The crying marks the end of childhood and the beginning of the mwali period. And indeed she has reason to cry. Gone are the happy days of playing with other children, the evenings eating and joking with the family and listening to stories around the fire, gone the closeness with her mother whom she used to follow around and help w th the daily tasks of cooking and looking after small children. Until now she had been everybody's favorite, receiving love and affection from the whole family. Little girls are doted upon, since having daughters means wealth to the family.
Men have to pay a high bridal price which benefits the bride's whole family.
During childhood they have much freedom. They wander at will to the huts of relatives and look upon all sisters of their mother as additional mothers. Little mother is what they call mother's younger sisters and big mother her older sisters. All the children of these mothers look upon each other as brothers and sisters, play together and receive equal care in all the homes. Mother's brothers' children are not as close and the same is true of father's sisters' children, since these cousins may marry each other.