ABANYALA BA KAKAMEGA: List of Taboos

Taboos among Abanyala existed as emisiro that are believed to lead consequences such oluswa (self inflicted curse). Some aspects of taboos had a hidden reason behind them while others have remained a mystery. Most cultural activities have taboos invoked.

1. Taboos related to funerals
To ensure some expected behaviour is achieved during funeral, the following are some of the taboo.

1. A person coming back from a funeral is never beaten and should never beat anybody. That it invited death and suffering.
2. A person from a funeral never visit an extremely sick person. That it lead to the death of the sick. Visiting could make you tell the sick about the death. This could affect the sick psychologically.
3. A widow given responsibility to bury the dead had to visit her clan to be given chicken and flour. 
4. A widow should not participate in house chores such as cooking before burial. That it made the dead person's spirit angered and caused more deaths.
5. If a person dies away from the home, then spirit of the person has to be collected back to the home.
6. Never jump across an empty dug grave. It leads to death in the family.
7. Widow from the ritual of calling relatives to a funeral should never enter any other person's house. That is was akin to taking the spirit of death into the other home.
8. The manhood of the dead should never be trapped in between thighs during burial. It lead to destruction of the family.
9. Women never dug the grave or entered the grave to bury the dead. It lead to more death in the family.
10. The flappy breasts of a very old dead woman should never be allowed to tie into a knot. It lead to extinction of the generation born of her.
11. Family members should never go to farms to cultivate on the day of burial. That it brought crop calamities such as insects, deseases and hunger.
12. Family member should never engage in conjugal duties during the four days of mourning at the homes around. That it lead to a curse in the family.
13. If you chance upon a discovered dead body on the path, pick a twig and throw at it. That the leaf takes back the spirit of death.
14. Pregnant woman should never look into the grave; it lead to stillborns.
15. If an animal falls in the open grave before burial, then it is slaughtered. That it is a sign of bad omen signaling more death.
16. Those who participate in grave digging should never go to their home with grave soil. That going with the soil was inviting the spirit of death into their home.
17. Somebody to sit next to the dead until burial lest death visits the home gain. Reason- the causer of death could get opportunity to do his final witches.
18. Women who had extramarital affairs should not sit at the head side of the dead husband.

2. Taboos related to children

1. A child was never named after a living person. That if it so happened, the name was for whoever the that living person was named after.
2. A child should never sit on a winnowing tray; if it so happens, its mother dies. This discouraged children soiling the winnowing trai for fear of their mother's death.
3. The young not to stand or sit legs apart behind a seated elder. It lead to a curse.
4. Never pick up a sleeping child without calling out its name. That its spirit may get lost.
5. A child was not to grow teeth before bring taken to their home for shaving. It lead to bad omen in life.
6. A child should not start by growing upper teeth. It leads to bad luck in life.
7. A young person was never supposed to sit on a chair legt him by the elder. That it leads to a curse.
8. A child should never look at at an elderly person bathing; it caused blindness.
9. A child who sits on a cooking stone leads to the mother's death.
10. Never walk with a child darkenes to be hit by a flying bat. That it lead to death of the child.

3. Taboos related to animals

1. If a bull mounts or gores a woman; it is slaughered and the woman or his clan's people paid. Among other reasons, it was meant to instill responsibility in one grazing the animal to be careful.
2. Never pay dowry of an animal with downward facing horns or animal showing signs that it will remain hornless in its growth.
3. Never bury a goat, cattle or sheep (esiayo) with its skin on; you will reduce the animal wealth.
4. A cattle going to be slaughtered should not moo. If it does, the ancestors have refused.
5. If a cattle deficated on your body, it was sign of good luck. This made those looking after animals not to feel offended.
6. If a cock crows at wrong hours at night, it has to be slaightered. That it signals danger.
7. If you are uncircumcised, never kill a lizard or a chameleon. It leads to too much bleeding. 
8. After initiation, boys were not allowed to mount animals.
9. Never kill a frog that enters the house at night.
10. Never kill and eat an animal that runs into your house while it is being hunted.
11. If a bedwetting youth pees in a hoof and places it on the path to be kicked, bedwetting stops.

