Setting
On the slopes of Mount Kenya, at the home of mzee Marekia. The home frontage faces the mountain peak.
Participants
Mzee Marekia- An old strong man, who was once a Kenyan freedom fighter, never been to school, but can read, write and do some basic arithmetic.
Mamluks- A fresh college graduate, and a Christian too.
Sonko- An argumentative and not so reasonable middle aged farmer.
Shosho/Mama- Mzee Marekia’s wife.
(Mamluks arrives at Marekia’s holding his bible, wearing a bright yellow suit, white shoes, and a belt with a large buckle.)
Mamluks: Hodi hodi?
Marekia: Ah karibu sana, we’ve been waiting for you the whole day, mama had even begun doubting that today is Sunday, welcome welcome…………..otherwise?
Mamluks: I’m good, I’m good. You have very good weather here, eh?
Marekia: Yah, we do not have excess sun or excess rain, we are very lucky here.
Mamluks: Yah, God has really blessed you guys.
Marekia: I can see that you are from the church,
Mamluks: Oh yes, and we had a beautiful sermon there, in fact, the reason as to why I am late today is because Father Tommy had invited me for lunch after the mass,,,but I left some space for some sweet Githeri from Shosho (says jokingly)
(After some long pause)
Marekia: What did God say today?
Mamluks: He said that he was sent so that he would save all humanity, and…..
Marekia: My son, you have read quite a lot, and we hear that at the University you studied to be a doctor,
Mamluks: No no, I did bachelor of science, Mathematics and Chemistry.
Marekia: Ah, so you can teach mathematics to our girls at the school across?
Mamluks: No, not exactly, to teach, you need a Bachelor of education, what I am right now is a scientist, if I continue with my study, I can make medicine, paints, fertilizer, bombs (lol) etc, I can also do some statistical work, and other calculatory jobs.
Marekia:Oh, I see. But how comes you are a scientist,, yet you go to church? I thought that scientists are non believers?
Mamluks: Well, those scientists are clever, but being clever doesn’t mean that you are wise.
Marekia: You now, you are catholic, right?
Mamluks: Yes I am.
Marekia: Why are you catholic?
Mamluks: It is just my choice.
Marekia: Eh?
Mamluks: It is my choice. (augments his voice a bit)
Marekia: No, it is not your choice. Are your parents catholic?
Mamluks: Yes.
Marekia: Could we then say that you are catholic because your parents are catholic?
Mamluks: No. I have a friend whose parents are catholic but he is Presbyterian.
Marekia: Still a Christian, right?
Mamluks: Yes, still a Christian.
Marekia: If your parents were Hindus, we could say that you would be Hindu today, right?
Mamluks: Most likely yes.
Marekia: If your parents were Muslim, you would probably be a Muslim today, right?
Mamluks: most likely, yes.
Marekia: We could hence conclude that the religion that a person follows is largely determined by the person’s parents, isn’t it?
Mamluks: Mmmmh……..yah, we could say that.
Marekia: Thus in most cases, guys do not have a choice on which religion, and in some cases denomination that one follows, right?
Mamluks: Well, kinda.
Marekia: But why do we have all these Gods of all these denominations and religions?
Mamluks: We have one God. Only that people choose different ways of worshiping this one God. Otherwise all denominations and religions lead to this one God.
Mamluks: By the way, which path do you follow, the old Gikuyu way?
(Mzee Adjusts his seat, spits some heavy yellow stuff and continues talking)
Marekia: You see, back in the early 40s, I was in Burma, fighting in the 2nd world war. And while in Burma, I saw a very strange path of worshiping this “one” God. They had many visible and physical Gods, I do not know how they become one Gods, but they used to be very dedicated to these God(s). They even revered cows….
Mamluks: …..those are idols, there, the oneness of God is not there, we do not believe in idols.
Marekia: So, Where will those Hindus go after they die? To God or to Satan?
Mamluks: I do not know, it is not up to me to judge, it’s up to God.
Marekia: Which God? The one God, or these many Gods that they worship?
Mamluks: The one God. The creator of everything on the universe.
Marekia: Don’t you think that it is then unfair, for the Hindus to be judged by a God that they do not know, leave alone recognise?
Ok then. Let’s jump to a territory that you are more familiar to, Christianity.
Mamluks: That’s much better. What about Christianity?
Marekia: Well I think Christianity means follower of Christ, yes?
Mamluks: Yes.
Marekia: And Christ is the son of God, yes?
Mamluks: Yes yes. Begotten and not made.
Marekia: Says who?
Mamluks: Says God.
Marekia: God?
Mamluks: Yes God. As you can see, it is written here?
(Begins looking for a verse)
Marekia: So you are saying that what is written in the bible is the word of God?
Mamluks: Yes of course. I thought everybody knew that?
Marekia: Is it the word of God from genesis to revelation?
Mamluks: Yes, the people who wrote the books were inspired by God the spirit.
Marekia: And as a Christian, can I add some stuff, remove some stuff?
Mamluks: NO.
Marekia: Can I choose what to follow and what not to follow?
Mamluks: NO! This (banging his bible) is the word of God and it is taken as it is, in fact, it is written that you should not do all these things that you are saying, god himself says so.
(Sonko appears on the scene, wearing a shinny sky blue suit, a bright yellow shirt, a light green tie, a very big bible, black shoes with metallic soles, and a matching blue god papa hat.)
Sonko: Hey men, mbona kelele namna hii? I could hear you guys from miles away, and from what I have heard, I think mzee Marekia you are now becoming senile.
Marekia: Well, you can abuse me all you want, I know very well that you just want an argument, but here we are having a very sober discussion, so you can stay, or as well leave.
Sonko: Is there some Gatheri? You know today we have been overfed with the spiritual food, what I now need is the bodily food! But pastor Muriu can really preach bwana……. until you forget that it is past 2pm!
Sonko: Now back into the topic that the two of you were discussing, YOU CANNOT ADD OR REMOVE anything from the bible, and the word of God is right, it was right yesterday, it is right today and it will be right tomorrow!
Mamluks: Now you are speaking. Mzee had also asked me where Hindus will go after death?
Sonko: Hindus? They will burn and rot in hell, the Muslims too and all those other people who do not believe in Christ!
Mamluks: But won’t we wait for judgement day?
Sonko: No. theirs is a special case. They have already being judged. In fact, reading John 3:18, it says that those buggers have already being judged.
Marekia: Do you guys really read the bible? Do you really read this word of God?
Mamluks,Sonko :(In unison) Yes.
Marekia: The two of you are Kikuyu, right?
Mamluks,Sonko: (in unison)Yes we are.
