The thought that your child is in the University is a source of pride for the parent. Although it may seem prestigious to be in university, it comes with its own challenges. When you join University, you meet and interact with new people. Some of the people you find who eventually become your friends will teach you new practices which might not necessarily be good for you. The University is where people fully learn how to abuse drugs, engage in premarital sex and other vices. You have to have strong self-control to avoid it. Some people also suffer financially lacking basic needs such as food because their parents cannot afford it. The kind of life that students on campus live especially the male gender is an “Inshallah” kind of life. To top it all off, after enduring all the problems on campus and finishing school, you are still not guaranteed a job. It is frustrating for students and some end up in depression. In 2021 there are 38000 university slots left empty because people today are starting to lose their trust in University education.

Exporting Kenyan Culture

Henry Masinde

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1P_75InLndjXn0yg1fzvtb_q3A22LyWa5GdSmk7ciYa0/edit#responses

Culture is an important aspect of society because it shows how people live and relate with each other. In Kenya, we have more than 40 tribes, each with its own distinct culture. Every country in the world can be identified based on its way of life. For example, if you see men wearing quilt-printed skirts, you would know that they are from Scotland or they are influenced by the Scottish culture. Some countries’ culture is so popular that they influence people from other parts of the world to adopt. Culture can be spread in many ways. The culture of the United States of America is spread usually through box office movies that are watched in cinemas all over the world. In Kenya, the tribe that has the most popular culture in the world is the Maasai. This is according to the survey I conducted. More than 70% of the responses chose the Maasai as the culture with the biggest impact outside of Kenya. This is because the Maasai are one of the few tribes to have preserved most of their culture today. The Maasai only stopped practicing the harmful ones such as killing a lion as an initiation to manhood. The rest of the tribes in Kenya have majorly adopted western culture. The Maasai are also impactful because their culture is interesting. They live in the wild with animals peacefully like Adam and Eve. This is fascinating to tourists who visit Kenya.

Comparing Cultures of Nairobi and Mombasa

Henry Masinde Chikombe.

Henry (Interviewer): My name is Henry Masinde, I am a blogger working with beauty of life and I am here with a resident of Nairobi who was actually born in Mombasa. We are going to talk about the culture of Mombasa and Nairobi and look at the differences and similarities. Can you introduce yourself.

Fatmah (Interviewee): Jina langu ni Fatmah Hamida. Mimi ni mzaliwa wa Mombasa na nimekuja kuishi Nairobi kwa kuwa nilikuwa nikisoma chou kikuu cha Nairobi na sasa hivi niko tu, yaani nachapa hustle ya Maisha.

Henry (interviewer): Nikuulize ulikuja Nairobi, Kwa nini ulikuja Nairobi kutoka Mombasa?

Fatmah: Nilikuwa naja shule, lakini ilipofika karo ikakosekana, mimi nikaanza tu hustle za life.

Henry: Kati ya Mombasa na Nairobi ukiangalia utamaduni wao, ukiangalia differences za culture zao ni gani?

Fatmah: Wacha nikuambie, utamaduni wa Mombasa sisi hatulinganishwi na wengine. Kwa kuwa sisi Maisha yetu ya kidira, Maisha yetu mema ya kufuata uswahili wetu yote tumeyazingatia. Lakini hapa Nairobi kila mtu anaishi kwa utamaduni wake lakini hauwezi kuiona katika tabia zao za kila siku.

Henry: Alafu, na ukiangalia utamaduni wa Mombasa na Nairobi, Can you tell us the similarities between the cultures of Mombasa and Nairobi?

Fatmah: Kuna maendeleo ambao yanafanana katika county ya Mombasa na Nairobi, sioni jinsi ambao utamaduni wa Mombasa na wa hapa Nairobi una umbali sana. Lakini kuna ufananio ambao maendeleo yako hapa yana fanana na yale yako katika Mombasa, kwa kuwa hii ni miji mikuu ambayo tumeweza kuelewa ya kwamba maendeleo yanapofanya Mombasa pia yafaa county ya Nairobi. Economy ya Nairobi iko juu sana na pale county ya Mombasa angalau Maisha tunaweza kuafford na ndio maana nikija shule hapa Nairobi sikuweza kupata karo, na ningebaki pale Mombasa labda ningeweza kusoma kwa hela kidogo ambao wazazi wako nayo. Naam.

Henry: Naam, asanti kwa maoni yako.

The Culture of Mombasa

Henry Masinde

The Swahili language and food culture in the Kenya coast was derived from a mixture of various historical cultures that came to Mombasa Island. The first explorers to arrive in Mombasa were Portuguese pioneered by Vasco da Gama in the early 1500s. The Portuguese built Fort Jesus which is a historical monument to solidify their rule. The Arabs’ culture had the most influence in the region. The Swahili language borrows heavily from Arabic and the indigenous Bantu people. The food in Mombasa is influenced by Indians, Arabs, Chinese and Portuguese who were trading at the coast more than 100 years ago. Today in Mombasa, you can see the influence of various cultures in the architecture of the buildings which is mainly from India, Europe, and Arabia. You can see the culture in the food derived from India and Arab countries and the spread of the Islamic religion to the indigenous people. There is also a huge Christian population despite the heavy influence of Islam by the Arabs. The prevalence of Christianity can be dated back to Vasco da Gama who was the first person to teach Christianity in Mombasa. The Swahili language has been preserved in Mombasa as opposed to Nairobi because of the heavy influence of the culture in Mombasa.

Why People in Nairobi are Cold-hearted.

Henry Masinde Chikombe

If you ask anyone who has been around Nairobi CBD, they will have a story about how their phone or laptop got stolen. Some people will even give you stories of how they were conned. These stories are what make people in Nairobi have a stone-cold heart. It is extremely hard to trust anyone in Nairobi. My experience was unexpected. It was a Sunday evening and I was walking along Tom Mboya Street heading towards Railways bus station to board a matatu so that I can head home. As I was strolling, a homeless guy approached me and asked me for money. He explained to me that he had not eaten the whole day. Being taught Christian values in school and having a good heart, I could not pass on helping the guy. I told the homeless guy that I have sh200 but I can only give him sh50 because the remainder was supposed to be my bus fare. The homeless guy told me he can get change and I handed him the money. We walked together to a newspaper vendor and got loose change for sh200. I told him to take sh50 and give me the rest of the money. He told me to chill and he gave me long stories as we walked on Tom Mboya Street. When we arrived at the railways’ bus station, he told me that he lost all the money. I was left stranded with no fare. If you ever wonder why people in Nairobi are hard-hearted, remember this story. I hardly ever help people in Nairobi CBD nowadays.