4. Taboos about sexual relations

1. A woman not to sleep atop of a man when in love act for purpose of siring the first child; children will kill the father. Made girls not to expose extreme sexual prowess on their first meeting with a man. Also, the herbal charms for trapping wife snatchers worked with missionary position.
2. If you sired a child with a relative, the child had a curse of oluswa. To prevent this, the child was killed at birth by the mother and midwife. If it grew, then one of the parents was excomunicated or killed by being hit with a liver in a ceremony called okhukona mwikhokho (sleeping in the rib cage of a bullock).
3. Never involve in conjugal duties before major traditional function or ritual (omulukha or omuyimo); it won't end successfully or serve the purpose well.
4. If you meet a girl who has olwanda, never talk about it to anybody else.
5. Never direspect the man who broke your virginity; you can die childless.
6. If involved in an extramarital affair, never suckle the child; it may die of ekhira.
7. Never play sex leaning or atop rocks; you can pick a curse called esinomindo. Reason- somebody may have committed suicide on the rock and the rock was an open place

5. Taboos about meals

1. A woman should not eat the gizzard. If she does; she scares wealth.
2. Never eat in your son's house before official welcoming; you destroy his fate.
3. Never eat while propping yourself up using one hand; it brings calamities in the home.
4. Never have a meal with your back facing out of the door in the house.
5. Never jump over busaa drinking straws being used by elders. It leads to a curse.
6. Never break a busaa drinking pot that is being used by old men. It leads to death.
7. Never drink milk and eat meat at the same time in one meal sitting; it drives away wealth.
8. Women not to eat chicken lest she leads to extinction of wealth the home. Gizzard was used by men to know much about the moral standing of the women. Men could be tought to descern coded fidelity information from the structure and texture of the cooked gizzard.
9. Not to whistle when they are cooking or eating lest the food disappears. Reason- whistling could spit saliva in the food.

6. Taboos related to houses and farm structures

1. Never bring down a dead man's house before slaughtering an animal; calamity befalls you.
2. If one thatching a house fell from it, then thatching was suspended for that day. If he continued, then he was not the one to make the apex grass knot called etiko.
3. A woman was not suppossed to climb into a grannary to give grain to a visitor.
4. Daughter-in--law or son-in-law not to enter the father-in-law's bedroom.
5. Children should not climb on top of their parent's house. They remain cursed.
6. A woman or a man was not supposed to lock one of the partners out of the house at night.
7. A woman was never supposed to build and enter a house in a home without a husband.
8. A woman was not supposed to move out of a widow's house back to their home; it lead to death of next husband.
9. A woman was not supposed to climb into the man's main granary. That it invited poverty.

7. Taboos about marriage

1. Omwiwa (sister's children) should not move straight from the uncle's house into marriage; she will have cursed herself.
2. Never shake your parent-in-law's hand or move extremely close unless at time of calamity that requires saving life.
3. A woman was not allowed to dress in the husband's cloth while the husband was still alive. It brought death.
4. A man is not supposed to go for long call inside the house; it leads to a curse.
5. No dowry discussion should start or progress once the girl is pregnant.
6. If ones mother enters the daughter's house and fishes her out of marriage, the daughtet should not go back. It lead to a curse.
7. Two newly married girls should not not eat meal cooked in same pot or same cooking stones until one is given an okey to cook in her house.
8. Two new daughters-in-lawslaws should not be hosted by one mother in her house unless one of them is given an official permission to cook in her house.
9. If the father never paid dowry, then he should not receive dowry from the daughters.
10. Husband or wife not to beat the partner using a cooking stick or a panty. It lead to a curse.
11. Never uproot any of the cooking stones in the kitchen when your man is still alive. That it leads to death.
12. The newly married should never cook for the father-in-law until she is given official permission to do so.
13. The newly married should not open the door of the main house of her mother in law if the father-in-law is inside unless saving a calamity.

8. Circumcision taboos

1. Never sing the song of okhwikulira when you are still uncircumcised; Were Kubi will circumise you.
2. Never circumcise a child the same year that the child's father passes on. It affects the child's generation.
3. Never circumcise a child when the mother is just about to give birth or just after she has given birth.
4. If you have not paid dowry, the mother cannot cook for a circumcised child. That it leads to problems in the child's life. This can only be done after giving the mother amanyasi.
5. Never beat a circumcised candidate between the day of circumcision up to the day of graduation from erumbi.
6. Never look back when being lead to the circumcision arena as a candidate.
7. After circumcision, never greet people especially ladies, by hand.
8. After circumcision, never allow yourself to be rained on. If it did happen, you paid a chicken.
9. Age set members were never to have extra marital affairs among them and their wives lest the meat shared kills the culprit
10. Women, unless a twin brother to the candidate, were not allowed to accampany the boy to be circumcised to the river for mudding. 
11. After circimcision, never look after cattle until after some weeks for it lead to hairy penis. It was meant to ensure boys heal before going for such duties.
12. Owner of house is the one to dig the first hole or foundation; lest the house does not belong to him. Reason- fidelity protection charms were put here.
13. Never screen the name of your mother during circumcision; she will die. It enforced perseverance during the process.
14. If a circumcisor falls down while running towards circumcision candidate, he has to give turn to another one to do the circumcision.
15. Once circumcised, neve take a meal from any other home unless that home has another circumcised candidates. Doing so delays healing.
16. Never throw fruits of sodom apples between the legs of circumcised boys. It lead to bleeding.
17. A circumcisor should never involve himself in extra-marital activities.
18. Never circumcise two brothers in one year; it made one unsuccessful. Reason- there were cultural right required to be done on the brother which a fellow age set was bared from performing.