Marekia: And where did the Kikuyus come from? Sonko?
Sonko: Well, an old myth says that God created some fellow called Gikuyu, and Mumbi, who went ahead to give birth to nine girls…..
Marekia: Ten.
Sonko: No nine!
Mamluks: It is ten Sonko, it is said that the last one wasn’t counted since she couldn’t give birth, what’s even more interesting is where the nine guys came from.
Sonko: Where?
Mamluks: That’s a long story.
Sonko: Okay, whatever, and Ngai gave them some nine guys, who went ahead to fill the earth.
Marekia: And why should you believe in what the bible tells you, forgetting who you are? Mhm? By the way Gentlemen, do you know that almost all peoples in the world have their own formation theory. For instance, do you know that there are people who believe that they just fell off from the sky? Do you know there are people who believe that they came from a hole on the ground? Do you know that there are people who believe that they came from the fart of some strange creature? And there are others here in Kenya who believe that they came from someone’s knee?
(By now the two guys are holding their stomachs, falling with laughter.)
Marekia: You guys, how comes you laugh at other peoples creation stories, yet do not question the one in the bible, the one in the bible is even more outrageous! Ati God took some mud, used it to model the man, then breathe life into what he had made! What nonsense is that?! And as if that is not enough, it goes ahead to say that God pulled a rib from this man, after making him go into a deep sleep, and from the rib made the woman! Good grief! And you don’t find that funny? Yet you find the knee story funny? And you go ahead to dismiss the Gikuyu theory, whose absurdity is actually less, and you go ahead to take the mud thing?
Sonko: But the mud story is the real one, you know,,,,,,,it is from God himself.
Marekia: Don’t be stupid. The mud story is just from the Jews, who are just a people like anyone else!
That is one part of the bible that really pisses me off! And they dare put it on the first pages of the “holy” book! That is just a stupid myth, just like all those other funny myths all over. And what’s more, it surbonates women from the word go! Why couldn’t that God create Eve just as he had created Adam? Did he have to create man first then woman second, and from a rib in that case? And why is it that it is the woman who had to be cheated by the serpent, so that she could then mislead man? Do you people know the effect that this has had over Christian women all over the world? And it even says that child bearing pain will be a curse upon women, and that since then, man shall rule over woman! What kind of chauvinist crap is that? I’d prefer if the bible would have advanced the fart story, at least both man and woman would be equal, since they were just farted from the same arse, and at the same time!
Sonko: Okay, enough of the farting stories, any Githeri around?
(Mzee Marekia, now furious and on fire, stands up, and lifts his walking stick up)
Marekia: You people, you Christians, do you read the bible? Or do you just walk over it? Sonko, you are saved, eh? But do you read the bible, do you know what you are following?
Do you know that the god of the Christians advocates for slavery, plunder rape and murder?
Mamluks: No bwana, you you seemingly read your own version of the bible bwana!
Marekia: I can see that both of you have bibles, even though the one with Mamluks has more books than the one with Sonko!
Mamluks: What’s your point?
Marekia: Open the book of Numbers, chapter 31:13-18 and 31-35. Mamluks, can you read it out loud? You can just begin from verse 15.
Mamluks: “and Moses asked them ’why have you kept all the women alive? Remember it was the women who followed Balaam’s instructions and at Peor led the people to be unfaithful to God? So now kill every boy and every woman who is not a virgin. But keep for yourselves all the girls and women who are virgins…..
Marekia: Just stop there! You can continue at your own time, what kind of God gives such orders to Moses to give to his humane soldiers?
Mamluks: Hey, that’s just one verse, you need not translate it directly.
Marekia: Just one verse? Can you read it again? Just one verse, where are your senses Mamluks? Nkt!
Marekia: Can you open the book of Joshua chapter 6 verses 17-19 and verse 21? Read it Sonko,,,,,just one verse,,,,nkt!
(Sonko begins searching for the book of Joshua, but he is on the last pages of the bible, definitely in the New Testament)
Marekia: You fool! You don’t even know where the book of Joshua is!
Marekia: Gentlemen, do you people watch the news, did you see what happened in Rwanda, Angola, and Liberia? Did you hear that the Hutu’s would bash the heads of children on trees? Eh? Did you hear that the Tutsi’s also did the same?
Mamluks: What has that to do with our topic of today?
Marekia: Do you know that before the genocide, Rwanda was the most Catholic country in Africa?
Mamluks: So?
Marekia: You want to know where they learnt of this killing “technique?” eh?
Just go home and read Isaiah chapters 12 to 14. Read also one of the most famous psalms, psalms 137. Just read verses 8 and 9. In fact you can do that right now.
Mamluks: Psalms 137:8-9.”Babylon, you will be destroyed. Happy are those who pay you back for what you have done to us, those who take your babies and smash them against rocks.”
Marekia: What kind of a person even conceives, let alone write, such ideas? I have been in the great war, and we never used to kill non-soldiers, in fact, we would not even kill soldiers whom we had imprisoned! In the Kenya Land Freedom Army, we never killed white kids, and they were quite an easy prey! But what does the Christian God order? Eh? When I was in the army, we used to use quick killing techniques, but what does god say? He advocates for impaling! Even in our kikuyu culture, we ensure that we kill our animals quickly, with minimal suffering! You know what I would say about such a God? F*ck him!
And by the way, you Christians, those are just the few parts that I have time to share with you, the bible is filled with such crap all over.
Just look at the 10th commandment, ati do not covert, among other things, your neighbour’s slaves.
Instead of discouraging slavery itself, it discouraging stealing of other people’s slaves! Crap!
Mamluks: Cool down Mzee Marekia, you know, we also have the New Testament, and it is what we now largely follow……….
Marekia: You fake Christians, who do you think you are, to go about choosing what of God’s words to follow and what not to follow? Do you think that you are greater than that God of yours? You should either take all that is in the bible, or throw all of it out. Don’t come telling me that there are parts that you follow “largely,” take such hypocritical crap away from me!
Sonko: Mamluks you have defeated him there, he knows nothing wrong with the new testament, and that is why he is trying to divert the story.
Marekia: Divert the story? You buggers, do you read your bibles?
Then this new God of the new testament is a very confused fellow. How could not even show consistency while telling the same fake story to two different people.
Mamluks: Where?
Sonko: Yes where?
Mamluks: Go and read Mathew 1. Then read Luke 3:23-28. In that story of who begat who until Jesus was begat. It contradicts itself big time! Or was God a bit tired, until he confused some parts?
Mamluks: Ala! Let me read it,
Marekia: No, just go and read it at your own time. And by the way, do you know that if we were to follow that begat story, whichever version, then Jesus wouldn’t be the savior that those fellows were waiting for?
