Know Your History

As mentioned in the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea, a document written by a Greek Mariner in Ancient Antiquity, The Land of Punt had several thriving City-States. Pedanius Dioscorides, a Pharmacologist and Botanist who authored De Materia Medica, noted the city of Mosylon (Bossasso) had a special type of Cinnamon known as Mosyllitic.

Hafun or Xaafuun was known to the Greeks as Opone, Ptolemy's Geographia mentions a famous city called Sarapion which is either Warsheikh or Mogadishu, Essina is either Marka or Baraawe, while Malao is the current Port-City of Berbera. The ancient city of Mundus is Heis in Somaliland's Sanaag. There was also a city called Nikon in Somali historical antiquity.

Religion

If, according to the claim by Muslim Ulamaa about Adam's creation was a result of four different ingredients or colors of sand such as red, black, white, and yellow, then why do we have to believe in Hamitic Theory? A look at the four different types of sand would reveal that some races are reddish, some are black, some are white, while others have yellowish skin pigmentation.

Some researchers, especially Racialist Anthropologists, constantly dwell on the use of Caucasoid (White), Mongoloid (Asian), and Negroid (Black) classifications. Ethnic groups with short statures are referred to as Pigmoids (from pygmy). Have they forgotten the millenniums of miscegenation which is the interbreeding of people of different racial types and what about the constant weather exposures and climatic changes?

At times people of the Horn of Africa are referred to as Hamitic, Cushitic, or Afro-Asiatic. According to "Table of Nations" in Genesis 10:6 and I Chronicles 1:8, Cush or Kush was the son of Ham who was the son of Noah. The demeaning revelation that Ham passed by his drunk and naked father Noah and then walked insolently without covering his nudity paved way for Ham's imprecation and a path for his other brothers' divine right to enslave him, abuse him, and denigrate his reputation. Noah's malediction gave Ham kinky hair, flat-nose and broad lips that would last for eternity.

The rise of European imperialism, slavery, and colonialism and Arab disdain for the black race ushered in prolonged suffering for the son of Ham. European divide-and-rule tactics, neocolonialism, economic slavery, and African dictators primordial leaderships continue to pull apart the natural resources rich men and women of the African Continent.

My final point is a question for our Racialist Anthropologists and religious Historians. Apart from Noah's three sons Shem, Ham, and Japheth, what color was Yaam, the one who climbed the mountain during the deluge?

Somalis' 'onquest' Of Eastleigh, and Horses

Somalis’ ‘Conquest’ Of Eastleigh, And Horses:

During the pre-colonial times, Somalis were just about the only indigenous community with the experience and mastery of handling horses.

In fact, Ret. US President Roosevelt tagged a platoon of Somalis (he called them 'native Mohammedanis') along with him in his post-presidential retirement hunting trip to East Africa. He wrote about the Cushitic community and how they related with other communities at Juja House, where he was hosted by Canadian-American tycoon William Northrup Macmillan, after whom Nairobi’s Macmillan library is named.

"...most of the boys who took care of the horses, were Somalis, whereas the cattle keepers who tended the herds of cattle were Maasai, and the men and women who worked in the fields were Kikuyus.

The three races had nothing to do with one another, and the few Indians had nothing to do with any of them.

The Kikuyus lived in their beehive huts scattered in small groups; the Somalis all dwelt in their own little village on one side of the farm; and half a mile off the Maasai dwelt in their village.

Both the Somalis and Maasai were fine, daring fellows; the Somalis were Mohammedans and horsemen; the Masai were cattle herders, who did their work as they did their fighting, on foot, and were wild heathen of the most martial type...”

In those days, a small corner of Nairobi, teemed with horses. This place was then known as Carrier Corps and played host to a cavalry regiment by the same name.

Of course, over time Africans corrupted the phrase ‘Carrier Corps’ to Kariokor, which is what the place is called today.

The foot and horse-borne Carrier Corps were tasked with transporting military supplies to frontline troops during WW1.

As years went by, Nairobi got itself a racecourse around the same place Kariokor (I believe at grounds presently partly occupied by Pumwani High School sports track).

This explains why we have Racecourse Road extending from the famous OTC bus stage towards Kariokor. We have Racecourse estate, too.

And so Kariokor became a place that was synonymous, and abuzz, with horses.

From here, Somalis employed to mind the horses would after sunset retreat to their small village nearby.

Gradually, their population grew. Few people took notice.

And so, gradually, present-day Eastleigh became synonymous, and abuzz, with a growing community of Somalis.

