The People ­ Monday
Date: 21.04.2014
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Here, sex
dummies
are used
to appease
spirits
By CHARLES MUASYA
Sit ing on a three­legged
stool, Malusi Kimwalyo,
looks at die big male dum­
Secret performance
my on his right side. He
After someone dies, Kimwalyo says
he performs rituals that ensure the
spi rils of the dead do not come back
then turns left and takes a
to haunt relatives especially if there
pick at the big female dummy on
was bad blood.
his left side. Scattered before him
He says he has performed hun­
are some shrivelled sodom apples,
the wild fruit locally known as
dreds of rituals, albeit secretly, es­
rtdooga.
'fhe dummies are used in a ritual
to get rid of spirits if a husband dies
when his wife is on her monthly pe­
riods. The artificial humans are used
in symbolic sex acts to 'lay to rest
the spirits of a dead husband'. Kim­
walyo says that before the advent of
11IV and Aids, the widow was sup­
posed to have sex with one of her
husband's relatives.
"This is not done these days be
cause of HIV and Aids but we have
sought alternative ways of perform­
ing the ritual," he says pointing at
the dummies.
He, however, says some relatives
st'­
prefer the ritual to be performed se
cretly hence a plot is hatched to do
Fter
it in die mortuary or at night after
the burial.
The 80­year­old considers
sdfa ghost buster and a crurial
between the living and the dead.
And he performs rituals like 'cast­
ing out barren spells on women and
silencing the haunting spirits of the
dead'.
One of those interventions is to
allow a barren woman to many an­
other woman to bear chUdren.
"In such a marriage, it is the man
whose wife is barren or village el­
ders who pick the man lo cohabit
with the woman, but with HIV prev­
alence, the woman has freedom to
pecially if the family of the dead
person is Christian.
He says his work is different from
that of a witchdoctor.
"Mine is lo cleanse homesteads
and other places," says the octoge­
narian who says he inherited skills
from his grandfather who was a de­
mon buster.
He also performs the rituals for
barren women, who bear the big­
gest brunt of victimisation.
Traditionally, every bad thing
has an explanation that borders on
the spiritual realm. Thus, women
become barren because they have
erred in one way or die other.
11 e says all women are supposed
to be fertile. According to him, a
woman becomes barren if they have
sex during their menstrual periods
or have intercourse on thei r first day
of marriage.
The ghost buster says should this
happen, the remedy is to take the
woman back home and get remar­
ried after three days 'when she is
clean'. If this doesn't work, Kim­
walyo says the woman should seek
other interventions.
dioose die man lo stay widi," says
Kimwalyo.
He says despite Christianity and
die daim to westernisation, people
still secredy seek his services.
For example, when somebody
kills a relative through witchcraft or
murder, for fear of being haunted,
they have to report themselves to
village elders.
Ritual for the dead
After the confession, the culprit
is required to throw seven sodom
apples (ndongu) on the coffin dur­
ing the day of the burial. If that is
not possible, the sodom apples are
thrown to the grave secredy.
The same applies in cases where
a woman dies before the husband
pays three goats as dowry. The hus­
band is supposed to throw seven
sodom apples to the grave to and
swear he will pay seven and not
three goats.
If a man dies before he gets mar­
ried and has been known to be way­
ward, a ritual is performed in the
mortuary between the legs to ensure
the family does not have surh a per­
son in future. There are also many
Ipsos Kenya ­ Acorn House,97 James Gichuru Road ­ Lavington ­ Nairobi ­ Kenya
The People ­ Monday
Date: 21.04.2014
Page 22
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other rituals done in the morgue.
attendants and those in diarge of
He recalls a day he spent half an not raise die money they wanted.
die morgues, but only if die relatives hour in a Kitui morgue after a dis­ The morgue attendants became fu­
morgues, we have established of the deceased are involved," says agreement arose between him and rious and left. We had to use force to
'To succeed in our work in the
working relations with mortuary Kimwalyo
the attendants over payment. " The break the door," he says.
relatives of die deceased and I could
Ipsos Kenya ­ Acorn House,97 James Gichuru Road ­ Lavington ­ Nairobi ­ Kenya
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Date: 21.04.2014
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Ipsos Kenya ­ Acorn House,97 James Gichuru Road ­ Lavington ­ Nairobi ­ Kenya
The People ­ Monday
Date: 21.04.2014
Page 22
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M*ee Malusi
Kimwalyo
prepares for one
f *^ ritua|s
the advent of
widow was sup­
one of her
these days be
but we have
of perform­
pointing at
some relatives
was bad blood.
He says he has performed hun­
The dummies are used in a ritual when a
man dies when his wife is on her monthly pe­
riods. A symbolic sex act is done to lay to rest
the spirits of a dead husband
Ipsos Kenya ­ Acorn House,97 James Gichuru Road ­ Lavington ­ Nairobi ­ Kenya
Kimwalyo
He
hour
the
relatives
not
The
rious
break