VOA常速英语2007-Kenya Elders to Curse Officials Over Destruction

By Nick Wadhams
Nairobi
25 October 2007

Elders in Kenya's central highlands are planning to place a traditional curse on town leaders, a tea company, and even local loggers for the destruction of a hill that is sacred to the thousands of Kikuyu people who live nearby. As Nick Wadhams reports from Nairobi, plans for the curse are making regional officials nervous.

According to Kikuyu tradition, Karima Hill, a couple of hours north of Nairobi, is a stepping stone God uses to get from his home to Mount Kenya each day. Two sites atop the hill are meant for ceremonies to bring rain, cure illness, and stop insect invasions

But Kikuyu leaders say the past 20 years have seen Karima Hill devastated¹ by the planting of foreign trees such as eucalyptus² and cyprus that have dried up nearby streams. The trees are cut down for use by a local tea company, which paid the county council for an 80-acre concession³ several years ago.

Locals say the destruction of Karima continues despite repeated government injunctions to stop. So dozens of elders have decided⁴ on drastic action: invoke⁵ a curse on everyone involved and bring misfortune on them and their families.

Kariuki Thuku, who works for an environmental group called the Porini Trust, is from the area and is helping⁶ orchestrate the curse. Elders are asking that spiritualists from around Africa to come to Kenya for the ceremony set for December. Hundreds of people are expected to attend.

Thuku says he has gotten numerous calls from officials in the nearby town of Othaya asking the council leaders to call off plans for the curse.

"This is real, it is no joke," said Kariuki Thuku. "Everyone is worried. Already some of them who have been employed by the tea factory, they cannot go there again, they said 'no no' they do not want that job, for us we do not want to interfere⁷ with that hill anymore. If there is that kind of ceremony about to be done they cannot be said to cut down trees anymore. So, it has caused panic everywhere."

Curses have been an occasional tool for Kenyan communities powerless to stop rampant⁸ deforestation or development. A couple of years ago, elders cast a curse to protect the Giitune Forest in the Meru region. They said anyone who logged in the forest after the curse would be bitten by a snake and turned to humus.

The Kikuyu elders say that Kenya's modern-day legal system has failed them in the case of Karima Hill. The tea company, Iria-Ini, has been given the right to plant trees until the year 2030. And in 2004, the CelTel mobile phone company was given permission to build a network tower there.

The hill is supposed to be overseen⁹ by four Kikuyu clans¹⁰ that live nearby. In 1957, those clans had decided to give the hill to the community, which meant that the local council oversaw¹¹ it. The clans say the council has exploited that power.

The hill is also a potent¹² reminder¹³ of suffering the Kikuyu suffered under colonial rule - the colonial government burned its forests in the early 1950s to flush out Mau Mau fighters said to be hiding there.

Thuku of the Porini Trust says Kikuyu spirituality is closely linked to the environment. Karima Hill is said to have been left by previous generations for people to protect in the present day.

"When they spell out a curse, they literally¹⁴ link all the energies and that is why it is very difficult to separate issues related to environment and spirituality in the indigenous¹⁵ world view," said Thuku. "Because actually our spirituality comes from our own environment, what we understand as God, what we understand as heritage, what we understand as spirituality has direct link and relevance¹⁶ to the eco-features we have in place."

About 200 elders are gathering¹⁷ near Karima to decide the exact curse to cast, and whether to back down at the last minute. Details of the meetings are hard to come by, only people 70 years and older are allowed to attend.

1 devastated   

v.彻底破坏( devastate的过去式和过去分词)；摧毁；毁灭；在感情上（精神上、财务上等）压垮adj.毁坏的；极为震惊的

参考例句：

• The bomb devastated much of the old part of the city. 这颗炸弹炸毁了旧城的一大片地方。
• His family is absolutely devastated. 他的一家感到极为震惊。

2 eucalyptus   

n.桉树，桉属植物

参考例句：

• Eucalyptus oil is good for easing muscular aches and pains.桉树油可以很好地缓解肌肉的疼痛。
• The birds rustled in the eucalyptus trees.鸟在桉树弄出沙沙的响声。

3 concession   

n.让步，妥协；特许(权)

参考例句：

• We can not make heavy concession to the matter.我们在这个问题上不能过于让步。
• That is a great concession.这是很大的让步。

4 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

5 invoke   

v.求助于(神、法律)；恳求，乞求

参考例句：

• Let us invoke the blessings of peace.让我们祈求和平之福。
• I hope I'll never have to invoke this clause and lodge a claim with you.我希望我永远不会使用这个条款向你们索赔。

6 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

7 interfere   

v.(in)干涉，干预；(with)妨碍，打扰

参考例句：

• If we interfere, it may do more harm than good.如果我们干预的话，可能弊多利少。
• When others interfere in the affair,it always makes troubles. 别人一卷入这一事件，棘手的事情就来了。

8 rampant   

adj.(植物)蔓生的；狂暴的，无约束的

参考例句：

• Sickness was rampant in the area.该地区疾病蔓延。
• You cannot allow children to rampant through the museum.你不能任由小孩子在博物馆里乱跑。

9 overseen   

v.监督，监视( oversee的过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He was overseen stealing the letters. 他被人撞见在偷信件。 来自辞典例句
• It will be overseen by ThomasLi, director of IBM China Research Laboratory. 该实验室由IBM中国研究院院长李实恭(ThomasLi)引导。 来自互联网

10 clans   

宗族( clan的名词复数 )； 氏族； 庞大的家族； 宗派

参考例句：

• There are many clans in European countries. 欧洲国家有很多党派。
• The women were the great power among the clans [gentes], as everywhere else. 妇女在克兰〈氏族〉里，乃至一般在任何地方，都有很大的势力。 来自英汉非文学 - 家庭、私有制和国家的起源

11 oversaw   

v.监督，监视( oversee的过去式 )

参考例句：

• He will go down as the president who oversaw two historic transitions. 他将作为见证了巴西两次历史性转变的总统，安然引退。 来自互联网
• Dixon oversaw the project as creative director of Design Research Studio. 狄克逊监督项目的创意总监设计研究工作室。 来自互联网

12 potent   

adj.强有力的，有权势的；有效力的

参考例句：

• The medicine had a potent effect on your disease.这药物对你的病疗效很大。
• We must account of his potent influence.我们必须考虑他的强有力的影响。

13 reminder   

n.提醒物，纪念品；暗示，提示

参考例句：

• I have had another reminder from the library.我又收到图书馆的催还单。
• It always took a final reminder to get her to pay her share of the rent.总是得发给她一份最后催缴通知，她才付应该交的房租。

14 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

15 indigenous   

adj.土产的，土生土长的，本地的

参考例句：

• Each country has its own indigenous cultural tradition.每个国家都有自己本土的文化传统。
• Indians were the indigenous inhabitants of America.印第安人是美洲的土著居民。

16 relevance   

n.中肯，适当，关联，相关性

参考例句：

• Politicians' private lives have no relevance to their public roles.政治家的私生活与他们的公众角色不相关。
• Her ideas have lost all relevance to the modern world.她的想法与现代社会完全脱节。

17 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。