In his book, The East Africa Protectorate, Sir Charles Elliot (pictured), who became Commissioner of British East Africa between 1900 and 1904, described Somalis thus:

“(Somalis) contrive to be at the same time the wildest and most civilised of Africans. In race they are what, for want of a better word, must be described as Hamitic, and, though dark, are sharply distinguished from all negro tribes by their clear-cut and often beautiful features. Some of the young men of the Biskaya section, whom I have seen near Lamu, might have posed as.....cast in dark bronze.

When the Somalis come into towns they at once put themselves on the same level of civilisation as the Arab, wear white robes, and show a great aptitude for commerce, particularly cattle-trading.

In externals, they are ostentatiously devout Moslems, and they show a knowledge of European law, and a power of using it to their advantage, which is without parallel among the natives of East Africa, and is only rivaled among Indians.

Also, they are very quarrelsome. But once back in their deserts, they appear to drop all these town habits, and show no inclination to raise their lives to a higher level of civilisation, but live as cattle-herding nomads, chiefly remarkable for the extreme lightness of their baggage and celerity of their movements.

Added to this, they are characterised by a pride, independence, and fanaticism most unusual in this part of Africa. It is to be hoped that in the future we may find some means of utilising this undoubtedly talented race. Hitherto, our dealings with them have not been conspicuous for success, and have usually consisted of campaigns, lightly undertaken....”

Somali Culture

Ningax is a sealant made from specific plant barks like sisal (Agave sisalana) known as calga in Somali and qaranri whose botanical name is Acokanthera schimperi. Dhuur (Tamaria aphylla) could also be used as a substitute. Extracted from the bovine milk of cloven-hooved ungulates, ghee is a special type of butter whose production, though specific to the Somali female, is time-consuming.

The coating-like Ningax is placed between the lid cover and the main container that contains the milk mainly to control liquid spill. It is a flimsy or very thin layer of yarn that is temporary or one-time use and then discarded afterwards. It requires continuous shaking of the milk container over an extended time to get the exact quantity.

Having Ningax alone is not enough to stop milk spillage. Together with a Futi or Futey, depending on Somali accent, helps alleviate milk loss. Unlike Ningax, Futi or Futey can be made from any material such as a piece of cloth, and imperishable leaves or twigs. Usually, Futi is squeezed on the top of the lid having a little hole for releasing the air that accumulates inside the container.

Regional Superiority in Somali Musicology

One would wonder why some of the regions, towns, locations, and even water wells within the Somali Peninsula enjoy repeatitive honorific oratorical praises and adorations over others in music and poetry. While it all depends on the poet or the composer of the music in question, the elevation of one location over other historically significant places requires deep scrutiny.

Regardless of where the composer of the dhaanto hails from---dhaanto, an ancient reggae-like folklore dance that was a great fete for camel herders, still remains exclusive to Somalis alone and profoundly towers above other modern plays to this present day.

In Somali ethnomusicology, dhaanto is best known for being a folkloric dance that is played without instruments. Instead, hand-clapping and foot-stamping create fine-tuned, well-rehearsed, marvelously orchestrated and soul-piercing spontaneous merriments of feelings of compassion or utter aggressions that could have consequences depending on the linguistic exposition used.

Whether created by Fidhin or Baarleex, "Harar iyo Hawaash Allahayow", is a play cum supplication beseeching the Creator to release the two strategic towns in Ethiopia with heavy Somali presence, from the shackles of foreign domineering. Perhaps, the play came to fore after the devastating 1977-78 Somalia-Ethiopia War.

Somali poetry surpasses the firmly recorded poetic performances of present developed nations whose theatrical exhibitions have been in the limelight since historical antiquity. Not until Richard Burton recorded Somalia as a the "Land of Poets", did the world recognize the uniqueness of the Somali language.

Enforced Hierarchy

Enforced hierarchy is another term for ethnic dominance. When one ethnic group dominates the political office, the other group, whether majority or minority in terms of population, takes over the private sector. There has been uneasy balance and diminished harmonious interethnic relations in the past in places such as Trinidad and Tobago and Malaysia. While ethnic Malays dominated government bureaucracy, the minority Chinese had an upper hand in the business sector.

In developing countries, relative ethnic harmony resulting from uneasy balance in the social hierarchy created ethnic discrimination and tension. The dissipating levels of interethnic conflicts seen in nations such as Panama, Brazil, and the Dominican Republic between blacks who never climbed up the ladder of success in the political and economic order and the domineering other races who keep them at bay to uphold social cleavages, has been the harbinger for resentments, fractured community assimilations, and horrific atrocities.

