Mize looked stunningly gorgeous after her and Chelule’s colorful traditional wedding. Sitting with her mother-in-law and two of her husband’s aunts, Mama Ngoma and Kanze, she watched the traditional bean soup boiling in the pot. it was the beginning of jando as it is known in Konde customs. He was going to stay at home for a month, receiving advice from different old women from Chelule’s clan. “Take care of your husband’s stomach and you will win his heart,” Mama Ngoma said as she slowly stirred the bean soup. She was being taught how to cook special traditional delicacies and how to be a wife in all aspects.
Mize’s parents could not stop thanking the gods, since their daughter had fallen into the hands of a man with great fortune. She was the eldest daughter of a polygamous family. When Chelule first met her, her heart caught fire and it wasn’t long before she proposed to him. Chelule reeked of rich when he married Mize. He ran chain stores in Sawai City and had branches in other cities as well. Many fathers lined up their daughters for him, but Mize defeated them all.
Chiku, the sister who follows Mize, never stopped being tormented by envy of her sister. She had married Kazungu, a kindergarten teacher whom she perpetually compared to Chelule. Kazungu was a fervent traditionalist and staunch Catholic who never believed in family planning methods. He once seriously beat up Chiku, after learning that he had attended a seminar on family planning. In a span of six years, Kazungu and Chiku had seven children. It was a life of struggle since his emigrated salary was not enough. His lifestyle consisted of living on handouts from friends and relatives. Mize contributed substantially to its upkeep.
Mishi, Mize’s other sister, the third born in the family, has no room for envy. Being a strong supporter of singleness, she always said that she has no time for the conventions and restrictions of marriage. “I love the freedom that single life brings,” she said. When her sisters talked about her marriages, she bragged about her latest conquests in male circles.
Six years later, Chelule and Mize had two children, a boy and a girl. A perfect number according to them. When his relatives pressured him to have more children, he stood his ground. “It is better to have few children who can be given proper attention and good education,” he said.
One morning Mize woke up with a headache. She initially she was not serious, but she persisted until noon. She sent her housekeeper to the nearest pharmacy to buy her panadol. Although the panadol didn’t help take the pain away from her, she still went to the Keiyo market to control her business. It was because of her supervision that she suddenly fell down and became unconscious. In extreme panic, her workers yelled for help from their neighbors, who rushed to call an ambulance. The ambulance arrived and pulled up to Mize’s stall to admit a surprise shock to the onlookers.
Upon arrival at Mikocheni Missionary Hospital, she was admitted to the emergency room. After the doctor examined her, she recommended transferring her to the Intensive Care Unit. It was later discovered that Ella Mize suffered a severe stroke which tore out a blood vessel on the left side of her head, causing internal bleeding.
The frantic efforts of the doctors to save her life proved futile when she succumbed two days after her admission to the hospital. News of Mize’s death spread in Sawai like wildfire. There were tears, lamentations, dances and songs of mourning. Chelule took it boldly, but could not contain himself on the day of her burial.
After forty days of mourning, the clan had the incipient task of designating who would inherit Mize, according to konde customs. It was the norm that when a married woman died, her younger sister who followed her would be the next to inherit it. Despite the generalization of Christianity among the Konde people, this custom was still appreciated. Mishi, the self-proclaimed spinster, was the rightful sister to inherit Mize. But Mishi isn’t willing to budget for the pressure put on her by her clan elders. “My respected elders, don’t let me fool you. I can’t put myself in my late sister’s shoes. I’m not marriage material, that’s all,” she said firmly.
When the elders gave up on Mishi, they called an internal meeting among themselves to determine the next course of action. It was decided that he should approach Kadogo, the youngest daughter of the family. Kadogo at twenty, just finished high school, waiting to join the Polytechnic Accounting course. She is lovely, the semi-dark finish on her could give her away as an Ethiopian girl. On the domestic front she is an impeccable housekeeper. Finally, when the elders ask for her consent to marry Chelule, she sheepishly says no.
The time for the “porridge party” was in sight. The older women of the clan had asked Chiku to join them for the occasion. This is the time when these women would prepare millet porridge, mixed with sour milk, pour it into a large gourd and let each person help themselves. They made Kadogo sit in the middle, while the women formed a circle around him. She would then receive nuggets of advice from each other. The occasion was plentiful, and as they each enjoyed their portion of porridge from her, Chiku broke into a defiant mood. “You all don’t understand. Kadogo is a young mother, too naive to recognize the needs of a man who has just lost his wife,” she said with an authority that puzzled the women. As the women tried to accept her words, she left the small hut in protest.
One night, before sleep overcame her, she looked at the four walls of her wretched bedroom. Her husband was fast asleep snoring. “I wish I could leave this misery and taste the wealth of Chelule. I have always envied my late sister. I shouldn’t let this opportunity go by.” seriously contemplated.
Charo whistled and sang while ironing Chelule’s clothes. He has been a peon on the Chelule ranch for fifteen years. His music became sweeter and sweeter, when suddenly there is a knock at the door. He continues to sing his traditional song until he opens the door. Without much to do, Mize pushes him aside and walks into the house with her luggage. Charo stopped his music and gave him an enthralled look. “Ma’am, may I know what his mission is?” he inquired as the smell of a cheap perfume she was wearing made him gag. “My mission is one, to stay and take care of my late sister’s children,” she said in a bold tone as he picked up her luggage and headed for Chelule’s master bedroom. She searched through her luggage and pulled out a cheap “see-through” nightgown that she had just bought at the market. He lay down on Chelule’s huge bed putting on a seductive front.
The long wait for the shipment from Kabana City had left Chelule completely exhausted. “I’m too tired to even put food in my mouth,” he told Charo when he got home. Charo was confused, not knowing how she would break the news of his “visit” in his room. Chelule was quick to notice a certain discomfort and embarrassment covering his face. “Charo, is there something you’re hiding from me?” Charo trembled but gathered something of value to speak. “Sir, Auntie Chiku came tonight and insisted on staying in her room until you came,” he said in a low, nervous voice. Wordlessly, Chelule headed for his bedroom. At the sound of the door, Chiku jumped out of bed and quickly knelt before Chelule, but he stopped her. “If you could just let me put myself in my late sister’s shoes,” he pleaded. Without saying a word he went to take a quick shower. The cold shower restored his strength and as he watched Chiku lie down on her bed, he couldn’t resist her sumptuous body. His heart rate rose and he found himself lying next to him. They spent the night together.
In the morning, Chelule looked at Chiku as she lay beside her and saw a ray of beauty that she hadn’t noticed in all these years. And when the elders appointed emissaries to visit Chelule’s house that morning to set the date for his and Kadogo’s wedding, they found him in no mood to talk to them. After putting a lot of pressure on Charo to call him, he finally relented. She casually entered the living room to find emissaries whose patience had been exceeded. They shook hands while Chelule looked at them with disdain. “We have come to agree on the date of the wedding,” said one of them. “My dear elders, with all due respect I would like to return to our custom which dictates that once a woman enters a man’s house and has ‘carnal’ knowledge of her, she automatically becomes his wife,” he said as the emissaries remained. calm but surprised On the spur of the moment, Chiku in her usual challenge entered the living room wearing a long dress. “Yes, I am that woman. The husband is mine. Go tell the elders that the deal is done,” she said and returned to the room. The emissaries bowed and left the house.