6.23.2007
The chungu
Two weeks before my first day at the office, there was a nighttime robbery at the office. Despite the fact that drawers were dumped out and windows left wide open, and despite the fact that the encircling houses all had guards, nobody heard anything. The police threw our guard in jail. Then after a day or two they contacted the person who had my job and presented a choice; either they would transfer our guard to prison, or they would drop the case. She decided to drop the case and gave the guard two weeks to find out who had done it or where the things were, or else he was fired.
On my first day, another staff member took the guard aside and told him that we were serious about firing him. The staff member urged him to do something to save himself. Then and there, the guard decided to break the chungu.
What is the chungu? It is a clay pot that, once broken, kills the person it was intended for and his offspring as well. Some Maasai people in and near Arusha believe very strongly in it. To break the chungu, you must consult the elders in your village, you must advertise for forty days, and then you must pay a handsome sum to bring the correct people to your house. You also have to choose a tree to break it on
So here is the management dilemma: you like your guard and don’t think he was involved in the robbery (though he was almost definitely fast asleep). You would like information leading to the arrest of the perpetrators and possible recovery of the stolen items. You would like everyone to know not to mess with your organization. But you also have staff who don’t believe in the chungu and would not like to be associated with it, and you have staff who do believe in the chungu who do not want the robbers’ blood on their hands. For breaking the chungu to get you what you want, you will have to advertise widely that your organization has entered into this business of black magic.
Before we had all the information, we initially agreed to break it. When the guard brought the elder from the village to talk to me, we learned for the first time about the expenses associated with it, and the question ended up being a matter of cost and not of culture. We fired the guard, and settled up his account. A matter of paperwork, typical office stuff.
On my first day, another staff member took the guard aside and told him that we were serious about firing him. The staff member urged him to do something to save himself. Then and there, the guard decided to break the chungu.
What is the chungu? It is a clay pot that, once broken, kills the person it was intended for and his offspring as well. Some Maasai people in and near Arusha believe very strongly in it. To break the chungu, you must consult the elders in your village, you must advertise for forty days, and then you must pay a handsome sum to bring the correct people to your house. You also have to choose a tree to break it on
So here is the management dilemma: you like your guard and don’t think he was involved in the robbery (though he was almost definitely fast asleep). You would like information leading to the arrest of the perpetrators and possible recovery of the stolen items. You would like everyone to know not to mess with your organization. But you also have staff who don’t believe in the chungu and would not like to be associated with it, and you have staff who do believe in the chungu who do not want the robbers’ blood on their hands. For breaking the chungu to get you what you want, you will have to advertise widely that your organization has entered into this business of black magic.
Before we had all the information, we initially agreed to break it. When the guard brought the elder from the village to talk to me, we learned for the first time about the expenses associated with it, and the question ended up being a matter of cost and not of culture. We fired the guard, and settled up his account. A matter of paperwork, typical office stuff.
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