The enveloping justification of authoritarian rule crippled many nations' political, military, and economic growth, according to modernization theorists. Authoritarianism gained momentum in much of Sub-Saharan Africa after raising their flags of independence in the late fifties and early sixties. Guided by personalistic dictators, the dominant one-party system became the norm in almost every Middle Eastern nation with Iraq's Saddam and Syria's Asad playing the unfettered political cards to their advantages.

In Latin America and Asia, socially detested brutal dictatorial leadership styles led to the creation of pro-democracy demonstrations that eventually conceived semidemocracies or pseudo-democracies. However, demonstrations in support of democracy failed in Communist China. The 1989 Tiananmen Square protests in mainland China, especially in Beijing, ended up in a massacre that was orchestrated by the military using tanks and assault rifles.

Leaders like Augusto Pinochet of Chile, Peruvian Alberto Fujimori, General Suharto of Indonesia, Saddam Hussein of Iraq, Colonel Muammar Qaddafi of Libya, and Carlos Menem of Argentina suffered the brunt of their poor leadership styles in one way or the other, while Charles Taylor of Liberia was tried for war crimes at the International Court of Justice in the Hague, Netherlands. Slobodan Milosevic, the man who rose to prominence after the collapse of the former Yugoslavia, died mysteriously while awaiting trial.

Monarchical rules erupted in Morocco, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait, while Sudan and Egypt got engrossed in powerful single-party or dominant-party systems that flourished for a long time. Perhaps, oil rich Arab monarchical hierarchies will remain in existence for sometime as long as some European countries cling to their old kingdom traditions. Even with the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of the mighty Soviet Union, the enforced hierarchy factor still remains a dominant force in many parts of the world.

Poor Governance

Good morning, Sir Stupidity

You have been a great friend of African dictators for a long time and to this day you are hanging around corners soliciting for more people to deceive because there are no defenses against stupidity. Since so many people don't understand what you stand for, allow me to highlight to the ordinary citizen the science of stupidity.

First and foremost I would like to notify my readers that you are a threat to humanity. It was Professor Carlo M. Cipolla, a professor of Economic History at the University of California, Berkeley who was the first to bring to the attention of humanity in his 1976 essay, the existential threat posed by the fundamentals of your stupidity.

According to the reputed scholar who passed away in 2000, there are five fundamental laws of stupidity:

Law 1: Bossologically, you may assume that you are surrounded by reliable and intelligent men and women to lean on though their exact numbers could be exponentially higher than your fake assumptions. Since you are lowballing the numbers of stupid employees around, they could be far much higher.

Law 2: You, the highest ranking official who is the boss, could be the number one stupid person. Since stupidity has no race and gender, belief or religion, political and national origin, even the highest institutions in the world could have substantial numbers of stupid people. There are stupid professors, CEOs, presidents and prime ministers, lawyers and lawmakers, kings and sheikhs, principals and head teachers etc.

Law 3: The stupid person causes tremendous losses to the other person while gaining nothing to his or her advantage. This is what Cipolla describes as "The Golden Law of Stupidity." When a Teller keeps you waiting to retrieve your money for an extended time, that's stupidity. Being kept longer on the phone by a customer service representative, is undoubtedly, sheer stupidity. Silly arguments on social media is decorated stupidity.

Now, let's have a glimpse of the three phenotypes that co-exist with stupidity:
The first one is the intelligent person whose functions benefit everyone, including himself. The second one is the bandit whose main intention is to benefit from others to his benefit. The third and last one is the helpless person who benefits others without gaining anything in return.

Law 4: A non-stupid person is clueless, not understanding the damages caused by the stupid person.

Law 5: Of all human beings, whether declining or successful, have numerous stupid people who are the most dangerous, though, the bandit, is more destructive. The non-stupid, who are simply bystanders, are the major causes of the collapse of stable nations.

Eonomics: Affluenza Lifestyle

Living the affluenza lifestyle leads to overconsumption which is generally described as "luxury fever." People who live the affluenza lifestyle are known for their lechery and because they are victims of psychological malaise, so far, other than counseling, they have no medical intervention to battle their excessive extravagance.

For the perfidious, invigorating wretch, the application of mendacious claims and the overconsumption of mind-altering drugs and alcohol allow one to commit startling crimes having in mind that the Affluenza Defense will be the last resort to absolve any dangerous psychedelic adventure that could have legal ramifications.

Luxury fever could either be a natural phenomenon resulting from psychological malaise or an artificially self-induced entheogen spectrum in which the afflicted person believes in getting closer to the divine world. Borrowing a leaf from shamanism and to decorate it with positive connotations that distinguished it from hallucinogens and negative psychedelic mindsets, the term entheogen was coined by several ethnobotanists and mythologists in 1979.

