In Partnership with VT Advisory Board
Banner Art detail: Sadiq Somjee, "Stick Wood"
Wood of the Walking Sticks is Often Made from Peace Trees
Peace trees are sacred, and they are beautiful with green and often smooth, and sometimes shining foliage. They give a smoothing feeling to the touch, the eye. and thus to the body.
- Mzee Koko Kgongo: Elder Hunchback (Jua)
- Mzee Pembe Mbuzi: Elder Goat Horns (Kot)
- Mzee Kofia Miguu: Elder Legged Hat (Mukwe)
- Mzee Kobe: Elder Tortoise (Poley)
- Koko Vidole Kimbu: Elder Chameleon Toes (Kavu)
- Mzee Mweusi: Elder Black (Walima)
- Mzee Mwekundu: Elder Red (Ziwa)
- Mzee Shingo Upande: Elder Who Looks the Other Way (Kariobangi Interfaith Reconciliation Committee)
- Mzee Imara: Elder Upright (Asai)
- Mzee Ngamia Nundu Nundu: Elder Camel Humpback (Alinjin)
Elders’ walking sticks are held between men to stop fights. They are exchanged among peers of the adversary groups during negotiations to close the conflicts. Thus, they are also known as peace staffs and have distinctive shapes and properties of the wood sensed touch and sight. In the book, they have personalities and names in Swahili. They are made into peers of Alama, so he may speak with them as an elder to an elder.
Stick Wood
Alama carries Koko Kigongo when he leaves home on his long walk. In Swahili Koko Kigongo means Grandmother Hunchback. The stick has a curve at the top that looks like a hunchback. The stick belongs to his people called the Jua in the story, and it’s usually carried by women.
Kavu Oil Stick