Episodes in Blossoms of the Savannah: Episode 1-5

Blossoms of the Savannah: Episodic Analysis By Wafula Wekati

Episode 1: Journey to Nasila  (Pg 1-10)

 

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1.       What is the main event in this episode?

Ole Kaelo's family is relocating from Nakuru to Nasila following his retrenchment from Agribix Limited.

 

2.       Who are the characters involved in this episode?

In this episode we meet Ole Kaelo and his family - his wife Mama Milanoi and daughters Taiyo and Resian.

After the relocation Taiyo would miss Nakuru's crowded streets, the bustle and excitement of the retail and wholesale markets and its boisterous bus stage. She would also miss her boyfriend Lenjirr. (P 3)

Resian is not interested in working at her father's shop in Nasila. She has dreams of enrolling at Egerton University to take a course in Veterinary Science. She asks Taiyo to persuade their father to allow them to go back to Nakuru and join the university.

Ole Kaelo comes off as hostile and aggressive. Taiyo recalls the time he refused her permission to attend an extravaganza in Mombasa. She lost the faith and trust she had in him then. He also detests Resian. He had prayed for at least 3 boys and was infuriated when his second born child turned out to be a girl.

Mama Milanoi ponders what awaits them in Nasila. She hopes her daughters would be married off to reputable sons-in-law but is worried about FGM, an endeared cultural practice in Nasila, since her daughters are uncircumcised.

 

3.       What actions/activities are the characters involved in in this episode?

Taiyo and Resian watch as loaders pack goods into the vehicle. Resian makes it clear that she has ambitions of joining Egerton University. Mama Milanoi and Ole Kaelo are busy with the bustle of relocation. He had informed her earlier about the retrenchment and imminent relocation.

 

4.       How do other characters react to these actions?

Mama Milanoi was shocked when Ole Kaelo broke the news of retrenchment and relocation. However, she embraced the idea after her husband convinced her not to worry about the change. Taiyo and Resian have reservations about moving to Nasila. They are concerned about the change in lifestyle and their education.

 

5.       What is the moral/lesson/value in this episode?

In this episode, we appreciate the inevitability of change. In life, some situations are unavoidable.

Ole Kaelo has worked at Agribix Limited and lived in Nakuru with his family for over 20 years but time has come to move. They have little choice but to embrace the unprecedented change.

It is vital to accept change and adapt to new situations that are inescapable.

The relocation from Nakuru to Nasila may symbolise change in lifestyle, culture, mindset etc. Nasila culture is characterised by constant change and progress and some aspects have been inevitably shed off. 

Change is surely inexorable.  

 

BONUS

6.       What are the main issues in this episode?

• Education
• Culture – marriage, FGM
• Change
• Male Chauvinism

 

Episodes in Blossoms of the Savannah:

Episode 2: Reception at Nasila (p10-20)

 

1.      What is the main event in the episode?

The Kaelos arrive in Nasila to a warm reception. They are received by Ole Kaelo's younger brother, Simiren. The family settles into the new lifestyle.

2.      Who are the characters involved in this episode?

In this episode we meet Simiren, Ole Kaelo's younger brother.

Simiren and other relatives give Ole Kaelo and his family a cordial welcome. Simiren is a strict adherent to his people’s customs and traditions. He has 4 wives and 16 children. He respects his elder brother Ole Kaelo. He helped Ole Kaelo in buying and selling livestock and constructing his shop and residential building when he was away in Nakuru. (P 15-16)

Mama Milanoi feels uncomfortable because Resian and Taiyo are not circumcised.

Resian tells Taiyo that she is not ready to be a parent soon. She will consider such trivial issues after she obtains a degree.

In this episode, we also meet a callous young man who harasses Taiyo and Resian because they are “intoiye nemengalana”

 

3.      What actions/activities are they involved in?

We appreciate the positive tenets of Nasila culture owing to the warm reception the Kaelo's receive in Nasila.

“When they step out of the vehicle, the girls were hugged, kissed and their heads touched by uncles, cousins, aunts and other relatives they had never met.”

The party then sits around a bonfire to enjoy roasted meat together. (P 11)

Since Nasila culture favours the male gender, Ole Kaelo is confronted with a daunting issue where the elders have been deriding him since he only has one wife who has borne him 2 daughters – no son.

