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Luanda Magere: A legend whose spirit lives on

[ Posted On: 2006-10-15 ]

Of all the famous Luo legends, that of Luanda Magere stands out as the most recent and, perhaps, most tangible.

The site where the great legend Luanda Magere is said to have turned into a stone. The site is popular with many people who come to consult the spirit of the man who is said to have been a great warrior.

He is reputed to have been an invincible warrior who turned into a rock after his younger wife betrayed him and enemies killed him.

Around this legend, many others are springing up, and the story of a man who may have been killed in the early years of the 19th Century just keeps getting new life as time grows.

Residents of Nyang’oma location in Nyando District believe they live where Magere was killed. And they claim the invincible warrior still appears to them in dreams.

A brownish rock shaped like a curved back of a human being, which has partly been sunk into the ground, is quite visible at the quiet site where Magere is said to have died. It is believed to be Magere’s body.

The site is about 12km from the Awasi-Chemelil road.

Magere is said to have been a gigantic warrior who never threw his spear to kill enemies at battlefields but stabbed one enemy after another at close range.

His body was said to be as hard as a stone and no enemy spear would pierce it.

It is believed that Magere single handedly killed tens of thousands of Nandis and Kipsigis following the prolonged feud before walking into the enemies’ trap.

The story has it that the Nandi and Kipsigis lured Magere into marrying their beautiful daughter to spy on him to unravel his source of strength.

One day, Magere fell ill and in the absence of his elder wife, instructed his new wife to make few cuts on his shadow and apply traditional medicine.

To her amazement Magere bled when she made the incisions on his shadow. She discovered where Magere’s strength lay. The young wife fled her marital home, when she was seven months pregnant, to report her findings to her community.

Soon a war broke out between the Luo and the Kipsgis and Magere’s elder wife cautioned him against going to war, saying the young wife had discovered his secrets.

But Magere would not hear of this and proceeded to the battlefield at Lela – about five kilometres from where Magere turned into a rock.

It is believed Magere killed the greatest number of Nandis and Kipsigis on this particular day before a brave warrior sneaked behind him and stabbed his shadow.

Pregnant women are not allowed to step on the site of the rock. If they do, they will miscarry, the villagers say.

"Females who know about Magere come and stand metres from the stone. But those that have reached menopause can even come and touch the rock," says 79-year old Peter Obondo, on whose land the legendary warrior is said to have died.

Residents claim that they still come across skeletons belonging to those killed in the wars that were fought at the turn of the 18th Century.

Mr Pascal Ochuka, a cane farmer, says he found skeletons and remains of rusted spears and arrows he believes were weapons used in those wars.

The rock is regarded as a shrine and residents believe it comes with numerous good tidings.

From the rock, the villagers believe they can get solutions to drought, family problems and political crisis.

"We slaughter sheep and chicken here either as a sacrifice to appease Magere’s spirits or just as food for the villagers," says Obondo.

There are residents who claim that Magere appears to them in dreams and tells them to prepare for planting well ahead of bumper harvests.

"Rainfall and fertility of this area is testimony that it is a revered and sacred place. It is here that we pray for rain, wisdom and strength," Obondo says.

Hunters sharpen spears and pangas on the stone. They believe that they will not go back home empty-handed from their hunting excursions after sharpening spears on the rock.

The villagers also say there are specific elders from the Luo community that Magere speaks to directly.

"We get visitors, from as far away as Suba District, who come to have conversations with Magere then return home," Obondo says.

This rock is accepted as concrete evidence that Magere lived. The site is kept alive by traditional war weapons — including a spear and shield — believed to belong to Magere.

The artefacts are placed under an indigenous tree next to the rock.

On another branch of the same tree hangs a traditional smoking pipe, which Magere is believed to have been smoking in times of war pitting the Luo against the Nandi and Kipsigis.

Yet, according Luo Council of Elders chairman Mr Riaga Ogallo, Magere’s death may have taken place shortly after the arrival of colonialists. That was more than 100 years ago.

Apart from the war regalia and the pipe, a clay pot — covered with a calabash, containing drinking water drawn from a stream near River Nyando, about 100 metres away — is also placed at the site.

Who brings this water?

Leafy indigenous trees provide shade to the revered site that today is more of a shrine.

Nothing represents modernity at the sacred site apart from a tin lamp used by tourists who visit the area and stay overnight.

Visitors brave the rough terrain and often muddy impassable narrow pathways to catch a glimpse of the mythical legend.

There are different species of snakes within the sugar plantations that surround the site.

But the residents say the snakes are friendly because of the presence of Magere’s spirits.

White butterflies — believed to signify and symbolise hope, strength and posterity — fly around the site.

A framed-picture of the Legio Maria spiritual leader, Melkio Ondetto, also graces the site.

But if you think somebody is making money out of the site by collecting money from visitors, you are wrong.

Locals do not accept cash or any kind of payment from anybody visiting the site. The villagers say the spirits of the hero would be disturbed if the people he defended in war use his name and body for personal gain.

Ogalo says the site where the body of the legend is believed to lie is revered like other historical sites in the province — such as Simbi Nyaima and Nyamgondho.

"These are our cultural heritage, which must be preserved. They are places elders converge in times of need," he added.

Mr John Rama, an elder from South West Kisumu, however says the events could be much older, dating four centuries back.

The events, Rama says, could have taken place in the late 16th Century during the migration of the Luo. According to him, the fighting was sparked off by squabbles between brothers from different Luo clans.

The brothers were Odongo and Opiyo. Odongo had moved on to occupy an area near Kericho and soon his descendants multiplied to occupy most of Kericho and Nandi areas.

Opiyo remained behind and he also had many descendants. But soon the descendants of the two began to quarrel over land, pasture and water and that is what led to the fight between the Luo and Nandis and Kipsigis.

Obondo, on whose land the invincible Luo warrior is said to have breathed his last, says Magere disappeared from the battlefield after he was stabbed before his body was discovered in the form of a rock.

He says the area suffered a two-year drought before he appeared in a dream saying where he was.

"He appeared to old men in a dream directing them to where he was. However, at first they could not reach him as he was in a bush a few metres from River Nyando, where nobody could find him," says Obondo.

The old man says it rained heavily for three consecutive days after Magere’s body (the rock) was discovered and the community offered sacrifices to pay their respects.

Scholars, tourists, students and pupils are among the daily visitors to the site.

Article Source: http://www.afroarticles.com/article-dashboard

About The Authors:

Dan Okoth. Also contributing to this story is Author - Harold Ayodo
Published - Sunday October 15, 2006

| View Profile & All Articles By: Dan Okoth |

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