The malnourished Bedouin Arab, who, fifty years ago lived in tents made from goat or sheep fur and slept on menacingly rough, rib-breaking animal skins, today owns ivory towers and dines in the most expensive hotels. Yesterday's Somali herdsman whose body was infested with lice from tip to toe back in the early nineties, is today's millionaire driving the most expensive car in the world. That's Affluenza!

The insatiate Asian Sultan whose nation gained independence half a century ago gormandizes the most expensive Zillion Dollar Lobster Frittata, the $25,000 world's most expensive tacos available at the Grand Velas Los Tacos in Mexico, has for lunch Louis XIII Pizza from Renato Viola in Italy for $9,710, owns 400 exotic, custom built cars, and resides in a castle built over buried ocean. That's Affluenza!

To overcome the Affluenza tragedy, just eat your fill to overcome the seven metaphorical hadithic intestines. Leave space for water intake and air circulation.

"Narrated Abu Hurairah: A man used to eat much, but when he embraced Islam, he started eating less. That was mentioned to the Prophet (ﷺ) who then said, “A believer eats in one intestine and a disbeliever eats in seven intestines.

Ornithology

A Hoopoe is a multi-colored, crested, eye-catching, intelligent and a historical bird that is mentioned in monotheistic scriptures especially in the incident that happened in the era of Prophet cum King Solomon, Son of Prophet David who was given the Divine Psalms and who constructed the Temple of Jerusalem that was later destroyed by King Nebuchadnezzar and others.

In one of his epic journeys, Solomon, upon inspecting his stock, found not the Hoopoe, an act that made him issue a decree. It would have either come up with convincing news or face the consequences of it's malingerous actions. With the blink of an eye, perhaps moving at the speed of light, it brought news that shook his inner soul.

With the breaking news of traveling to a land ruled by a queen, whose followers worshipped the sun almost shattered Solomon's monotheistic grandstanding belief. It must have been a great experience for the Hoopoe to skyrocket from Jerusalem in Palestine to the Land of Saba (Sheba) in Yemen territory. It would have been intimidating for the most advanced nation of today to craft a miniature supersonic jet of Hoopoe-size with Mach 1000 speed (1,000 times faster than sound) and deliver messages in time.

Allaah blessed the people of Saba by providing them with sustenance without measure and their major city was Ma'arib. To this day there is the Ma'arib Dam whose walls were ravaged by rats. To counter the rat invasion of their dam, they brought cats that could devour them. The cats were outnumbered by the tremendous rat reproduction.

The Sabaeans had a great temple with 360 windows that was recently discovered by a NASA Satellite having earth-penetrating lasers. Everyday, the sun would rise from one window and at sunset time, it would disappear in a new window. This is how they calculated the solar calendar.

In essence, the people of Saba were Sabaeans who inhabited the lowlands of Yemen. Ruled over by Queen Sheba or Bilqiis, the Yemenites who enjoyed all kinds of prosperity, finally succumbed to divine devastation for their pride and arrogance.

Somalis call it Guuguule, and no wonder it plays important roles in poetic and musical entertainments. Perhaps, it's intellect and historical significance is what elevated it's status in the aves species. With keen eyesight and tough audio and sound that penetrate the Earth's landscape and deep underground water systems, the bird employs sophisticated mechanical reactions that are second to none.

Somalia's Guuguule, which is the Hoopoe described above, has mythological significance in storytelling. If one consumes it's liver, two events are likely to happen: either one becomes a poet or he could get afflicted by the most-dreaded of all diseases, the Tuberculosis (TB).

Historical Human Altercations

From religious perspectives, shedding blood by the most intelligent of all creatures started for the first time with the two sons of Adam, when Prophet Adam's son Abel (Haabiil) killed his brother Cain (Qaabiil). From there on killing among humans became a common occurrence. What started as a confrontation between two brothers of the same father and same mother over a resolvable, arranged marriage with their two twin sisters, followed by the order to perform sacrifices to determine who would marry who, led to bloodshed that finally turned into a global manifestation.

Apart from destroying the Temple of Jerusalem (Bayt-al-Maqdis Masjid), burning the Torah, and mercilessly killing the Children of Israel, Bukhtanassar, the Arabized name for Nebuchadnezzar II who was the son of Nabopolassar, was a horrible and deplorable person who lived during the time of Prophet Daniel (Danyal). According to Muslim historians and commentators of the Qur'an, the prideful and argumentative polytheistic king who had an argument with Prophet Ibrahim (AS) was a man by the name Nimrod or Nimrud.

The confrontation between the disbelieving Nimrod and Prophet Ibrahim is mentioned in the second chapter of the Qur'an known as Al-baqarah.

