Cross-Cultural Encounter in Ngugi Wa Thiong’o’S the River Between
Cross-Cultural Encounter in Ngugi Wa Thiong’o’s The River Between
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
W. Shivnarayan
Assistant Professor of English,
LDM College, Parli Vaijnath 431515
India
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
INTRODUCTION
In The River Between, Ngugi critically examines and evaluates, primarily through the aspect of Christianity the cultural clash between the Africans and the foreign invaders. The story, confined to a small section of the Gikuyu tribe has validity not only about similar situations under colonialism elsewhere in Africa but has an almost universal validity.
Although Ngugi begins his story in the middle at a time when the white Christian missionaries have already arrived and have entrenched themselves in parts of Kenya, - he soon takes us to the very beginning – to the Gikuyu myth about the origin of man – while tracing the origin of the present clans of the people.
The River Between sheds light on the importance of love, education and the need for reconciliation between antagonistic beliefs represented by Christianity on the one hand and indigenous tribal beliefs and values on the other. The seminal issue in The River Between is the significance of land which is not only the source of livelihood, but also serves as the medium of forging spiritual bonds with the people. The novel revolves round the Gikuyu creation myth according to which Murungu, the Gikuyu God, told the people: “This land I give to you, O man and woman. It is yours to rule and till you and your posterity.” (Thiong’o, Ngugi, 1965, p2).
THE CURE – THE TITLE: THE RIVER BETWEEN
The original title of the novel was to be “The Black Messiah,” but later on Ngugi changed it to The River Between. The river flowing through the valley is called Honia. Ngugi writes:
A river flowed through the valley of life. If there had been
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
W. Shivnarayan
Assistant Professor of English,
LDM College, Parli Vaijnath 431515
India
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
INTRODUCTION
In The River Between, Ngugi critically examines and evaluates, primarily through the aspect of Christianity the cultural clash between the Africans and the foreign invaders. The story, confined to a small section of the Gikuyu tribe has validity not only about similar situations under colonialism elsewhere in Africa but has an almost universal validity.
Although Ngugi begins his story in the middle at a time when the white Christian missionaries have already arrived and have entrenched themselves in parts of Kenya, - he soon takes us to the very beginning – to the Gikuyu myth about the origin of man – while tracing the origin of the present clans of the people.
The River Between sheds light on the importance of love, education and the need for reconciliation between antagonistic beliefs represented by Christianity on the one hand and indigenous tribal beliefs and values on the other. The seminal issue in The River Between is the significance of land which is not only the source of livelihood, but also serves as the medium of forging spiritual bonds with the people. The novel revolves round the Gikuyu creation myth according to which Murungu, the Gikuyu God, told the people: “This land I give to you, O man and woman. It is yours to rule and till you and your posterity.” (Thiong’o, Ngugi, 1965, p2).
THE CURE – THE TITLE: THE RIVER BETWEEN
The original title of the novel was to be “The Black Messiah,” but later on Ngugi changed it to The River Between. The river flowing through the valley is called Honia. Ngugi writes:
A river flowed through the valley of life. If there had been
Cited: Thiong’o, Ngugi Wa, 1965, The River Between, Oxford, Heinemann. Gandhi, Lingaraj, 2006, ‘Awakening’, Connecting Postcolonial: Ngugi and Anand, New Delhi, Atlantic.