Mamluks: Why?
Marekia: It is obvious that Jesus was not begat of Joseph (whose lineage is from Abraham, David and so on). Joseph’s sperm had never touch Mary, hence Jesus was not begat of Joseph, but from another man,,, oh sorry, male Angel who actually did the “you know what”
Marekia: Do you see what Jesus says about divorce? Just go and read Luke 16:18, read also Mathew 5:31-32. This Jesus is just crazy! He doesn’t know anything about adultery (by the way, is it true that he used to do the ‘you know what’ with Martha?). Do you know how much harm and suffering these verses have caused women who are beaten and mistreated daily by their husbands?
Sonko: You see, a woman, even if she is beaten up, she should persevere, and pray for the husband, so that he may change. Running away doesn’t help, in fact Jesus preached LOVE, and if the woman continues showing love to her husband, then the husband may actually change.
Marekia: You are very stupid.
The second testament is also full of crap, only that it has less crap than the first part. Jesus was just a mortal, but he was a very bright and extremely revolutionary mortal.
Sonko? Prove that he was a mortal!
Marekia: The fellow died man! He died. The rest of the resurrection story is just that,,,a story.
By the way, are you guys waiting for the second return of Jesus?
Mamluks/sonko: (In unison) yes.
Marekia: Is it written in the second testament?
Mamluks&Sonko: (In unison) Yes.
Marekia: Have you read Mathew 16:27-28? Your son-God predicted that he will come back for the second time, and some fellows who were alive at that time would see his second coming. Thus there are only three options here: One, Jesus’ second coming has already happened, two, there are some people who were alive then, and are still alive now, or three, Jesus was just wrong.
Mamluks: Kwani which bible do you read?
(Mama Marekia walks in with three calabashes of traditional porridge, greets everyone, goes back to hermud kitchen, and comes back with three plates of Githeri ya Murugarugio, and finally brings her own plate and calabash)
Shosho: (in Kikuyu) What are you telling my grandsons?
Marekia: (in kikuyu also) I am just educating them about God.
Shosho: Ha ha ha! (still in Kikuyu) Young men, leave this mzee alone, ask him to tell you Abyssinia stories, or the Maumau war, this religion talk is too complicated for you, but you’ll come to understand it when you get more dialectical, and a bit older. (looking at Mamluks)How are thing in Nairobi?
Mamluks: (in Kikuyu) We were doing good. I will went back next week. But I will bring greeting from mum, dad, and everyone who will be in Nairobi. How about you, how will you be doing?
Shosho: Hahaha, I can see that you can now speak a sentence in Kikuyu, but you now need to work on your tenses, and that’s not a very difficult thing, especially for a quick learner like you.
Marekia: He is a good boy, he can’t speak the language, but knows more about our culture than some fellows here who only know how to cram some old sayings…
Sonko: Hey old man, don’t try dis me, between him that knows the culture but can’t speak, and me who can speak fluently, who’s more Kikuyu?
Shosho: None. You do not become Kikuyu by speaking the language, neither do you become by knowing the culture. You are kikuyu by blood.
Mamluks: Mzee Marekia, you said that the religion that one follows is mostly taken after the parents religion,,,your neighbour across the fence is an SDA, but his parents were not Christians. So will you say that he is not Christian by choice? And doesn’t that disapprove your hypothesis?
Marekia: (gives a deep sigh, looks into the sky) My son, when the white man came, he came with a superior technology and he was thus revered for that. He could for instance build a big stone house, he could wear big coats in the months of July, he had bicycles and many other superior technologies. In order for you to share in this technology, you had to follow him, and learn his ways, this included his religion. Some people began following him, and they became very powerful, and together they began forcing us into their ways.
Mamluks: But you should have resisted?!
Marekia: We tried, but the spear was no match for the bullet.
The white man had two branches of oppression. The first one was the church, and the second was the administration. The administration would protect the church, collect taxes and force people into hard labour. The church would give people white education, and at the same time appease the people, telling them that they should persevere this suffering, for God would help them at his own time. In the meantime, a government order was given that all children must attend religious teachings. This was a brilliant idea for the whites, because they knew very well that something that has been pumped into you as a kid becomes very difficult to renegade against in your lifetime.
And this tactic was used over the years, for instance, after the Maumau war, we were taken to the infamous pipeline, where we were indoctrinated with Christianity, and only the priests could give a person permission to be released from that torture camp. Only converts were released.
Does that help answer your question?
Mamluks: Yes it does. But now, with all this information, what is the way forward?
Sonko: stop asking for the way forward, you are already in the way forward. Christianity is not a religion, it is man who turned it into a religion!
Marekia: this is the problem with illiteracy, sonko, find sometime and look up for the definition of religion.
Mamluks: Should we convert into Islam?
Marekia: Young man, what do you know about Islam? Islam is all about oppression, slavery, extreme male chauvinism, exploitation…….just read the Cow, there the inferiority of women is upheld and insisted, look at the Bee, slavery is encouraged, look at Believer, light, and the Clan, slavery and inferiority of women is upheld. In the beneficent, virgin women will be rewards of men in heaven! I the ornaments of gold, Inequality and exploitation is actually justified!
Let’s leave Islam alone, it is as bad as Christianity.
Sonko: If there is so much male chauvinism in Islam, why do we have many women following it?
Marekia: I think we have answered that question. But I find Islam a favorable religion if you are a male, and if you are rich.
Mamluks: Should we follow Hinduism?
Marekia: In my opinion, I find Hinduism a bit more developed that the first two religions. It is more human, more realistic, and encourages people to be good. But it also has a lot of setbacks.
Mamluks: Should we follow the old Gikuyu way?
Sonko: And if this the religion that we should follow, how will we know their modes of worship, now that the early Kikuyu didn’t know how to write?
Marekia: Sonko, who told you that the Gikuyu didn’t know how to write?
Sonko: No, you didn’t get me right, the Kikuyus didn’t know how to write before the white man came.
Marekia: Young man, the Kikuyus knew how to write.
Sonko: No they didn’t!
Mamluks: Yes they did. Their form of writing was very complicated, and people would draw symbols, which other people would try to decipher. It was not like the roman letter method, it was more like the Egyptian writing. It was called the Gicandi.
Sonko: But the Gicandi is a song?!
Mamluks: The song is what remained with us, the Gicandi idea itself was destroyed by the whites and people were forced to forget it. Unfortunately, the Gikuyu people took it as a game, rather than something serious, hence there was little effort to try and save it.
Sonko: How did it operate?