Sahih International
Have you not considered the one who argued with Abraham about his Lord [merely] because Allah had given him kingship? When Abraham said, "My Lord is the one who gives life and causes death," he said, "I give life and cause death." Abraham said, "Indeed, Allah brings up the sun from the east, so bring it up from the west." So the disbeliever was overwhelmed [by astonishment], and Allah does not guide the wrongdoing peoples (2: 258).

Divinely revealed and human recorded historical narrations succinctly define the devastations caused by the most dangerous wars in various parts of the world with the longest being that of the mongols that dragged on for four hundred years. The vastest transcontinental empire in the world, the Mongol Empire created an enforced Pax Mongolica connection that stretched from the East to the West across Eurasia.

Even though the British Empire remained the largest empire with 35.5 million km2, the discontinuous disconnect caused by the separated oceans made the Mongols' 24.0 km2 empire, the largest continuous empire in the world the world had seen. Regardless of their monstrosity, the wars that were spearheaded by the Mongols, collapsed after the emergence of four khans who embraced Islam.

During the reign of Genghis Khan, the world population reduced by 11% according to legend and the death of 40 million people. Despite his murderous onslaught, Genghis killed his own brother over food argument while both were young boys. Having lost his father at age 9, he had to fend for his mother and her six other children.

Tamerlane or Timurlan whose name translates to Timur "the lame" because he used to limp when walking due to arrow shots that inflicted bodily injuries to one hand and leg while attempting to steal a sheep while a young man, was the first to create the Timurid Dynasty. Of Turko-Persian blood and a Muslim, the man who intermingled with great philosophers and prestigious men like Ibn Khaldun and others, killed 17 million disbelieving, Shamanistic Mongols.

The art of military strategy applied by the Mongols, the shape of their bows and arrows, military discipline, promotion through the application of skills and experience, and allegiance to the leader were some of the defining factors that elevated the Ilkhanate supremacy.

Any attempts to reject Mongol domination resulted in the total slaughter of the objectionists. The largest and most affected was the Muslim Khwarezmid Empire that was an amalgamation of Persian and Turkic peoples whose landmass was estimated at 3.6 million square kilometers. With it's capital at Samarkand in present day Uzbekistan, the great succession of Khwarezmid dynasties suffered at the hands of the barbaric Mongols.

The city of Samarkand was a Shangri La for if one traveled outside of the city for five consecutive days towards any direction, the sight of the beauty of the handmade reforestation resembled a total paradise. The assortment of exotic plants and trees brought from all over the world, created sceneries that were non-existent elsewhere in the world.

Thinking and Intelligence

I.                    There are two types of solution strategies-algorithms and heuristics.

A.    An algorithm may lead to a correct answer if step-by-step problem-solving procedure is executed accurately even though in some cases, we may not know the algorithm or that the problem may not exist.

B.     Heuristic is another form of problem-solving strategy which seems reasonable given past experiences and does not make a guarantee.  

C.     An anagram, like the letters LOSOGCYHYP, when put together in the correct fashion, produces the word PSYCHOLOGY-a practice that can be solved by use of the heuristic problem-solving strategy.

      II.        There are three types of heuristics-anchoring and adjustment heuristic,                                working backward heuristic, and means-end analysis heuristic.

                 A.   Anchoring and adjustment heuristic are the use of one’s initial estimate as an anchor like our first impression of a person.

                 B.   Working backwards as in solving a math problem or equation, psychologists define it as working backward heuristic. 

                  C.   The process of breaking down a problem into sub-goals while working                                     toward decreasing the distance is called means-end analysis as in the Tower of Hanoi problem.

      III.       The history of intelligence tests started with Sir Francis Galton, in 19^th century                  England.

A.    Initially, Sir Francis Galton, for the purpose of eugenics, was involved in developing a test for intelligence.

B.     Sir Francis Galton is credited for developing correlational statistics which did not exist before him.

C.     It was Karl Pearson, a disciple of Galton, who formulated the correlational coefficient of Galton.

IV.              Intelligence Quotient is a formula of dividing mental age by chronological age and then multiplying by 100.

A.    Frenchman Alfred Binet and his assistant Theophile Simon, while working on the problem of mental retardation, got the backing of the French government to develop a test that could be used to determine intellectual development in children which finally led to the acceptance of the first test on intelligence in 1905.

B.     It was Lewis Terman, an American working at Stanford University, who came up with what became known as Stanford-Binet scores in 1916.

C.     David Wechsler, Chief Psychologist for Bellevue hospital in New York, developed the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS) in 1955.

