(Inkoko and I playing dress up - well, at least I'm pretending. She's the real thing.)I've traveled around a little bit, and somehow I seem to have met quite a few grandmothers along the way. I've met the grandmothers of some of my friends and some random ones. I've met grandmothers who are the original American grandma, and some who still operate according to their original cultures. 
(Somo, Inkoko, and me at Saale.)
I've met grandmothers who are spry, and some who have settled permanently onto the couch. Besides the occasional grandmas you find pushing shopping carts down the middle of the road (True story: She yelled at me to mind my own business when I tried to help her and her cart to the sidewalk. Who lets their grandma out of the house in such a condition?!), all of these grandmas have quality characteristics in common: supreme friendliness, hospitality, a pleasant plumpness, and a propensity to talk too much and mention personal details everyone knows, but nobody says... except Grandma.
(3 generations: Inkoko, her son Gerrikero, and his 3 children)
"Inkoko" is the Rendille word for Grandma. It's got a nice ring to it, doesn't it? And, while I'm missing my biological grandparents, a substitute is greatly appreciated. So, a few weeks ago, Somo Chawle (my adoptive brother) took me out to Goob Saale, a good hour and a half walk, to visit with his maternal grandmother. She seems to be a bit of a legend around here because she's the mother of so many beloved evangelists and because she's one of the holders of Rendille tradition. According to Lynne Swanepole, it's Inkoko who knows the old chants, ceremonies, and other traditions that, unfortunately, are becoming polluted with outside influences.
Besides her significance to the community, however, she's also a grandma, and a great one at that. She's got a riotous sense of humor - making fun of our broken Rendille, laughing at our Rendille dance moves, asking what kind of warrior we'd like to marry. She told Alicia recently that even though she's the eldest of us two (we're both Chawles by adoption), she's still the shortest.
(Alicia striking a fab pose with Inkoko.)
She's also a wonderful Christian lady who has been instrumental in the evangelism to the Rendille people. On our way back to town from the goob, Inkoko told us to greet everyone at church, her excuse for not coming being that she's probably mid-sixties and not up for a two hour hike in the African bush.
So, Inkoko is one good gramma. The only thing she doesn't do is bake cookies and pies - but then again, who would want to with maize meal and goat butter over an open flame?
(Somo, Inkoko, and me at Saale.)I've met grandmothers who are spry, and some who have settled permanently onto the couch. Besides the occasional grandmas you find pushing shopping carts down the middle of the road (True story: She yelled at me to mind my own business when I tried to help her and her cart to the sidewalk. Who lets their grandma out of the house in such a condition?!), all of these grandmas have quality characteristics in common: supreme friendliness, hospitality, a pleasant plumpness, and a propensity to talk too much and mention personal details everyone knows, but nobody says... except Grandma.
(3 generations: Inkoko, her son Gerrikero, and his 3 children)"Inkoko" is the Rendille word for Grandma. It's got a nice ring to it, doesn't it? And, while I'm missing my biological grandparents, a substitute is greatly appreciated. So, a few weeks ago, Somo Chawle (my adoptive brother) took me out to Goob Saale, a good hour and a half walk, to visit with his maternal grandmother. She seems to be a bit of a legend around here because she's the mother of so many beloved evangelists and because she's one of the holders of Rendille tradition. According to Lynne Swanepole, it's Inkoko who knows the old chants, ceremonies, and other traditions that, unfortunately, are becoming polluted with outside influences.
Besides her significance to the community, however, she's also a grandma, and a great one at that. She's got a riotous sense of humor - making fun of our broken Rendille, laughing at our Rendille dance moves, asking what kind of warrior we'd like to marry. She told Alicia recently that even though she's the eldest of us two (we're both Chawles by adoption), she's still the shortest.
(Alicia striking a fab pose with Inkoko.)She's also a wonderful Christian lady who has been instrumental in the evangelism to the Rendille people. On our way back to town from the goob, Inkoko told us to greet everyone at church, her excuse for not coming being that she's probably mid-sixties and not up for a two hour hike in the African bush.
So, Inkoko is one good gramma. The only thing she doesn't do is bake cookies and pies - but then again, who would want to with maize meal and goat butter over an open flame?