Shosho: Different clans would write on guards the symbols that they knew, and then they would meet other people from other villages and exchange the guards, and then they would try to decipher what the symbols meant. In the meantime, people would drink Muratina, and sing what is now known as the Gicandi. If a village failed to decipher the messages, the guard would move on to the next village. The winners would be respected bigtime. It had its basic formations, combining these formations was the difficult thing, and deciphering it was even more difficult.
Sonko: Wow!
Marekia: Back to the God of the mountains,,,you see, I hear people say that the people would pray and it would rain, right?
Sonko: Right.
Marekia: That is just crap. If the God of the Gikuyu would listen to the people soo much, why would he allow famine in the first place? And why would the people wait for animals and people to die so that they would pray to their God? Why didn’t this God protect them from the Whiteman’s invasion?
Sonko: What about the rains?
Marekia: Isn’t it obvious that a famine cannot last forever?
Mamluks: Mzee what is the correct religion then?
Marekia: None.
Mamluks: How do we worship God without religions?
Marekia: We do not need to worship God,,,,,,he doesn’t exist.
Mamluks: What?!
Marekia: There is no God.
Mamluks: If there is no God, how comes people all over the world worship him/her/them?
Marekia: You see, back in dem days, there were many things that man all over the world could not understand, for instance, where the rains come from, the causes of thunders and lightning, tremors and stuff. So man decided that some superior being was controlling these things. And hence we cannot blame them for coming up with the different ways of trying to get to this God. But with time, man began understanding why some of these things happen. We now know how lightning and thunders occur, we know why rains come, we know why tremors occur. We even know that God of Joshua didn’t stop the sun, since the sun doesn’t move, it is the earth that rotates! By the way, if he was all powerful, he would have known this, and stopped the earth from rotating, so that people could continue butchering each other(adds this with a sarcastic tone).
Mamluks: What about the source of man, and what happens after death?
Marekia: Different cultures, different religions have their own different theories to answer this question. As for me, I do not know where man came from, and I do not know what happens after death, and in my opinion, nobody really knows.There are many other questions that man doesn’t have an answer to today. But it is a matter of time. Maybe 100 years,1000 years, 10, 000 years, the fact is that if humanity continues, man will continue getting answers to these many unknowns.
(The two guys are just seated, speechless and motionless.)
Mamluks: What about these people who pray, and what they pray for actually happens?
Marekia: You see, man is a very powerful being, and you can influence very many things, as long as you can control your power. Some people master this through religion, others through witchcraft and others do it consciously.
Sonko: Hee! You are beginning to put fear into me, so you are dismissing the bible creation story, and you are also dismissing the Gikuyu creation story?
Marekia: Yes. By the way, do you know that that Gikuyu story is just a story? In our history, there is nothing like God creating Gikuyu or Mumbi, and there is nothing like God taking man to the top of Mt Kirinyaga.
Sonko: So where did the Gikuyu come from?
Marekia: They came from what is presently Ethiopia.
Infact, when we were young, my grandfather used to tell us that we came from Abania, what came to be known as Abyssinia and is now Ethiopia.
Sonko: So they were not formed at Mukuru wa Nyagathanga?
Marekia: No they were not, Mukuru wa Nyagathanga was just one of the three dispersal points, once they had arrived at the mountain.
Sonko: And how comes I do not know these things?
Shosho: Sonko, it is already late and these roads are not safe at night, him answering that question will take at least 5 hours, so let’s postpone that for tomorrow.
Mamluks: Mzee, you are making me begin to question my faith. But you won’t, let me go and consult my friends and my priest. I will raise all these issues that you have raised, and I am sure that they will help me.
Shosho: My grandson, if somebody can rationally and conclusively answer all those issues, then you will become very strong in your faith. You will become a true Christian. A Christian who knows what he is doing. A Christian by choice.
Mamluks: Thanks you all, I beg to leave now.
Shosho: (Standing up and going torwards the kitchen) No no no, there is some more uji left, let’s drink it so that you can have the strength to walk to your place.
Mamluks: No no, please no, it is getting dark, I will come for the Uji next time.
Shosho: There is nothing like that, you cannot leave this home on an empty stomach. I will give you just one calabash.
Sonko: Ok, if you insist.
Mamluks: Now that I will be staying here for another 10 minutes, let me ask you (looking at Mzee) a
question, you gave me reasons as to why early people were religious, but why are people still religious today?
Marekia: You see, the premiere reason is that religion is introduced to you when you are a kid, it is indoctrinated into you in your early years, it thus becomes very difficult to unshackle yourself from it.
In this relation, there are four kinds of people in religion.
One, foolish people. People who do not question what the find. They are just Muslims because they found themselves there.
Two, corwards. These are people who think about these things, they question religion, but they fear moving away from it, since they think that bad things might happen to them if they cease being religious. They hence say to themselves, “Hiyo ni mambo ya Mungu, hauwezi elewa.”
Three, religious leaders. These are the priests, pastors, imams diviners, etc. these people make a living of religion. They thus propagate this religious crap, so that they can survive. Most of them actually know the truth, but they prefer cheating the sheep(an animal known for its foolishness).Haven’t you noticed that all these religions have the Tithe factor? No pastor forgets to ask for sadaka and tithe. In Islam it is actually a pillar.
Four, confused and greedy people. These are the people who will jump from one religion to another, looking for the light, they do not see the similarity in all the nonsense. Some of them, like these Mungiki buggers, will even try to go back to the Kirinyaga God. For the greedy, they will go to the church that helps them economically. Others will convert to Islam so that they can marry a beautiful Somali or arab girl. Some will go to a religion that allows them to marry several women.
Mamluks: Shush! Let me go and consult, and then I will come back to you.
Sonko: Do not come back, you know Satan works in many ways, and through different people, it is
actually the devil that is talking through this Mzee.
Marekia: Satan too doesn’t exist.
My children, as you go, go knowing that, God did not make man, It was man who made God.
Shosho: Kwaherini wajukuu wangu.
Mamluks&Sonko: Haya kwa heri.
Benedict Wachira
14th April 2010
10:39am
*Some Qoran and Bible verses from Bob Avakian
On the slopes of Mount Kenya, at the home of mzee Marekia. The home frontage faces the mountain peak.
Participants
Mzee Marekia- An old strong man, who was once a Kenyan freedom fighter, never been to school, but can read, write and do some basic arithmetic.
Mamluks- A fresh college graduate, and a Christian too.
Sonko- An argumentative and not so reasonable middle aged farmer.
Shosho/Mama- Mzee Marekia’s wife.
(Mamluks arrives at Marekia’s holding his bible, wearing a bright yellow suit, white shoes, and a belt with a large buckle.)