D.    H e also developed the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC).

V.                Wechsler also devised a more advanced way of reporting intelligence leading to a process known as standardization.

A.    Standardization is a way of interpreting test scores by providing test models.

B.     When test scores are consistent, it is known as reliability because the coefficient is strongly positive.

C.     When a test predicts or measures what it is supposed to predict, it is known as validity.

D.    Despite agreeing on what intelligence should predict, psychologists do not agree on how to define intelligence.

VI.              For over a hundred years, there has been long-running argument over whether intelligence is a single general ability or a collection of specific abilities.

A.    On intelligence test performance, it was Charles Spearman who argued that it is a function of two factors: general intelligence and specific intellectual abilities such as reasoning.

B.     L. L. Thurstone, based on his research, argued that there were seven primary mental abilities-verbal comprehension, number facility, spatial relations, perceptual speed, word fluency, associative memory, and reasoning.

C.     Thurstone used factor analysis, a statistical technique that identifies clusters of test items that measure the same ability (factor).

D.     Raymond Cattell (a student of Spearman) and John Horn came up with two types of slightly different mental ability theory that influenced researchers in aging:

1.      Fluid intelligence, abilities independent of acquired knowledge, include abstract learning, logical problem solving, and the speed of information processing.

2.      Crystallized intelligence refers to accumulated knowledge and verbal and numerical skills.

VII.           Modern psychologists believe that both heredity (nature) and environmental experiences (nurture) best define intelligence.

A.    Heritability is an index of the degree that variation of a trait within a given population is due to heredity.

B.     Reaction range is the genetically determined limits for an individual’s intelligence.

C.     The Flynn effect refers to the fact that in the United States and other Western industrialized nations, average intelligence scores have improved steadily over the last century.  

Reflection of Visitation: Hindu Temple & Cultural Center of Kansas City

October 4, 2008

The Hindu Temple and Cultural Center of Kansas City is located on a spacious land in a breathtaking serene atmosphere at 6330 Lackman road in Shawnee Mission of the State of Kansas. It has a sizable parking lot enough for approximately 50 cars. Upon approaching the entrance to the temple, one is attracted to the screams and laughter of children in the playground swarming around a few swings and slopes meant for their entertainment while their parents converge around a dozen deities assembled inside the temple. As is common for the typical American child, parental guidance is always a manifestly remarkable event as one or two adults keep watch over a few rambunctious toddlers left outside to bump each other for a few hours of the day especially on weekends. 

            The roofing rim of the temple is decorated with what appears to be gold colored relics similar in kind to the golden temple in Amritsar, India. According to information contained in www.pluralism.org, the temple serves the Hindu and Jain communities of Wichita, Topeka, and the Greater Kansas City area. Work on the temple commenced on Aril 9, 1984, when, after making great sacrifices, a group of committed Indians purchased a tract of land on which the current temple is sitting on. According to the web site www.htccofkc.org, the location of the temple is close to at least 80% of the Indian population of Kansas City. Where there is a will, there is a way. The struggle to have a temple for the area came to fruition in May 1988. The Indian community of Kansas City did their best to have a place to worship and display their cultural heritage. In any case they perspired enough to ensure their revered gods and goddesses remain visible in the American landscape for many years to come.

I was ushered in the temple by a young man who at first advised me to remove off shoes. To my amazement, there was a faucet for hand washing and purification. As I proceeded further down the passageway, I was led to a man who introduced himself as Mr. Sanjeev Goyal. After handing me a pamphlet detailing the day-to-day activities of the temple, Mr. Goyal instructed me to proceed to the interior of the temple where the prayer hall was located. This is where I could observe the overall activities of the worshippers. The interior of the temple contained idols earlier mentioned in class lectures. An assortment of deities filled a semi-circle rotunda resting against the wall of the main worshipping hall holding India’s holiest of Gods and Goddesses most notably Krishna and his beautiful consort, Radha, often worshipped as an incarnation of Goddess Lakshmi. There was Laxman who is the brother of Rama, and Rama himself considered in Hinduism to be an avatar of Vishnu and his wife Sita. To the left was Saraswati, the Goddess of Learning followed by Parshvanath, a saint in Jainism. There was Durga, which the clergy explained as the mother of Ganesha, the elephant-headed deity revered among Hindus as remover of obstacles and Kartikeya, the God of war.