9. General work taboos

1. If your jembes hit each other on th farm; go home lrst you will fight over sharing the far in future. Instill safety when working.
2. Woman climbing on the mans house; man could die. Not to expose the man's erresponsibility in providing shelter.
3. Never swing a glowing splint for you will be inviting snake bites.
4. Never sweep around a man who is sitting or standing; he is got red handed in an extra marital affair.
5. Never go to the stream to fetch water after sunset; you may meet a devil.
6. Never sit on water container when you have gone to pick water from the river. It leads to oluswa.
7. Circumcised boys should never sit around firestones during cooking time; it caused blindness.
8. Not to touch on king post (esiro) after a meal. Reason- it was the main pillar hence it could get weak.
9. Menstrating women should not serve the main pot in which traditional beer is to be sipped by straws.

10. Taboos about plants and farm

1. Never chew or swallow any part of castor oil plant called Omukhalakhale. That since it was a plant used to bury people, it could lead to madness, convulsions and eve death.
2. Never cut old fig trees; can bring death or a curse. The major reason was that the trees were esiyeembekho for exhumed skulls.
3. Never plant the red banana species near the window or door of a house. If it buds facing the door and window then it ignited murder in the family.
4. Never use omuchembe, esikulakusi and omwirima as firewood. It breaks the marriage.
5. Never carry leaves or seeds of devils trumpet together with cereals or vegetable. It brough sudden madness in the family.
6. Never plant a banana while standing; it brings poverty.
7. Menstrating women or anybody carrying meat was never allowed to ass in a farm with crops that have just germinated. That it caused scotching effects to crops.
8. Never uproot a mushroom that has a leaf on top of it; it is booked by somedy else. If you do, you grow scally legs.

11. Taboos about left handed people
Left habnded were considered natural 'kings' and could not be given any other earthly kinghood.
Could not dish out meat during a cultural function

1. Could not bless other children during any cultural function.
2. They could not wash the dead, dress the dead or go into the grave to make the body of the dead before burial. Doing this lead to suffering until one is given amanyasi.
3. They could not be made leaders of any delegation of those going to pay dowry.
4. They never took an inherited wife as their first wife for it lead to calamities.
5. Could not do the cutting during circumcision
6. Could not lead a cultural function in the community but could only advise.

12. Taboos about insects.

1. Never touch on fireflies and touch on vegetable that is cooked. It makes the vegetable go stale.
2. Never kill esienene that comes into the house in the evening, it is believed you are chasing away visitors from doing a visit.

13. Body taboos

1. If a woman grows a beard and leaves it to grow; will kill the husband. Reason-  to encourage women with beard to be tidy.
2. Never shave a person at night.
3. Never leave shaved hair at the shaving place for a sheep can eat it leading to childlessness.
4. An omwami not pick and eat white ants; he will receive a coup. Rason- could expose leaders nakedness to those eating white ants.

14. Daily activity taboos

1. Not to go to river at sunset; lest you meet Were Kubi taking a shower. Girls who elope had to be discovered early and the pot returned.
2. Men never to take shower very early in morning; they kill family. Reason- showering in morning could make him not to work. Also, most emisaango ended with thriwing the dirt in water in the morning hence kwalekha engwe kwavalukhira emondo.
3. Never walk in rain water during rain; you can be struck by lightning.
4. If you stumble both feets one at a time while going to do harm, then stop your mission.
5. If an animal being hunted enters your house, never kill it. Let it go.
6. If an enemy falls by your feet face diwn, stop the war.
7. To greet your mother in law; you live in querrel with your wife.
8. Never shout a person's name at night; a ghost may hear and trap your voice.
9. A father-in-law should not intentionally pour milk at the daughter-in-law. That it lead death.
10. If you find a nightrunner, never beat him until blood comes out. Doing so makes a person to become a nightrunner.
11. A child crying every time; pronouncing desire to kill parents. Encouraged parents to be responsiblee
12. Never throw out dirt swept from the house at night; it sends away bad luck.
13. Never whistle at night; it brought enemies. Worriour could know where you are and a member could betray you so.