I met Killing'ot in Arusha, Tanzania in the Silver Palm Hotel. He is an intellectual and revolutionary mind fighting for Maasai rights and protection of intellectual Maasai property. He is a very gifted writer and teacher. In this conversation we touch many topics. I decided to put it online because it gives a broad insight in contemporary critical Maasai thinking.
Mama Kone translates / explains the next day, listening back to my recordings, what Mama Seno said in her stories on Sunday afternoon in the Woman's circle.
Mama Seno is an elder in a small community close to Mile 46, south of Kadjado in Kenya. I asked her to tell me a woman's story. It's Sunday afternoon and all the women of the community have gathered in Indupa, the farm of Mama Kone and Kenny Matampash, where I stay. I have baked a cake. We drink tea. We sing and dance. And then Mama Seno tells us stories about the past.
Mama Seno sings a song for me in the kitchen of Indupa the farm while Mama Kone is preparing tea
Homero Amazonas takes us to the river of his childhood in a suburb of Manaus in the Amazon and tells us about the destruction of progress
Broken dreams is a song I wrote for all those who seek and seek and dream 'n dream and don't give up. Lyrics Broken Dreams All them shizzles drizzling all them fighters on the run we might find them on the highway trying to find their way back home I saw a lost one back this morning chewing on his chewing gum searching for an early church bell or a distant gong All them squirrels squirreling all them bulldogs whispering shizzle the drizzle and don't try to fight back coz the feather was blown away by the jealous wife of the nightingale Crock a bite and take them shortcut for the picton castle shell killing themselves with the peaces of their broken dreams All them squirrels squirreling all them bulldogs whispering shizzle the drizzle and don't try to fight back coz the feather was blown away by the jealous wife of the nightingale We are mumbling and scattering stroking the humpback whale no more compass can show us the way coz it's dark out here into the wild wild turmoil of the day (Helena Remeijers Molhoek)
"Marinero" is one of the first songs I wrote. It's a song for a sailor somewhere on some ocean riding them waves and catching the wind in his sails.