Grace. Ngoma cia Aka in Gikuyu language, women’s devils in English, Kisulisuli ya wanawake in Kiswahili. Ngoma cia Aka refers to women’s mood swings, a strong driving force occurring once a month during menstruation, pregnancy, and menopause. For ages, the Gīkūyū tribe recognized Ngoma cia Aka occurring in some women once a month. Gīkūyū compared these devils with the whirlwind. Proverbs 1:27-28, NIV describes the calamity like a whirlwind unwearily happening to fools where the wisdom has no chance to rescue the sufferer since wisdom is lacking.
Dictionary.com. Defines a whirlwind as “a relatively small mass of air rotating rapidly around a more or less vertical axis and simultaneously advancing over land or sea: specific categories of whirlwind include dust devil, dust whirl, tornado, and waterspout: The sails were carried up to the mastheads by the force of the whirlwind.”
The victims of Ngoma cia Aka misinterpret their condition as feeling tired or lousy; other Gīkūyū may refer to the sufferers as crazy. The Gīkūyū husband may call his wife proud since she is pregnant. And at menopause, count her proud because the daughters and sons are now grown. And support her with her needs and lost respect for her husband.
The wrong interpretations of a major health issue, mood swings, deny the victims the necessary support and medical treatment. The victims may believe other people judging them and may refrain from seeking help.
There is danger in a family and the community without knowledge about this crucial health problem with some women. Down the road, a great calamity may befall a member of the family or community unaware. Some victims die, lose marriages, jobs, and others get permanent damage without realizing the cause of their death and destruction. “
For ages, Gīkūyū men feared Ngoma cia Aka for they overwhelm them. These devils destroy everything and the whole family within few minutes. Maybe these Ngoma cia Aka are not limited to Gīkūyū women only; other women in other cultures may experience the same problems during the previous occasions.
The good news- there is a solution regardless of your culture. The sufferer seeks help. Seek medical help, maybe a gynecologist soon the problem is noticed.
The Gīkūyū parents take responsibility to find out if your young daughter is a victim of Ngoma cia Aka. Support and give comfort to her. Ngoma cia Aka is natural and unhealthy to deal with alone at home.
There is literature out there revealing that some postpartum mothers kill their little kids or them. At menopause, the mothers or wives suffer from mood swings. Some victims may choose to go to a hiding quiet place or return to their parent’s home or brother’s house. Some women suffer from hot sweat when it is cold; The doctor helps the victim.
Ngoma cia Aka unaware attacks the victim anywhere, at home, job, store, in an airplane, ship, garden, etc. The victims may not realize any difference in her behavior. They may not connect their menstruation, pregnancy, postpartum, or menopause to these occurrences. Some feel tired and needing not be bothered. The people around them would not know the cause of the altered behavior.
Most Gīkūyū parents may not account for their young daughters at the moment. Instead of support of the daughter, curse or spank her. Your young daughter may not connect bleeding as related to her feeling tired and having a bad day. Be alert of your young daughter(s) age beginning the age of eight and educate and support her accordingly. In addition to medical help, there is lots of literature for rich foods in iron to replace the lost iron during the bleeding.
I get emotional tears as I write, for I suffered and had not understood the cause as a young girl. My mother had a difficult time understanding how to handle my mood. She described me as of great anger. She did spank me. When I grew older, she made all the necessary and possible noise to me. I knew she loved me. I was not aware of my anger once a month. I cried with no reason for it.
My mother alerted the late husband of my anger. He went through my crying mood. He did not know how to help me. Any time I cried, he told me, “you have a problem. You better know what your problem is.” He said that to me. He made me cry more because I did not realize I acted differently than other usual times.
Our three daughters became victims of Ngoma cia Aka. My late husband handled four women in the house. In addition, he faced pressures from my five pregnancies, five postpartum, and finally, the menopausal force. It seemed as though there was four female conspiracy against him in the house. Thank God he made it. He deliberately checked with me if girls and I had agreed to behave a certain way toward him occasionally. The late father and I missed recognizing the Ngoma cia Aka playing a part in the family.
In college, I learned about human development from conception to death. I understood myself and the changes the body goes through and alter some chemicals and cause instability in behavior. Though I got the knowledge very late, I appreciate sharing it with my adult children, families, and others.
Proverbs v 8 addresses the son. The father, let your son know as his vocal voice gets deep, the sister begins bleeding. Let the son know the seeds-sperms will form in him, and the bleeding of his sister is a seed. Suppose he puts his penis in his sister or another girl’s birth canal; his seed and her seed combine to make a baby. Do not let another person or media teach your kids. It is the responsibility of both parents to do it.
The father plays wisely, budgets for food, clothing, school fees, rent, or mortgage, including shaving tools for son in the budget. And pads for your young daughter and the mother’s menstruation pad. Father marks the calendar for the deadline to pay bills. Mark the dates your daughter and the mother bleed to handle them gently. Father, the head of the household, and be familiar with all the systems and services rendered.
Father advises the son and the daughter to listen to the parents. About choosing good relations against the bad ones. Both parents set excellent examples for children to follow. For instance, both parents live together as husband and wife. Show your daughter-in-law to live with your son, Father, love your wife to show your son loves his wife. Vise vasa with the wife exemplary.
Let the grandkids visit the grandparents living in one house to leave behind a wealthy legacy.
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge” (Proverbs 1:7, NIV). To fear God is to honor God who created our body in his image. He is the source of wisdom and knowledge.