THESE FLAMINGOES TRAVEL ALL OVER EAST AFRICA AND NOW YOU CAN SEE THEM FROM OSIRI BEACH

One more reason you should tour Osiri Beach Resort, Homa Bay County: the flamingoes are back and they long to be domesticated in homes! These flamingoes come with tales from Lake Natron in Tanzania, Lake Nakuru and many other places. According to the Luo myth, they are the domestic fowls that the Lady of the Lake (Nyanam) turned into wild birds as the Simbi village was being sunk as punishment for her slighting. But they have a photographic memory of where they came from, and so return often to Simbi and the outlying villages. Do they want to be domestic fowls again? Probably, judging by how close they are to the houses. The last time, they were here was in April this year. If you come to Osiri, we can perform for you the story of Simbi Nyaima.

Lake Simbi, also known as Simbi Nyaima, is scientifically a crater lake, but mythically a drowned village, whose domestic fowls turned into flamingos and other water birds currently resident there. Tradition has it that Min Koth or Nyar Nam from the Lake Lolwe (Victoria) wanted to bestow the power of rainmaking to the people. From the Womb of the Lake she came disguised as a hag and went to find the Simbi village in festive mood. But the people did not welcome her, for her sorry state. She was only welcomed by a widow, whom she advised to accompany her for she would destroy the village with floods. She caused a storm which drowned the village. In one version, she takes the rain-making power to another people, known as the joka- Nganyi, hence the saying, Sunga Joluo nomiyo koth odhi ne joka-Nganyi (The pride of the Luos made them lose the power of rain-making to the Nganyi people.)