Decolonising the Mind: the Politics of Language in African Literature

Nonfiction | Book | Adult | Published in 1986

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Summary

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Preface-Introduction

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Key Figures

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Tools

Beta

Discussion Questions

Chapter 2Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapter 2 Summary: “The Language of African Theatre”

Ngũgĩ begins this chapter with a short story of how he came to join the Kamiriithu Community Centre after several invitations from a woman from the local community. This short introduction serves as Ngũgĩ’s way of touching on the larger history behind the role and function of cultural centers, particularly those centered on theatre, for formerly colonized populations. As Ngũgĩ notes, Kamiriithu was established by the British during the Mau Mau uprising to cut off ties between the guerillas fighting for national liberation and Kenyans in other villages.

However, given the colonial history of Kenya, Ngũgĩ asks whether his participation in the community center and introduction of theatre into its programming was appropriate, or if it involved the perpetuation of colonial narratives and ideology. Ngũgĩ explains why the introduction of theatre into the community is significant: “[D]rama has its origins in human struggles with nature and with others” (36). Or as he remarks further on: “[T]heatre is not a building. People make theatre. Their life is the very stuff of drama” (42). In place of theatre influenced by British colonialism, Ngũgĩ, along with Micere Mugo, writes The Trial of Dedan Kimathi and radically alters the traditional way in which theatre was produced. Instead of holding auditions and rehearsals in private, he held them in public. The effect of this, writes Ngũgĩ, was that the audience could see and even participate in the evolution of the actors, many of whom “could hardly move their legs or say their lines” at the beginning. As participants watched the actors reach perfection in their movement and delivery, they recognized the progress as a collective achievement for the entire community.

Finally, Ngũgĩ tells the story of how the Kenyan government perpetuated the British colonial mode of governance with the subsequent prohibition of public gatherings and banning of public performances altogether, which was made official on November 16, 1977.

Chapter 2 Analysis

In Chapter 2, Ngũgĩ shows how colonial history had a direct effect on the role that theatre played in Kenya in the 1970s and 80s. Given Ngũgĩ’s attempt to replace the British colonial theatre with a strictly African one—seen in works such as The Trial of Dedan Kimathi, which he co-wrote—Ngũgĩ thereby alters the traditional way theatre was produced. For example, instead of holding auditions and rehearsals in private, he held them in public. The effect of this, writes Ngũgĩ, was that the community bond strengthened.

The subject matter of The Trial of Dedan Kimathi was also traditionally Kenyan in that Kimathi was the senior military and spiritual leader during the Mau Mau Uprising. Beginning in 1951, Kimathi led groups of forest fighters against British soldiers. He also reportedly showed little mercy to fellow members of the Kikuyu tribe who cooperated with the British government or refused to swear allegiance to the Mau Mau cause. In 1956, Kimathi was captured and sentenced to death by a British judge and an all-Black Kenyan jury. Though considered by many to be a national hero and a symbol of Kenyan nationalism, Kimathi was condemned by members of the Kenyan government of the 1970s, including Vice President Daniel arap Moi who ordered Ngũgĩ’s arrest as a result of the anti-colonial subtext of his plays. The author’s arrest speaks to his deep convictions in urging Kenyan artists to challenge the neo-colonial status quo.

Ngũgĩ emphasizes the nature and aspiration of a properly revolutionary theatre and why it must be African. Revolutionary theatre is aimed only toward representing the people to themselves in such a way that they become empowered to transform their social condition for the greater good and benefit of all peoples.