Mamluks: Hodi hodi?
Marekia: Ah karibu sana, we’ve been waiting for you the whole day, mama had even begun doubting that today is Sunday, welcome welcome…………..otherwise?
Mamluks: I’m good, I’m good. You have very good weather here, eh?
Marekia: Yah, we do not have excess sun or excess rain, we are very lucky here.
Mamluks: Yah, God has really blessed you guys.
Marekia: I can see that you are from the church,
Mamluks: Oh yes, and we had a beautiful sermon there, in fact, the reason as to why I am late today is because Father Tommy had invited me for lunch after the mass,,,but I left some space for some sweet Githeri from Shosho (says jokingly)
(After some long pause)
Marekia: What did God say today?
Mamluks: He said that he was sent so that he would save all humanity, and…..
Marekia: My son, you have read quite a lot, and we hear that at the University you studied to be a doctor,
Mamluks: No no, I did bachelor of science, Mathematics and Chemistry.
Marekia: Ah, so you can teach mathematics to our girls at the school across?
Mamluks: No, not exactly, to teach, you need a Bachelor of education, what I am right now is a scientist, if I continue with my study, I can make medicine, paints, fertilizer, bombs (lol) etc, I can also do some statistical work, and other calculatory jobs.
Marekia:Oh, I see. But how comes you are a scientist,, yet you go to church? I thought that scientists are non believers?
Mamluks: Well, those scientists are clever, but being clever doesn’t mean that you are wise.
Marekia: You now, you are catholic, right?
Mamluks: Yes I am.
Marekia: Why are you catholic?
Mamluks: It is just my choice.
Marekia: Eh?
Mamluks: It is my choice. (augments his voice a bit)
Marekia: No, it is not your choice. Are your parents catholic?
Mamluks: Yes.
Marekia: Could we then say that you are catholic because your parents are catholic?
Mamluks: No. I have a friend whose parents are catholic but he is Presbyterian.
Marekia: Still a Christian, right?
Mamluks: Yes, still a Christian.
Marekia: If your parents were Hindus, we could say that you would be Hindu today, right?
Mamluks: Most likely yes.
Marekia: If your parents were Muslim, you would probably be a Muslim today, right?
Mamluks: most likely, yes.
Marekia: We could hence conclude that the religion that a person follows is largely determined by the person’s parents, isn’t it?
Mamluks: Mmmmh……..yah, we could say that.
Marekia: Thus in most cases, guys do not have a choice on which religion, and in some cases denomination that one follows, right?
Mamluks: Well, kinda.
Marekia: But why do we have all these Gods of all these denominations and religions?
Mamluks: We have one God. Only that people choose different ways of worshiping this one God. Otherwise all denominations and religions lead to this one God.
Mamluks: By the way, which path do you follow, the old Gikuyu way?
(Mzee Adjusts his seat, spits some heavy yellow stuff and continues talking)
Marekia: You see, back in the early 40s, I was in Burma, fighting in the 2nd world war. And while in Burma, I saw a very strange path of worshiping this “one” God. They had many visible and physical Gods, I do not know how they become one Gods, but they used to be very dedicated to these God(s). They even revered cows….
Mamluks: …..those are idols, there, the oneness of God is not there, we do not believe in idols.
Marekia: So, Where will those Hindus go after they die? To God or to Satan?
Mamluks: I do not know, it is not up to me to judge, it’s up to God.
Marekia: Which God? The one God, or these many Gods that they worship?
Mamluks: The one God. The creator of everything on the universe.
Marekia: Don’t you think that it is then unfair, for the Hindus to be judged by a God that they do not know, leave alone recognise?
Ok then. Let’s jump to a territory that you are more familiar to, Christianity.
Mamluks: That’s much better. What about Christianity?
Marekia: Well I think Christianity means follower of Christ, yes?
Mamluks: Yes.
Marekia: And Christ is the son of God, yes?
Mamluks: Yes yes. Begotten and not made.
Marekia: Says who?
Mamluks: Says God.
Marekia: God?
Mamluks: Yes God. As you can see, it is written here?
(Begins looking for a verse)
Marekia: So you are saying that what is written in the bible is the word of God?
Mamluks: Yes of course. I thought everybody knew that?
Marekia: Is it the word of God from genesis to revelation?
Mamluks: Yes, the people who wrote the books were inspired by God the spirit.
Marekia: And as a Christian, can I add some stuff, remove some stuff?
Mamluks: NO.
Marekia: Can I choose what to follow and what not to follow?
Mamluks: NO! This (banging his bible) is the word of God and it is taken as it is, in fact, it is written that you should not do all these things that you are saying, god himself says so.
(Sonko appears on the scene, wearing a shinny sky blue suit, a bright yellow shirt, a light green tie, a very big bible, black shoes with metallic soles, and a matching blue god papa hat.)
Sonko: Hey men, mbona kelele namna hii? I could hear you guys from miles away, and from what I have heard, I think mzee Marekia you are now becoming senile.
Marekia: Well, you can abuse me all you want, I know very well that you just want an argument, but here we are having a very sober discussion, so you can stay, or as well leave.
Sonko: Is there some Gatheri? You know today we have been overfed with the spiritual food, what I now need is the bodily food! But pastor Muriu can really preach bwana……. until you forget that it is past 2pm!
Sonko: Now back into the topic that the two of you were discussing, YOU CANNOT ADD OR REMOVE anything from the bible, and the word of God is right, it was right yesterday, it is right today and it will be right tomorrow!
Mamluks: Now you are speaking. Mzee had also asked me where Hindus will go after death?
Sonko: Hindus? They will burn and rot in hell, the Muslims too and all those other people who do not believe in Christ!
Mamluks: But won’t we wait for judgement day?
Sonko: No. theirs is a special case. They have already being judged. In fact, reading John 3:18, it says that those buggers have already being judged.
Marekia: Do you guys really read the bible? Do you really read this word of God?
Mamluks,Sonko :(In unison) Yes.
Marekia: The two of you are Kikuyu, right?
Mamluks,Sonko: (in unison)Yes we are.
Marekia: And where did the Kikuyus come from? Sonko?
Sonko: Well, an old myth says that God created some fellow called Gikuyu, and Mumbi, who went ahead to give birth to nine girls…..
Marekia: Ten.
Sonko: No nine!
Mamluks: It is ten Sonko, it is said that the last one wasn’t counted since she couldn’t give birth, what’s even more interesting is where the nine guys came from.
Sonko: Where?
Mamluks: That’s a long story.
Sonko: Okay, whatever, and Ngai gave them some nine guys, who went ahead to fill the earth.
