How would you feel if, in church, the worship leader asked you to disclose to your neighbor your yearly wage? This past Sunday at our church, the worship leader, Marcy, announced the familiar verse from Galatians that declares that we are all one in Christ, and went on to explain that Revelation declares that members of every tribe will one day worship at God's throne. Marcy decided that in celebration of this fact, she wanted the congregation to greet each other, making sure to disclose their tribal identity with one another.
This exercise had a chilling effect on the congregation. Many stunned Kenyans rose to greet their neighbors, unsure of how to avoid this very culturally inappropriate activity. The awkward interactions that followed divulged little of the actual tribal affiliations of Karura members, and more often answers sounded forced and bizarre. One woman told me that she was from the "tribe of Jesus." Another man said that he came from the "tribe of Kenya." Another woman, after my friend asked her four times, finally relented and admitted that she came from the Kalenjin tribe. Clearly, tribe still matters in this country, particularly in light of last year's post-election violence.
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