How Does the The River Between Help in Understanding African History - Book Report/Review Example

 How does the book “The River Between” help in understanding African history “The River Between” is a book which has its roots deeply entrenched in the African culture. It speaks of pre-colonial Kenya and is reflective of the colonial situation in every African country. The book begins by showing the traditional African landscape setting with ridges that lay side by side and a valley which lay between the ridges, a river flowing in between them. Like many traditional African societies, the people portrayed in the book were spoken of as ones who believed in a deity. Many African tribes believed in a greater power, responsible for creation and ultimately overseeing everything. This is symptomatic with many African cultures to the present day. The book also shows about the coming of Europeans into Africa and the changes and rifts that were caused within African communities as a result. The book begins with its description of the hills and valleys and how they resembled lions. This is perhaps to show that they bustled with life and were ferocious. The book describes the importance of the river in the African culture seeing how everything was centered on it. The book states that the river seemed to join people, cattle, trees and wild beasts. In the literal sense, it was because every living creature used to converge at the river for rejuvenation in terms of drinking to its fill. Thus, the river joined living creatures. The powers of the river can perhaps be drawn from the name that the river was given by NgugiwaThiong’o, the author of the book. The river is called “Honia”, which means heal or bring back to life in native Kikuyu, the tribe from which the book is based (NgugiwaThiong’o, 23). The river was thus seen to withstand weather fluctuations which perhaps attributed to its name since it would heal the land during tough times. The book, at the beginning, also gives away a hint at what it would be about. It shows how from a perspective within the valley, the ridges ceased to be sleeping lions and became antagonists because of the manner in which they faced one another. The ridges would later in the book become entangled in a never ending struggle for dominion over the other in terms of leadership. The two ridges were Kameno and Makuyu. Kameno was the land of traditionalists who had retained their African values, while kameno was the ridge that was home to Christian converts. The book portrays how the British invaded Kenya introducing modern education systems which involved Africans going to school and amassing knowledge. Evidence of this can be seen in the book from the establishment of Siriana Mission School which was headed by a white missionary called Reverend Livingstone(NgugiwaThiong’o, 15). This is said to be an allusion to a missionary who had the same name. People from Kameno saw the establishment of the school as an attempt by the white settlers to convert them into the new Christian religion which they found strange. Africans all over the continent treated establishment of such institutions with the same skepticism and doubt. They received widespread criticism and rejection apart from a few select Africans who opted to join the white settlers due to the prestige and advantages that came with it. The book also sheds light onto the traditional structure of African communities that existed in the precolonial time. The book talks of Chege who was an elder of the kameno ridge who was widely respected. It also lay emphasis on what defined successful tribesmen and strong communities. For example, the book mentions Wachioriwho was said to be a great warrior who had led the community in facing a rival community. He had been said to have killed a lion by himself (2). Men who were physically strong and who had fierce personalities were regarded highly in the traditional African setting. This is no surprise, therefore, that Waiyaki, the main character in the book, is described as tall and having a well-built, athletic body (NgugiwaThiong’o, 6). He was also very brave as can be derived from the goat incident. This was the reason why many boys, young and old followed him. The book also describes the traditional African family structure which involved a homestead built around one father, multiple wives and children. This can be seen from Chege’s father who had three wives, two of whom had passed on due to famine which had hit the land(NgugiwaThiong’o, 7). The book also shows how the father was the ultimate authority figure in the homestead and thus had to be highly regarded, respected and even at times feared. We learn this from a conversation that Waiyaki had with his father where he (Waiyaki), confessed to fearing his father. It also showed the mothers role from the traditional African perspective as a nutritionist. African culture is also shown as one which has various rites of passage in order for men to transition from boyhood into adulthood. For example, there was the second birth, a ritual which occurred as a precursor to circumcision. It was done in order for a boy to commence his learning of the ways of the land (NgugiwaThiong’o, 11). The ceremony was perhaps symbolic and contradictory of the same ceremony which was carried out by Christians at the opposite ridge to initiate them into Christianity. The book also shows dwelling places of deity such as their God, Murungu, who was believed to dwell at a sacred tree location and on a Mountain where they faced while offering their sacrifices. The book is all about conflicting sides such as Christians versus traditionalists, Kameno versus Makuyu. At the heart of this conflict was a Christian convert, Joshua. Joshua was a fanatical and radical Christian who was well known for his fiery summons upon his “flock”. In accordance with the Presbyterian Church’s issuance of a decree to abolish circumcision among women, Joshua runs into conflict with the traditional faction. Circumcision was highly regarded as one of the community’s core rites of passage among men and women and thus was a customary rite of passage among the Kikuyu. Joshua, therefore, forbids her daughters from taking part in the ritual. His daughter, Muthoni, believing that circumcision is salient to her transitioning into womanhood, defies her father and goes for the cut(NgugiwaThiong’o, 27). Joshua, being a staunch Christian is forced by his beliefs to disown her. This in effect, caused escalation of the strained relationship which Joshua had with Muthoni, his daughter. The book, therefore, is a meeting place where people can read and learn of the conflict that was caused by the white settler entry into Africa. It caused proliferation of cultures which Africans valued deeply causing stiff resistance to the settlers. This proved to be a hot issue in the struggle for African independence. Works cited NgugiwaThiong’o. The River Between. African Writers Series. Heinemann Publishers Ltd. Johannesburg, South Africa. 1965. Print. Read More