Humanist

Hanging with extended family, especially with my ‘blood line sisters’ of my age-set is among my favorite pass times. Among Iteso, my people, the fourth largest first nation of Uganda, the bonds between and among those within the same age-group (age-set) can be stronger than of siblings within the same nuclear family.

That is the case with me and my extended ‘blood line sisters’. Each time we get an opportunity to meet, time absolutely flies. My ‘blood line sisters’ are quick witted and sharp tongued. Our conversations are punctuated with roaring laughter all the time, for we are all able to take on each other’s jabs.

We don’t get to do it often, because we live far apart, but whenever we get the time to do so, even impromptu, we make the best of it. Each time, I am energized and re-centered. And comforted that we will continue on the legacy of our fathers’ line.

Yes, my female age-set among the family of our late paternal grandfather, Chief Yosia Engatunyun (aka Simba), he would be proud of.

My ‘blood line sister’ Sikola Iretor, for example, is the head of the Engatunyun family. She was elected to head our family through a vote by family members. She is the first female of our line to be the Engatunyun family head.

‘Blood line sisters’, descendants of Chief Yosia Engatunyun.

And so, I find it absolutely hilariously bemusing the shameless audacity of the usurper, the one with deficient manhood within the central logic of Iteso, insists on faking that he is the head of Engatunyun family. When he is absolutely not. He is not even head of a sub-family of the immediate Engatunyun family.

I digress, back to the point.

Iretor is the daughter of my late father’s younger brother, papa Aglasio Okudo, also since rested. They had two different biological mothers and shared a father. Growing up, however, you could not tell. The brothers were so tight, and I feel that ultimately, it is how similarly tight I am with my ‘blood line sister’ Iretor.

Seriously, without Iretor, I probably would never have made investments in buying land and building buildings on it in our ancestral home area. In fact, we are so tight that when, on my behalf, she handled my transactions for me, those whom I bought land from know her and only know me from a far, if at all.

There I was chattering away with Iretor at her shop, and another of my favorite ‘blood line sisters’ of the same age-set passed by, on their way home from church. We lit the place up with chatter and laughter.

I got introduced to my twin grandchildren and other grandchildren through my ‘blood line sisters’ and it was awesome.

‘Blood line sisters with our grand children, the twins. I descended through the line of my late father and Amagor descended through the line of her mother, sister to my late father. Our parents (my late father and her mother) had different mothers, now rested, and shared a father, our late grandfather Chief Yosia Engatunyun.