Marekia: And why should you believe in what the bible tells you, forgetting who you are? Mhm? By the way Gentlemen, do you know that almost all peoples in the world have their own formation theory. For instance, do you know that there are people who believe that they just fell off from the sky? Do you know there are people who believe that they came from a hole on the ground? Do you know that there are people who believe that they came from the fart of some strange creature? And there are others here in Kenya who believe that they came from someone’s knee?
(By now the two guys are holding their stomachs, falling with laughter.)
Marekia: You guys, how comes you laugh at other peoples creation stories, yet do not question the one in the bible, the one in the bible is even more outrageous! Ati God took some mud, used it to model the man, then breathe life into what he had made! What nonsense is that?! And as if that is not enough, it goes ahead to say that God pulled a rib from this man, after making him go into a deep sleep, and from the rib made the woman! Good grief! And you don’t find that funny? Yet you find the knee story funny? And you go ahead to dismiss the Gikuyu theory, whose absurdity is actually less, and you go ahead to take the mud thing?
Sonko: But the mud story is the real one, you know,,,,,,,it is from God himself.
Marekia: Don’t be stupid. The mud story is just from the Jews, who are just a people like anyone else!
That is one part of the bible that really pisses me off! And they dare put it on the first pages of the “holy” book! That is just a stupid myth, just like all those other funny myths all over. And what’s more, it surbonates women from the word go! Why couldn’t that God create Eve just as he had created Adam? Did he have to create man first then woman second, and from a rib in that case? And why is it that it is the woman who had to be cheated by the serpent, so that she could then mislead man? Do you people know the effect that this has had over Christian women all over the world? And it even says that child bearing pain will be a curse upon women, and that since then, man shall rule over woman! What kind of chauvinist crap is that? I’d prefer if the bible would have advanced the fart story, at least both man and woman would be equal, since they were just farted from the same arse, and at the same time!
Sonko: Okay, enough of the farting stories, any Githeri around?
(Mzee Marekia, now furious and on fire, stands up, and lifts his walking stick up)
Marekia: You people, you Christians, do you read the bible? Or do you just walk over it? Sonko, you are saved, eh? But do you read the bible, do you know what you are following?
Do you know that the god of the Christians advocates for slavery, plunder rape and murder?
Mamluks: No bwana, you you seemingly read your own version of the bible bwana!
Marekia: I can see that both of you have bibles, even though the one with Mamluks has more books than the one with Sonko!
Mamluks: What’s your point?
Marekia: Open the book of Numbers, chapter 31:13-18 and 31-35. Mamluks, can you read it out loud? You can just begin from verse 15.
Mamluks: “and Moses asked them ’why have you kept all the women alive? Remember it was the women who followed Balaam’s instructions and at Peor led the people to be unfaithful to God? So now kill every boy and every woman who is not a virgin. But keep for yourselves all the girls and women who are virgins…..
Marekia: Just stop there! You can continue at your own time, what kind of God gives such orders to Moses to give to his humane soldiers?
Mamluks: Hey, that’s just one verse, you need not translate it directly.
Marekia: Just one verse? Can you read it again? Just one verse, where are your senses Mamluks? Nkt!
Marekia: Can you open the book of Joshua chapter 6 verses 17-19 and verse 21? Read it Sonko,,,,,just one verse,,,,nkt!
(Sonko begins searching for the book of Joshua, but he is on the last pages of the bible, definitely in the New Testament)
Marekia: You fool! You don’t even know where the book of Joshua is!
Marekia: Gentlemen, do you people watch the news, did you see what happened in Rwanda, Angola, and Liberia? Did you hear that the Hutu’s would bash the heads of children on trees? Eh? Did you hear that the Tutsi’s also did the same?
Mamluks: What has that to do with our topic of today?
Marekia: Do you know that before the genocide, Rwanda was the most Catholic country in Africa?
Mamluks: So?
Marekia: You want to know where they learnt of this killing “technique?” eh?
Just go home and read Isaiah chapters 12 to 14. Read also one of the most famous psalms, psalms 137. Just read verses 8 and 9. In fact you can do that right now.
Mamluks: Psalms 137:8-9.”Babylon, you will be destroyed. Happy are those who pay you back for what you have done to us, those who take your babies and smash them against rocks.”
Marekia: What kind of a person even conceives, let alone write, such ideas? I have been in the great war, and we never used to kill non-soldiers, in fact, we would not even kill soldiers whom we had imprisoned! In the Kenya Land Freedom Army, we never killed white kids, and they were quite an easy prey! But what does the Christian God order? Eh? When I was in the army, we used to use quick killing techniques, but what does god say? He advocates for impaling! Even in our kikuyu culture, we ensure that we kill our animals quickly, with minimal suffering! You know what I would say about such a God? F*ck him!
And by the way, you Christians, those are just the few parts that I have time to share with you, the bible is filled with such crap all over.
Just look at the 10th commandment, ati do not covert, among other things, your neighbour’s slaves.
Instead of discouraging slavery itself, it discouraging stealing of other people’s slaves! Crap!
Mamluks: Cool down Mzee Marekia, you know, we also have the New Testament, and it is what we now largely follow……….
Marekia: You fake Christians, who do you think you are, to go about choosing what of God’s words to follow and what not to follow? Do you think that you are greater than that God of yours? You should either take all that is in the bible, or throw all of it out. Don’t come telling me that there are parts that you follow “largely,” take such hypocritical crap away from me!
Sonko: Mamluks you have defeated him there, he knows nothing wrong with the new testament, and that is why he is trying to divert the story.
Marekia: Divert the story? You buggers, do you read your bibles?
Then this new God of the new testament is a very confused fellow. How could not even show consistency while telling the same fake story to two different people.
Mamluks: Where?
Sonko: Yes where?
Mamluks: Go and read Mathew 1. Then read Luke 3:23-28. In that story of who begat who until Jesus was begat. It contradicts itself big time! Or was God a bit tired, until he confused some parts?
Mamluks: Ala! Let me read it,
Marekia: No, just go and read it at your own time. And by the way, do you know that if we were to follow that begat story, whichever version, then Jesus wouldn’t be the savior that those fellows were waiting for?
Mamluks: Why?
Marekia: It is obvious that Jesus was not begat of Joseph (whose lineage is from Abraham, David and so on). Joseph’s sperm had never touch Mary, hence Jesus was not begat of Joseph, but from another man,,, oh sorry, male Angel who actually did the “you know what”
Marekia: Do you see what Jesus says about divorce? Just go and read Luke 16:18, read also Mathew 5:31-32. This Jesus is just crazy! He doesn’t know anything about adultery (by the way, is it true that he used to do the ‘you know what’ with Martha?). Do you know how much harm and suffering these verses have caused women who are beaten and mistreated daily by their husbands?