            Ironically, most of the devotees in the temple were women and children whose prayer etiquettes revolved around sitting directly in front of the deities while listening to arousing music in the background. For others it entailed disappearing behind a secret wall located directly behind the deities and then appearing minutes later the side of Shiva and Sai Baba, a saint from western India. One other appealing act I noted among women adherents is the application of forehead dyes of a variety of colors known as Bindi among Hindus. A lady worshipper explained to me that the forehead adornment mark is made from a concoction of red turmeric and zinc oxide and dye. Though a prerogative of married women, girls may also choose to wear Bindi. For married women, it is a promising indication of matrimony that shepherd opulence, grants happiness and offspring and elevates social standing. Also, I saw women devotees dip their fingers in a bowl-like container holding what I thought was a kind of nice smelling frankincense and other sorts of perfumeries and cologne. This type of sweet-smelling aroma was not new to me given that I am from the ‘Land of Punt’ or ‘Land of the Gods’-a connotation coined by ancient Egyptians in their travels to the Horn of Africa during the reign of Queen Hatshepsut.

My visit to the temple coincided with the preparation for Navaratri Garba- a special occasion where men and women dance to observe the defeat of Lord Rama over the historically contumacious Ravana whose effigy is burnt and blown up to pieces amid applause and ululation. Though not lit, the neon decorations on the ceilings of the temple and the beautifully colored bright fabric hanging from the edges of the walls must have been set for an occasion of vital importance to adherents of Hinduism. Right in the middle of the temple, a large bell suspended from an extended chain gracefully dangled above the assortment of idols. Beneath the bell, lay a charity box for Bihar flood relief and an idol of India’s most sacred animal, the cow.  Hinduism is a religion of many gods and goddesses. As explained by the caretaker of the temple, Mr. Goyal, a summary of the basic beliefs of Hinduism is outlined below:

1.      Belief in an all-pervasive supreme being who is immanent and transcendent.

2.      Belief in the divinity of the four Vedas, primordial hymns.

3.      Belief in universal creation, preservation, and dissolution.

4.      Belief in Karma, the law of cause and effect.

5.      Belief in reincarnation and liberation from cycle of rebirth.

6.      Belief that divine beings exist in unseen worlds.

7.      Belief in an enlightened master or Sat guru.

8.      Belief in the sacredness of all life and the practice of ahimsa.

9.      All religions are genuine paths to god

There was no congregation on this material day. Apart from a few individual adherents who supplicated and bowed down before a few idols here and there, by and large the atmosphere changed as we approached afternoon hours. Unfortunately, the caretaker was overwhelmed by the multitude of adherents, visitors, and children and so he did not have time to explain his religious and educational background. The knowledge I gained from the study of Hinduism on this material day will remain ingrained in my mind forever.

MY ENCOUNTER WITH THE WILD

After three days of rest in my new residence, I decided to venture into the woods. I glanced at the devastated scenery; deliberate land degradation was evident everywhere. Badda-uu-uu had disappeared, dhasheegii Aaminow was nowhere to be seen and extinct. I got worried and dumbstruck.

Then a surprise event evolved immediately. I realized that the hot, burning tropical sun of Africa had instantaneously transformed into a cool, Shangri-La. What shaded me from the tropical blaze was an artificial phenomenon. Multitudes of Leptoptilos crumenifus were hovering overhead.

Minutes later, only one landed nearby then walked towards where I was standing. At first, I felt startled. "Don't worry Makina. I'm your old friend, Baamboow Cantallaa', he whispered from a distance. Within minutes, I felt at ease. As he got closer, we both started weeping. He hugged me and I could feel the soft touch of his natural, golden tie. Baamboow, how are you doing? "I'm a bit heartbroken Makina for man has been unjust to us for the years you were away", he cried ceaselessly. I wiped the rolling tears from his eyes and kissed him on both cheeks.

Strange though, I could see various wild animals and every Aves species trooping towards my direction. What caught my sight was Struthio camelus molypdophanes---the world's largest, flightless, and the most beautiful bird on earth. It was an ostrich or Goroyo. Without mincing words, I roared at her like an agitated Leo panthera (lion), saying "Goroyooy gabbalkaa dhac", with the intention of teasing her. She burst into laughter, wrapped her feathery plumes round my entire body such that I resembled as if I wearing silken regalia. Like lovers in romantic act, the prudent and talkative Goroyo opened her mouth wide enough, then licked my cheeks. Then we shook hands and thereafter she broke into a ceremonial dance that was intended to welcome me into the broken habitat.

After Goroyo stood aside to give me the chance to welcome everyone, a stinking, carcass-eating hermaphrodite who introduced himself as Crocuta crocuta (hyena), extended his/her hand to me. After shaking hands as a gesture of goodwill, I asked him/her if he/she ever brushed his/her visible rotten teeth. "I haven't been to a Dentist for the years you were away", he/she responded with anger splashed on his face. "The dental beauty of our species depends on feeding and since we have nothing to eat, we've suffered immense tooth decay", was his/her response.Unfortunately, Mr. Makina, like humans, we don't brush with Salvadora persica (caday). To avoid our teeth stick together, when sleeping, we do place one of our front legs in our mouths.

