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- Massai Susanna - as of 18, when married built own house, use fire to cook food (up to women to collect wood, can also put some animals inside the house; also chimney - like window called elucia (sp?), cow dung used as mortar. Fire place is to the right of the door. Traditional way of making fire = stick is wrapped and causes fire.

- no formal measuring to plan building

The bigger your fire, the more people ask you to borrow it. (therefore you shouldn't need to ask others, it's best/you're the most powerful if you never have to).

Malika - also next to door to release smoke 

- Dennis - Lou - it's men's responsibility to construct the house but women help construct / mix cement for the walls; new home is set up at about 30 yrs or above (nowadays younger); symbolically cutting a cork is the ritual that shows he's ready to have his own house separate from parents. If a woman got on top of
the house to build, it's a humiliation. Ownership of home is always attributed to men. Houses are round, 3 meters, thatched papyrus canopy has a tip that shows there's a man of the house (alive); if no tip, man is deceased. If re-marries, new hubby inherit the widow and house, so tip goes back up. Inheritor had to come from w/in the family line, usu. brother, or cousin to ensure family genes remained in tact.
Polygamy =
Mo = very encouraged, path to leadership
(order of #s of wives) in relation to where homes are placed

- Children learn early (by age 10) how to self protect
from fire (& wild animals on their walks to school or to fetch water)

- usually use khangas to curry kids around (Malika)
- use taboos to scare kids, ex, taboo to sit on your mother's stool too close to fire.

- Taboos used as a way to interact w/ environment.

- Swanhili saying: if a child cries for the razor blade
give it to him; burn a little bit w/ a stick just to
teach them that it hurts.