Sonko: You see, a woman, even if she is beaten up, she should persevere, and pray for the husband, so that he may change. Running away doesn’t help, in fact Jesus preached LOVE, and if the woman continues showing love to her husband, then the husband may actually change.
Marekia: You are very stupid.
The second testament is also full of crap, only that it has less crap than the first part. Jesus was just a mortal, but he was a very bright and extremely revolutionary mortal.
Sonko? Prove that he was a mortal!
Marekia: The fellow died man! He died. The rest of the resurrection story is just that,,,a story.
By the way, are you guys waiting for the second return of Jesus?
Mamluks/sonko: (In unison) yes.
Marekia: Is it written in the second testament?
Mamluks&Sonko: (In unison) Yes.
Marekia: Have you read Mathew 16:27-28? Your son-God predicted that he will come back for the second time, and some fellows who were alive at that time would see his second coming. Thus there are only three options here: One, Jesus’ second coming has already happened, two, there are some people who were alive then, and are still alive now, or three, Jesus was just wrong.
Mamluks: Kwani which bible do you read?
(Mama Marekia walks in with three calabashes of traditional porridge, greets everyone, goes back to hermud kitchen, and comes back with three plates of Githeri ya Murugarugio, and finally brings her own plate and calabash)
Shosho: (in Kikuyu) What are you telling my grandsons?
Marekia: (in kikuyu also) I am just educating them about God.
Shosho: Ha ha ha! (still in Kikuyu) Young men, leave this mzee alone, ask him to tell you Abyssinia stories, or the Maumau war, this religion talk is too complicated for you, but you’ll come to understand it when you get more dialectical, and a bit older. (looking at Mamluks)How are thing in Nairobi?
Mamluks: (in Kikuyu) We were doing good. I will went back next week. But I will bring greeting from mum, dad, and everyone who will be in Nairobi. How about you, how will you be doing?
Shosho: Hahaha, I can see that you can now speak a sentence in Kikuyu, but you now need to work on your tenses, and that’s not a very difficult thing, especially for a quick learner like you.
Marekia: He is a good boy, he can’t speak the language, but knows more about our culture than some fellows here who only know how to cram some old sayings…
Sonko: Hey old man, don’t try dis me, between him that knows the culture but can’t speak, and me who can speak fluently, who’s more Kikuyu?
Shosho: None. You do not become Kikuyu by speaking the language, neither do you become by knowing the culture. You are kikuyu by blood.
Mamluks: Mzee Marekia, you said that the religion that one follows is mostly taken after the parents religion,,,your neighbour across the fence is an SDA, but his parents were not Christians. So will you say that he is not Christian by choice? And doesn’t that disapprove your hypothesis?
Marekia: (gives a deep sigh, looks into the sky) My son, when the white man came, he came with a superior technology and he was thus revered for that. He could for instance build a big stone house, he could wear big coats in the months of July, he had bicycles and many other superior technologies. In order for you to share in this technology, you had to follow him, and learn his ways, this included his religion. Some people began following him, and they became very powerful, and together they began forcing us into their ways.
Mamluks: But you should have resisted?!
Marekia: We tried, but the spear was no match for the bullet.
The white man had two branches of oppression. The first one was the church, and the second was the administration. The administration would protect the church, collect taxes and force people into hard labour. The church would give people white education, and at the same time appease the people, telling them that they should persevere this suffering, for God would help them at his own time. In the meantime, a government order was given that all children must attend religious teachings. This was a brilliant idea for the whites, because they knew very well that something that has been pumped into you as a kid becomes very difficult to renegade against in your lifetime.
And this tactic was used over the years, for instance, after the Maumau war, we were taken to the infamous pipeline, where we were indoctrinated with Christianity, and only the priests could give a person permission to be released from that torture camp. Only converts were released.
Does that help answer your question?
Mamluks: Yes it does. But now, with all this information, what is the way forward?
Sonko: stop asking for the way forward, you are already in the way forward. Christianity is not a religion, it is man who turned it into a religion!
Marekia: this is the problem with illiteracy, sonko, find sometime and look up for the definition of religion.
Mamluks: Should we convert into Islam?
Marekia: Young man, what do you know about Islam? Islam is all about oppression, slavery, extreme male chauvinism, exploitation…….just read the Cow, there the inferiority of women is upheld and insisted, look at the Bee, slavery is encouraged, look at Believer, light, and the Clan, slavery and inferiority of women is upheld. In the beneficent, virgin women will be rewards of men in heaven! I the ornaments of gold, Inequality and exploitation is actually justified!
Let’s leave Islam alone, it is as bad as Christianity.
Sonko: If there is so much male chauvinism in Islam, why do we have many women following it?
Marekia: I think we have answered that question. But I find Islam a favorable religion if you are a male, and if you are rich.
Mamluks: Should we follow Hinduism?
Marekia: In my opinion, I find Hinduism a bit more developed that the first two religions. It is more human, more realistic, and encourages people to be good. But it also has a lot of setbacks.
Mamluks: Should we follow the old Gikuyu way?
Sonko: And if this the religion that we should follow, how will we know their modes of worship, now that the early Kikuyu didn’t know how to write?
Marekia: Sonko, who told you that the Gikuyu didn’t know how to write?
Sonko: No, you didn’t get me right, the Kikuyus didn’t know how to write before the white man came.
Marekia: Young man, the Kikuyus knew how to write.
Sonko: No they didn’t!
Mamluks: Yes they did. Their form of writing was very complicated, and people would draw symbols, which other people would try to decipher. It was not like the roman letter method, it was more like the Egyptian writing. It was called the Gicandi.
Sonko: But the Gicandi is a song?!
Mamluks: The song is what remained with us, the Gicandi idea itself was destroyed by the whites and people were forced to forget it. Unfortunately, the Gikuyu people took it as a game, rather than something serious, hence there was little effort to try and save it.
Sonko: How did it operate?
Shosho: Different clans would write on guards the symbols that they knew, and then they would meet other people from other villages and exchange the guards, and then they would try to decipher what the symbols meant. In the meantime, people would drink Muratina, and sing what is now known as the Gicandi. If a village failed to decipher the messages, the guard would move on to the next village. The winners would be respected bigtime. It had its basic formations, combining these formations was the difficult thing, and deciphering it was even more difficult.
Sonko: Wow!
Marekia: Back to the God of the mountains,,,you see, I hear people say that the people would pray and it would rain, right?
Sonko: Right.
