1152. Ĩthaa ya kĩvĩsĩ yaĩaa nzaanĩ kyũkwatangania. The ornament of a boy is damaged in his hands as he mishandles it.

Ĩthaa was a brass ornament imported at high cost from the coast and worn around the neck during the Monsoon era. To damage or mishandle such an ornament was unthinkable. The proverb admonishes that one should be careful with opportunities, lest they slip away.

1153. Kavaa kũtindania na atumĩa ivĩsĩ syĩ mũĩsyo. Better a day in the company of elders, boys are problematic.

Grandfathers admonishing their granddaughters said this. Boys were openly encouraged to date girls since society scorned chastity. Mature boys had to ensure chastity was not found within their village lest they be embarrassed and fined a black bull. Girls on their part were not to be seen as morally loose nor completely aloof from sexuality. This female reaction made boys act more aggressively, the problematic nature that the ancient proverb alludes to. Older men who married young girls were less aggressive.

1154. Kavĩsĩ ka mbaĩ kainyivaa. A clan boy is never little or belittled.

This ancient axiom alludes to the Kamba political structure based on mbaĩ – the clan system. The clan was the ultimate authority where male members were highly respected irrespective of age. In the absence of an adult male the female guardian usually probed the oldest boy to handle family matters.

1155. Kĩvĩsĩ kĩ mbesa kĩtũmaaa ĩthe sikala. A monied boy sends his father to fetch a cigarette.

This talks about the evil and transformative power of money (as the basis of wealth and power) during the twentieth century. Although the history of cigarettes in Kenya traces back to 1907, when the first shop opened in Mombasa, the Kamba restricted its consumption to adults until independence. During the late twentieth century, access to money through employment and business enterprise gave youth a chance to smoke and also to challenge traditional authority. Sending a father to buy cigarettes is seen as an insult and a sign of moral decay. The proverb calls for balance between wealth and morality, traditional authority and economic power.

1156. Kĩvĩsĩ kĩsovaa kyakũa. A boy becomes handsome when he grows older.

The Kamba loathed the behaviour of teenagers and longed for the time that children would outgrow their teenage behaviour. Growing older does not imply physical ageing but maturity and improvement of behaviour.