Mchawi & Mrogi

I don't remember if I already wrote, but we met with few Estonians who were in Nigeria. It seemed that in Nigeria traditional beliefs and superstitions have much greater role than in Kenya. In Nigeria these beliefs seem to exist side by side with christianity and islam or even in some way rule over these. In Kenya this would be impossible. Yet, Kenya has little taste of this. They don't believe into witchcraft so much as Nigerians, but there are some stories. Today I will write about Mchawi and Mrogi. I remember only little.. probably I know only little of all the stories about them. I just give some insight of whom they are. Mchawi and Mrogi are basically mytholgical characters in Kenya.. people with certain supernatural abilities and as I understood, also need to do bad for others.

MCHAWI - a nightrunner. When we were told about nightrunners I thought at first that they are talking about something like vampires. But no, nightrunner is kind of like gremlin or some special kind of witch. They seem like normal humans, walk around like normal humans, but actually are not that. First off they have some magical abilities like going through locked gates or being invisible (There was something that their woman had to do at home for them to be invisible though). They could do other illusions too. They run around naked in the night and go to houses of other people or just to their yards and do shenanigans and troubles to these people. When I asked why they do this, I was said that because if not then they would die.

MROGI - is yet another witch. In Africa they have lots of different witches. Mrogi isn't the good kind who may heal you with herbs or ceremonies. He or she doesn't create spells to give you and your loved ones good luck. It is completely other way around. They have "bad eyes" (macho mbaya) aka. they can hex you basically just looking into your eyes. When you look into Mrogi's eyes, you get sick without any hope for recovery without doing exactly the right kind of rituals - very simply, rubbing the stomach with the fat until there comes sugar, salt and hair through the skin. But I understood, that it is still done by traditional healer.. so ritual. And again, also Mrogi has to do that to stay alive.

When I thought at first that nightrunners are kind of African version of vampires, then I actually asked if they have any stories or beliefs about vampires. At first they didn't understand, but when I explained that people who also move around at night, but to drink a blood of other people, then I was told that isn't completely story anymore (or who knows, maybe there really are some witches who know things that to others seem supernatural. Anyway, everything concerning vampirism in Kenya is bound with some cults there that at least by christians are believed to be Satanic cults. Although drinking blood of the coat is quite normal by traditional view of many people there and often blood is mixed into sour milk (I too drunk coat blood there once), but these cults were supposed to be real and big, and they were supposed to make sacrifices and also drink the blood of humans. It was said that many of country's elite are in such cults.. they do ceremonies that were supposed to have brought them power and money, but turned them mean and/or selfish. They only hold each other. Well, this belief is probably mixed with lots of myths, but I imagine that there may also be some truth in it.. some cults or groups that help eachother to gain power over the lives and happiness of other people with such methods that are not exactly normal.. why not?