Marekia: That is just crap. If the God of the Gikuyu would listen to the people soo much, why would he allow famine in the first place? And why would the people wait for animals and people to die so that they would pray to their God? Why didn’t this God protect them from the Whiteman’s invasion?
Sonko: What about the rains?
Marekia: Isn’t it obvious that a famine cannot last forever?
Mamluks: Mzee what is the correct religion then?
Marekia: None.
Mamluks: How do we worship God without religions?
Marekia: We do not need to worship God,,,,,,he doesn’t exist.
Mamluks: What?!
Marekia: There is no God.
Mamluks: If there is no God, how comes people all over the world worship him/her/them?
Marekia: You see, back in dem days, there were many things that man all over the world could not understand, for instance, where the rains come from, the causes of thunders and lightning, tremors and stuff. So man decided that some superior being was controlling these things. And hence we cannot blame them for coming up with the different ways of trying to get to this God. But with time, man began understanding why some of these things happen. We now know how lightning and thunders occur, we know why rains come, we know why tremors occur. We even know that God of Joshua didn’t stop the sun, since the sun doesn’t move, it is the earth that rotates! By the way, if he was all powerful, he would have known this, and stopped the earth from rotating, so that people could continue butchering each other(adds this with a sarcastic tone).
Mamluks: What about the source of man, and what happens after death?
Marekia: Different cultures, different religions have their own different theories to answer this question. As for me, I do not know where man came from, and I do not know what happens after death, and in my opinion, nobody really knows.There are many other questions that man doesn’t have an answer to today. But it is a matter of time. Maybe 100 years,1000 years, 10, 000 years, the fact is that if humanity continues, man will continue getting answers to these many unknowns.
(The two guys are just seated, speechless and motionless.)
Mamluks: What about these people who pray, and what they pray for actually happens?
Marekia: You see, man is a very powerful being, and you can influence very many things, as long as you can control your power. Some people master this through religion, others through witchcraft and others do it consciously.
Sonko: Hee! You are beginning to put fear into me, so you are dismissing the bible creation story, and you are also dismissing the Gikuyu creation story?
Marekia: Yes. By the way, do you know that that Gikuyu story is just a story? In our history, there is nothing like God creating Gikuyu or Mumbi, and there is nothing like God taking man to the top of Mt Kirinyaga.
Sonko: So where did the Gikuyu come from?
Marekia: They came from what is presently Ethiopia.
Infact, when we were young, my grandfather used to tell us that we came from Abania, what came to be known as Abyssinia and is now Ethiopia.
Sonko: So they were not formed at Mukuru wa Nyagathanga?
Marekia: No they were not, Mukuru wa Nyagathanga was just one of the three dispersal points, once they had arrived at the mountain.
Sonko: And how comes I do not know these things?
Shosho: Sonko, it is already late and these roads are not safe at night, him answering that question will take at least 5 hours, so let’s postpone that for tomorrow.
Mamluks: Mzee, you are making me begin to question my faith. But you won’t, let me go and consult my friends and my priest. I will raise all these issues that you have raised, and I am sure that they will help me.
Shosho: My grandson, if somebody can rationally and conclusively answer all those issues, then you will become very strong in your faith. You will become a true Christian. A Christian who knows what he is doing. A Christian by choice.
Mamluks: Thanks you all, I beg to leave now.
Shosho: (Standing up and going torwards the kitchen) No no no, there is some more uji left, let’s drink it so that you can have the strength to walk to your place.
Mamluks: No no, please no, it is getting dark, I will come for the Uji next time.
Shosho: There is nothing like that, you cannot leave this home on an empty stomach. I will give you just one calabash.
Sonko: Ok, if you insist.
Mamluks: Now that I will be staying here for another 10 minutes, let me ask you (looking at Mzee) a
question, you gave me reasons as to why early people were religious, but why are people still religious today?
Marekia: You see, the premiere reason is that religion is introduced to you when you are a kid, it is indoctrinated into you in your early years, it thus becomes very difficult to unshackle yourself from it.
In this relation, there are four kinds of people in religion.
One, foolish people. People who do not question what the find. They are just Muslims because they found themselves there.
Two, corwards. These are people who think about these things, they question religion, but they fear moving away from it, since they think that bad things might happen to them if they cease being religious. They hence say to themselves, “Hiyo ni mambo ya Mungu, hauwezi elewa.”
Three, religious leaders. These are the priests, pastors, imams diviners, etc. these people make a living of religion. They thus propagate this religious crap, so that they can survive. Most of them actually know the truth, but they prefer cheating the sheep(an animal known for its foolishness).Haven’t you noticed that all these religions have the Tithe factor? No pastor forgets to ask for sadaka and tithe. In Islam it is actually a pillar.
Four, confused and greedy people. These are the people who will jump from one religion to another, looking for the light, they do not see the similarity in all the nonsense. Some of them, like these Mungiki buggers, will even try to go back to the Kirinyaga God. For the greedy, they will go to the church that helps them economically. Others will convert to Islam so that they can marry a beautiful Somali or arab girl. Some will go to a religion that allows them to marry several women.
Mamluks: Shush! Let me go and consult, and then I will come back to you.
Sonko: Do not come back, you know Satan works in many ways, and through different people, it is
actually the devil that is talking through this Mzee.
Marekia: Satan too doesn’t exist.
My children, as you go, go knowing that, God did not make man, It was man who made God.
Shosho: Kwaherini wajukuu wangu.
Mamluks&Sonko: Haya kwa heri.
Benedict Wachira
14th April 2010
10:39am
*Some Qoran and Bible verses from Bob Avakian
you know what, we will enact this, and post it on youtube...i will be any character so long as it is Marekia...hehehe... very interesting questions though...and this, friends, is open religion!
ReplyDeleteHe he!"...any character so long as it is Marekia.." You'll have to put on make up that will make you look like one who fought in Burma!
ReplyDeletethe good thing sonko is xtian extrimist and fundamentalist ile mbaya thou ana argue saaaaana kama kubafff from an outset das he reason anyway???
ReplyDeleteTaking a stab at Christianity (and Religion)...? It requires a very liberated mind to make such an attempt. To the prude and conservative, the use of curse words against scriptural quotations can't be placed side by side. The plot is well scripted... though I am not the best with plays and theatrics. Marekia rides on the margins on sanity and completely goes against all the beliefs and traditions. He simply questions everything but he shouldn't sit alongside the simple and young, I bet he will easily erode and corrupt them! Mamluks is putting on 'white shoes' and perhaps lauding the theory that Christianity is a White man's propaganda... this provokes a response. But first, the Muslims, Hindus and Traditionalists first speak/respond...
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