Ktenge, Kuku, and Cake

Tuesday, February 12, 2019


Today was John’s birthday, the latest of many celebrated in Africa. I tried to do a count from memory and reached a total of 12 birthdays for him on this continent, and I probably missed some. This year, our celebration was muted because John was away all day at the 5th Biannual ECHO symposium on Sustainable Agriculture and Appropriate Technology (https://www.echocommunity.org/en/resources/d2ce8e1d-0aa3-42d7-80c3-9adadecbd3aa), and didn’t get back to Kundayo until early evening. Mary Lou and I were left to our own devices to figure out what to do and how to get it done.

Just before noon, I saw Mama Kundayo, all dressed up, sitting outside and went to chat with her. She was wearing a ktenge outfit made with words from Psalm 121 on it, as she was going to attend a funeral at her church. As usual Emmanuel came to translate for us, and when he heard that it was John’s birthday, he said that Mazo was downtown and could pick up a cake for us. That was great! Not only would Mazo know where to get a decent cake, but he would also deliver it to us. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but when Mazo returned and opened the BIG box, there was a huge, incredibly decorated chocolate cake of the sort that needs refrigeration. Mazo said we could store it in Kundayo’s big kitchen frig.

Mama Kundayo's church dress..

Our Masai friends, Elizabeth and Ngaisi planned on being in Arusha again today for another pre-natal check up for Ngaisi. They are taking no chances with her since her first pregnancy miscarried. They had hoped to be at the clinic early, but around 11:00, Elizabeth texted that they were running very late. I tried to figure out how long they might be at the clinic and estimated it would be at least 2:00 p.m. before they could leave to come here. However, they still weren’t here at 2:30, so Mary Lou went over to the kuku na chipsie to buy one and a half order of chicken and chips in case they came soon and needed to eat quickly before catching their bus back to Longido and Mnanga. Just after Mary Lou returned, I got a text from Elizabeth saying they would be here in an hour. They finally showed up just before 4:00 p.m.

I had kept the chicken and chips in the oven and the table set, so we were all able to sit down and begin eating right away. Poor Elizabeth and Ngaisi were very hungry and thirsty. I was a bit worried that they would be disappointed that once again we were having kuku na chipsie, but Elizabeth assured me that Ngaisi only gets this meal when she visits us, and they look forward to it. Elizabeth also reported that Ngaisi likes our American ketchup more than other tomato sauces. The best news though was that Ngaisi is doing well, and her due date is April 8.

Another kuku na chipsie lunch with Elizabeth and Ngaisi.

We were eager to hear how the 50% off Easter and Halloween candy I had brought for Elizabeth’s store had sold. In the end everything sold very well, but initially there was a small problem with the black wrapped Halloween candy. Finally, Elizabeth gave away a couple free samples, and the little boys decided that licorice was good after all. Also, the individual packets of M&Ms which glowed in the dark caused a potentially serious problem. Elizabeth didn’t warn the mothers who bought these candies that they would glow when they were opened in the dark Masai houses, and the women were worried that witchcraft was involved someway. Elizabeth quickly assured them that these M&Ms were the newest American candy that she had accessed from a special ship. (When I asked Elizabeth why she hadn’t told the women that these M&Ms would glow in the dark, she said that if she had, they wouldn’t have bought them.) The bubblegum Easter eggs were a huge hit with Masai women, who discovered that they could bite off a third of an egg each day and have three days of chewing. (Masai women love chewing gum.) Once the gum ran out, the women asked Elizabeth when she would have more; she told them that she thought there would be another special ship arriving next January. We all had a great time laughing at Elizabeth’s stories, but she and Ngaisi soon had to leave to catch their bus back home.

Not long after our guests left, John returned from his symposium with his report of a day listening to all sorts of agricultural specialists concerned about sustainable farming in Africa. There were experts on fighting droughts, enriching poor soil, repairing erosion, and introducing new crops. I was most interested in the free packets of seeds that John gets at these conferences and had a great time learning about lablab and other crops I had never heard of before. Usually, I pass these seeds on to Elizabeth, so I’ll hold on to them until she and Ngaisi return March 14.

Soon after 7:00, I got the leftovers from our late lunch reheated for John. But, just as he had begun to eat some of the chicken and chips, Ray, Honorina, and Anita drove in. They had come to wish John a happy birthday and had bought a special cake for him. We hurriedly cleared the table, made tea, and let the celebrating begin. I stuck candles in the cake, which Anita then presented to her Babu. Then we lighted the candles, sang “Happy Birthday” to John, who blew out the candles, so I could slice the cake and hand out pieces to everyone. Then, while all of us were eating cake, Ray made a long rambling, semi-coherent speech thanking God for John and me and saying we would be rewarded in Heaven, etc. He even included Mary Lou in a pay-off in Heaven since she is giving time teaching English to the albino women.  After the Mtui family finally left, one half of the cake still remained, so I took it to the main building to share with the staff. They were very pleased, and even Mazo’s nephew, Sydney had a piece.

The very elaborate cake from the Mtui family.

Anita presenting the cake to John. Mary Lou, Ray, and Honorina are in the background.

The candle light jinxed my falsh.

Now, for those of you who are wondering about what happened with the big chocolate cake I had Mazo buy, stay tuned.  It’s still a secret hidden in the restaurant’s big refrigerator, and there’s always tomorrow.

Sydney, who is in 6th grade, with his math tutor.