Then I turned my attention to a group of the towering Giraffa Camelopardalis reticulata (giraffe). After shaking hands with each one, I asked them what reduced their original gigantic shapes into such decrying infirmity. They claimed their environmental sanctity had been violated unjustly by callous humans who were working in cahoot with greedy businessmen. Looking around my sides, many of the Acacia sp. like Acacia bussei, Acacia albida, Acacia senegal, and other perennial trees have become extinct because of deforestation. To add insult to injury, the giraffes spoke alien languages that were distinct from the previous ones I was accustomed to. It was mind-boggling to me that many spoke different accents that I could not comprehend. Some spoke the Maay language, others in Afaan Booraan, Aweer or Booni, and the accents of Ethiopia, and Somaliland. On inquiring the cause of their geo-linguistic differences, they claimed they were refugees from Somalia who were uprooted from their original habitats by war. I sensed some suffered from Buufis, and given the chance they would have opted for migration to the West. A young calf who was crying uncontrollably, asked me to intervene and find them a better place.

Even though time was running out for me, there was no way I could depart without paying homage to my dear friend Loxodonta africana (elephant). The elephant, named after Surah Fil (Chapter 105) of the Qur'an, the Meccan Surah, reminded me of Abraha al-Ashram's invasion of the Kaaba. The Surah is in Juz 30, has 5 verses, 23 words and contains 96 letters. Of the 13 elephants, one named Mohamoud and who is in paradise, refused to partake in the destructive adventure. Since elephants deserve better respect, I greeted them with Asalaamu Caleykum. After a brief discussion, I left them with the humorous saying, "libaaxii Alamtarana soo dhaaf." With blasts of laughter, each one waved me goodbye.

MEMORIALIZING THE PAST

Yesterday, I had a hectic day searching for a memory card for my Sony HI-8 Camera. Finally, close to sunset, a Gikuyu friend sold one to me. It was bought in Mororo. Strange enough, even the memory card is Sony. Nowadays, every Dick, Tom, and Harry is a Photographer. The same applies to every Diifley, Deredleey, and Dareenleey with a Smartphone.

Due to globalization and human inter-connectedness and the world transforming into a global village, our own Geeljire and Jilley, whether in Addoo Booddaa, Wallu Gabaaba, Dheekaa Harja, Asaaqo or Kamoor Arba or Arba Daboolo, can now, with ease, teleconference and as well video-conference with the livestock owners anywhere in the world as long us data bundles are available from Safaricom and other carriers.

To better memorialize our past, I'd suggest we look for hand pictorialization or graphic experts who can redraw the special changes or events our people have been through that are worth recollecting. We need to have a vivid recollection or depiction of the old bridge, the one and only loudspeaker around the main prison that blazoned "Dheerow, Dheerow, Dheerow--Dheerooow adigana Dheeroow--dhinaca iga soo joogsoo dhunkashada mar ii dhiibee", and the only two main gates--one around where Garissa Yarey and Sankuri Road converge near the graveyard where there was a mtaro and the other one was near the old Father John. This was the era of forced villagization--a kind of concentration camp.

The old town deserves pictorial recreation. It is worth recollecting the afternoon and evening children's play times and playgrounds. The hide-and seek after maqrib song like:

Loo loo loow
Loon daaroow
Kureydi ciddaa
Waan boornaa
Waana bakisnaa
Sac la booranaa
Waa balaayee
Soo baxaay...

Boys teasing of young girls with the song:
Foodleey fajo
Fiijaan isgeli
Faataxa burburi
Loodaayn horteed
Heey noo dheh

The insulting language can be paraphrased to give it better, appealing taste that rhymes with modernity.

The dress code of the men and women of old should be put into perspective. The men's bafta and hidha (ceylon) and ladies' baluugleey that were garxir (gareys) with one breast visible on one side, the kabo Carbeed sandals (dacas) and men's Dood and Leylon (nylon) shoes, the hagoog headscarf, and other olden regalia could be included.

Fauna and flora of all types deserve enumeration. What were the favorite fruits children ate those days? Later miraa chewers started from munching the Kamoora shrub. Mareer fruits, Janow branches, Dheekaa Booneed, Lika, and roots and tubers were delicacies. Those who could not afford Big-G or chewing gums enjoyed Hambaq (xabag). What happened to the Dana plant?

Please note that I'm a trained Photographer previously (1998) employed by QUALEX Inc, USA.