The Meaning of “Mother Earth”
The recent Sustaining All Life workshops [at the September Climate Week] on the fashion industry, colonialism, racism, and more have taken my mind to many places. I’ve reflected on the fact that most urbanized Kenyans and other Africans my age who were born and brought up in rural areas know exactly the meaning of the words “Mother Earth.” Mother Earth was the provider for every aspect of our lives. The Mother provided for almost every person who grew up in the 1950s and ’60s.
We kept domestic animals, such as cows, goats, sheep, chickens, and rabbits. The animals were raised on our parents’ land, and as children we had to look after [take care of] them. In the evening we milked. Children were fed the milk. Since almost everybody had milk, there were few people to sell it to. The cow also provided us with manure that we used on the crops we consumed. The sheep provided us with wool that was often made into blankets. Our grandfather’s bed was made of cow skin, which made a very good bed. Our grandmothers wore skin as part of their clothing.
Mother Earth took care of everything. The houses we grew up in were made of shrubs that grew in the forest. We used well-prepared mud to make the walls. The rooftop was made of the thatched grass that grew by the river. Cow dung was used to make a nice, smooth floor. We lived in a beautiful round hut that had a fireplace in the middle. The children would sit around the fire when the mother was cooking or the grandmother told stories. They could also go to the grandfather’s hut for life lessons. The neighbours’ children would join us to listen to the stories. A lot of good education happened during the food preparation.
The river provided us with fresh water. Plates and cups were not available, so we used gourds. We would put the water in gourds (similar to pumpkins), another product of nature. Gourds were also used to ferment porridge, a common drink. There was usually nice, cool water in a gourd in one corner of the house, so whenever you needed water you knew where you could get a drink.
Our food was never fried—everything was boiled. We mashed our food. Vegetables and potatoes were mashed to make mokimo, which also sometimes included maize and beans. Mukimo is mostly served as an accompaniment for meat-based stew and nyama choma (grilled meat). Everything we ate was natural and without chemicals.
Leftover food was not kept in a refrigerator; it was kept in a “store.” Every household had a store. Whenever a child came home hungry, they could go there and get something to eat.
Bananas and sugarcane were common crops. When working on the farm, we could eat ripe bananas and sugarcane. In the river, all kinds of insects and tadpoles swam in the fresh water. We knew we had to protect the water and not contaminate it. We wouldn’t poison anything that an animal or humans drank or ate. Even the air was not to be contaminated.
ASSIMILATION
We received messages in church and school that distracted us from our ancestors’ beliefs and replaced our traditional education. Our ancestors taught us life skills and survival skills. Modern education prepared us to go to the city and take on [engage in] white-collar jobs. When those who went to the city came home for the weekend, they were often wearing modern Western clothes—the men in suits; the women in mini-skirts, high-heeled shoes, and afro hair. Women also started straightening their hair (in the rural area we shaved off our hair). Everyone admired the ability to speak English. We were expected to learn English for regular use and to prepare us for white-collar jobs. Job opportunities were restricted to those who could express themselves in English. We still look down upon [consider inferior] our languages, food, clothing, and other traditional practices.
Little by little we became assimilated into the urban lifestyle. We were introduced to the modern way of eating. Everything was deep fried or had a lot of oil in it. There was bread, butter, and processed milk. (Traditionally we fermented our milk, to make it last longer—again, we didn’t have a refrigerator.) We started eating processed food and are now seeing the impact—almost every family is suffering from diabetes and other lifestyle diseases that were not common before. Doctors and others are reminding us to go back to our original lifestyle. But it is hard for today’s young people to appreciate and embrace the traditional food. Companies pump a lot of money into advertising that promotes addictive soft drinks and other processed food.
We used to walk long distances. We used to eat healthy food. We had a lot of fresh air because there were lots of trees around us. We had clean water from the rivers. Our ancestors taught us valuable information that had been handed down from generation to generation. This information prepared boys and girls to become strong and responsible members of the society and to take full responsibility for the next generation. We were deliberately disconnected from this by Western education, which changed how we lived and disrupted our natural environment.
Roads had to be built, buildings had to be erected. Rivers had to be moved to make way for concrete jungles. Trees were cut to give room for more expansion. Knowledge of the old was disregarded. The old people were left alone in the rural areas when everyone else moved to the city.
Below are reports from others who participated in Climate Week.
REPORTS FROM OTHERS
CK—, Democratic Republic of the Congo: Last week was great for me. I am feeling happier, healed, supported, and loved. I had a wonderful time working on the oppression and hurts that I have always carried and sometimes transferred to other people. I loved the listening exchange. I felt cared for when I showed my emotions.
KM—, Kenya: It warmed my heart when everybody listened to me while I expressed myself in my mother tongue [native language]. Discharge is understood in any language. I was delighted to see so many people with different languages speaking and listening to each other. It was a highlight listening to another person with delight, complete respect, and no judgment.
VD—, Rwanda: It’s true that expressing emotions clears one’s mind. I am able to think well when my mind is free from hurts and oppression. From childhood on, I was discouraged from being my biggest, most effective self. I was discouraged from showing my feelings. At the workshop I had moments of feeling angry that I have been hurt, confused, and divided from other humans by oppression. It has made it difficult to work with others in my efforts to address climate change. I’m grateful that I can address such oppression and help prevent it from being passed on to other people and generations. I’m glad that I could bring along a friend to attend some events—it was possible because of the Zoom meetings we have held every two weeks in my Region.
NA—, Somalia: I love connecting with other young people who are fighting climate change. There is no logical reason to give up our dream of a better world. By the time we were saying the goodbyes, everybody wanted to remain behind. People looked happy and connected. I felt encouraged and hopeful. I am energized to continue helping people discharge and heal from oppression and work toward a united world.
Nairobi, Kenya
Reprinted from the RC e-mail discussion list for leaders of wide world change
(Present Time 202, January 2021)