Fuata nyuki ule asali.
This is the advice of a well-known methali whose meaning we are all too familiar with. But have you heard of the tale of a man who followed the bird and not the bees?
His name was Gasara Winn; he was a member of the Weritama clan of the Aweer community. Growing up in Boni Forest, Gasara spent his days perfecting his hunting skills and his nights listening to the distant noises of wild animals as they filled the silence that accompanied dusk. With time, his hunting instinct was guided by not only by the tautness of his bow string but also by the sounds of the forest. The roar of a lion, the trumpet of an elephant, the laugh of a hyena, the honk of a gazelle. Of all these sounds however, the one he listened for the most intently was the chirp of the Mirsi bird.
The diet of the Aweer was largely plant based compounded with meat, but the most important component was honey. Of all the animals in Boni Forest, none could track down a beehive as well as the Mirsi bird. This mythical bird, which feeds on wax and bee larvae, was a honey guide that led hunters to trees with concealed beehives. In exchange, hunters would open the hive and let the bird feed before collecting the honey. Through his adventures, Gasara befriended the Mirsi bird and was led to the best hives in the forest. Their friendship grew beyond the symbiosis of the food web and eventually, the Mirsi became Gasara’s protector.
As the relationship between hunter and bird deepened, so did the hunter’s appreciation for the forest. Boni Forest had always been synonymous with home and food, but Gasara Winn began to see the place through the eyes of other creatures that inhabited it. This made him acquire a deeper sense of appreciation for this ecosystem and a strong desire to protect it. Hunting became a practice undertaken out of necessity to cull extra animals. The only plants he uprooted to eat were those in abundance. It is said that during Gasara’s lifetime, he killed a bull elephant causing havoc in the forest and ate it all by himself. Talk about an appetite!
To this day, Gasara Winn is remembered as the principal protector of Boni Forest.