Syokimau. The name is from a woman of long ago who lived deep within the area known as Masaku. She was revered for her power to see the fate of her people – whether good or bad. Wrists and feet bedazzled with famous Kamba iron ornaments, Syokimau stood tall, bald headed and brisk.
One calm night after supper Syokimau invited people over to her hut for an occasion of storytelling. Her audience gathered around the fire as she sat before them on a three-legged stool. Always calm and thoughtful, Syokimau suddenly was a different person that night. She screamed as though in torment while her audience watched her writhing in pain.
Before anyone could respond to her anguish Syokimau spoke as if in a trance.
“Men, different from us, are on the horizon. They come spitting fire, carrying fire from fire proof snakes. They will come into our land and ask for it, and when we refuse they will descend upon us with their fire. We will die! But those of us who live will take on this man’s way of life and disown that of our ancestors.”
Syokimau came to from the vision and sat unmoved while her audience whispered amngst themselves with one question after the other, trying to imagine what men of fire and beast belching smoke could possible look like. She did not respond, for her calling and ability was that of prophesy and not of elucidation.
In the following days, word went round the Kamba community of Syokimau’s vision and warning. Many believed her word for she was a respected woman in the land and few doubted the possibility of things that had never happened.
By the time Syokimau died, her dramatic vision hadn’t come to pass.
The Kamba went about their lives; trading with other communities and migrating within Kitui, Makueni and Machakos.
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In the mid 19th century, two men were spotted exploring the Kamba lands, both of whom had an odd complexion, different from anything that the Kamba had ever seen. They paid no mind to the Kamba but in time more arrived and others came with intention to relocate the community from the area. Kwa sababu mchonya asali hachonyi mara moja.
By the turn of the last century more of the strangers came with their iron sticks that spat fire and one day a great iron beast that belched steaming smoke was witnessed. Understanding finally passed through the lands of the Akamba. Those that had been told of Syokimau’s vision understood the magnitude of the foreteller’s gift.
Today, Syokimau is the vibrant area east of The Jomo Kenyatta International Airport. It can be accessed via Mombasa Road and as you drive further in from the west, you are welcomed to Machakos county and thereafter Makueni.
Syokimau is forever immortalized in a stunning monument that captures the essence of the Kamba legend and her prophesy at the Syokimau Railway Station – an enduring symbol of a true shujaa!