The sensitive issue, however, is the fact that his daughters are uncircumcised (P 13)

Taiyo and Resian are confronted and harassed by a tall heavyset young man who raises reservations about their state of being “intoiye nemengalana”. He grabs Taiyo’s arm and tells the girls that there is no place in the society for uncircumcised women like them. He does not consider them “decent women.”

4.      How do other characters react to these actions?

Taiyo and Resian are confused because they did not expect to be received so warmly by a crowd of exultant and joyful relatives.

Ole Kaelo was angered by the elders who were compelling him to marry more wives. He called them megalomaniacs who were stuck in archaic traditions that ought to be moribund; buried and forgotten.

Taiyo and Resian are terribly shaken when they are accosted by the brute, who harasses them for being uncircumcised. Although they wear brave faces and try to fight back, they are profoundly upset and disturbed.

 

5.      What is the moral lesson/value/lesson in this episode?

Some cultural practices make innocent peoples suffer. Nasila is male-dominated and some men feel like they have every right to dictate what women can or cannot do. This causes women untold grief/agony.

The elders who compel Ole Kaelo to marry a second wife since the one he has only borne him daughters give the man unnecessary pressure to do something he does not want. This causes him pain. No wonder he is angry at them and he blurts out that some cultural practiced ought to be buried and forgotten.

We also appreciate the positive aspects of Nasila traditions when the Kaelos are received cordially.

Culture may have both good and bad sides.

 

BONUS

6.      What are the main issues addressed in this episode?

•          Family
•         Culture – FGM
•          Gender inequality (male chauvinism)

 

 

Episodes in Blossoms of the Savannah: 

Episode 3: Ole Kaelo's meeting with Ole Supeyo (P 20-26)

 

1.      What is the main event in this episode?

Ole Kaelo visits his mentor Ole Supeyo with a view of listening to his wise counsel as he tries to fit back into the Nasila way of life. He also wants to seek some advice concerning his business that is the agricultural inputs shop he set up in Nasila.

 

2.      Who are the characters involved in this episode?

Soin Ole Supeyo is a 61 year old and a member of the Imolelian clan. He is a self-made business magnate that rose from a cattle trader to a reputable man of means. He owns the largest sheep ranch in Nasila, a fleet of lorries, shops, real estate etc.

Ole Supeyo is a respected elder and Ole Kaelo considers him his mentor.

He did not attend school and is a conservative conformist of culture. He has 6 wives and about 32 children. All his sons were sent to school while his daughters were married off to elders in Nasila.

He believes that women are a wild gender that has to be tamed through the cherished culture of FGM. This is why he clashes with Minik ene Nkoitoi, a fiery crusader against FGM and early marriage, when she tries to stop him from circumcising his daughters.

In this episode, Ole Kaelo visits him for wise counsel.

 

3.      What actions/activities are they involved in?

Ole Kaelo visits Ole Supeyo and they talk about  a few issues, key among them business. Ole Kaelo reveals that he is about to secure a lucrative 4 years' contract to supply all government institutions in Nasila with agricultural inputs.

He tells his mentor that he got help from a man called Oloisudori.

Ole Supeyo warns Ole Kaelo that Oloisudori is corrupt. Ole Kaelo feels a little dispirited and even thinks his mentor is just jealous.

Ole Supeyo equates Oloisudori to a hyena in the homestead. His reputation could rival that of a randy he-goat. (P 26, also 108) He tells Ole Kaelo to keep him away from his daughters.

 

4.      How do other characters react to these actions?

When Ole Supeyo warns Ole Kaelo against involvement with Oloisudori, Ole Kaelo feels a little dispirited. He even thinks his mentor may be jealous of his breakthrough.

Even after the advice and stern warning from a man he considers a confidant and mentor, Ole Kaelo is none the wiser. He does not understand, even though it has been explained.

 

5.      What is the moral/lesson/value?

It is good to seek wise counsel from those who have more experience or knowhow than us. It is even more important to heed wise advice. Ignoring wise advice can lead to unpalatable repercussions as we later find out, in the case of Ole Kaelo.

 

BONUS

6.      What are the main issues in this episode?

•         Culture – FGM
•         Change – war against FGM
•         Gender inequality/ place of women in society
•         Moral decadence

 

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