CHAPTER ONE
GENERAL INTRODUCTION
Perspectives on Colonialism in Athol
Fugard’s Sizwe Bansi is Dead and Ngugi Wa Thiongo and Micere Mugo’s The
Trial of Dedan Kimathi.
1.0 INTRODUCTION
Colonialism is the building and
maintaining of colonies in one territory by people from another territory.
Colonialism came into being from the 15th century to the late 19th century when
nations of Europe established colonies in other countries. The reasons for the
practice of colonialism at this time include economic, political, religious and
cultural reasons. The Standford Encyclopedia of Philosophy uses the term
‘colonialism’ to describe the process of European settlement and political
control over the rest of the world including America, Australia and parts of
Africa and Asia.
This study is on the perspectives on
colonialism in Athol Fugard’s Sizwe Bansi Is Dead and Ngugi wa Thongo
and Micere Mugo’s The Trial of Dedan Kimathi. It focuses on the three
African playwrights and their treatment of colonialism. Athol Fugard is a world
acclaimed African writer and his works are unique. He uses his work as an
instrument for social mobilization and change. He was born in Middleburg, South
Africa. He describes himself as an Afrikaneer writing in English. He is a
playwright, novelist, actor and most of his plays are always set in South
Africa and steeped in the politics of the day (apartheid then and now
post-apartheid). Fugard says, “(my) real territory as a dramatist is the world
of secrets with their powerful effect on human behavior and trauma of the
revelation. Whether it is the radiant secret in Miss Helen’s heart or the
withering one in Boesman’s or the dark and destructive one in Gladys, they are
the dynamo that generates all the significant actions in my play.”
Ngugi Wa Thiongo is a writer of
international repute, a Kenyan,teacher, playwright, novelist and essayists,
whose works function as an important link between the pioneers of African
writing and the younger generation of post colonial writers. He was born in
Kamiriithu in Kenya in 1938 as the fifth child of the third of his father’s
four wives. After imprisonment in 1978 for a year without trial, Ngugi
abandoned using English as the primary language of his work in favour of Gikuyu
his native language. The transition from colonialism to post-coloniality and
the crisis of modernity has been a central issue in Ngugi’s writing.
Ngugi prefers his native language to
English language; he sees the latter as a sign of colonialism. In ‘On the
Abolition of English Department, (1968; 467) an article he wrote with Taban Lo
Liyong and Henry Ownor – Anyumba, he says, “If there is need for a study of
historic continuity of a single culture; why can’t this be African? Why can’t
African literature be at the centre so that we can view other cultures in
relationship to it?”1 This shows his total resentment and he finds
the power of pen invaluable to work for a desired change.
Micere Mugo is a well known African
poet, playwright, scholar, instructor, professor of African – American studies.
She was born in 1942 in Bancho. Kenya-born Micere Githae Mugo’s English
language verse and drama draw heavily upon indigenous African cultural traditions.
As a critic, she has written extensively on contemporary African literature.
Mugo was forced to depart Kenya in 1982 after becoming the target of official
government harassment. He has worked, written and taught abroad in the years
since. She is a professor of African Studies at Syracuse University in New York
State. “Mugo is a poet with a mission in her society which embraces the black
race, the underprivileged class and her specific female gender”, remarked World
Literature Today reviewer Tanure Olajide. “She appears to speak for African
and blacks, women and the down trodden”. Her adolescence was disturbed by the MauMau
uprising which endured from 1952-1956. This armed revolt against the British
colonial government and its economic and social discrimination brought much
bloodshed to threat to her life. Mugo is seen as a woman of the people, for the
people and her gender.
1.1 BACKGROUND
OF THE STUDY
Colonialism is a process whereby
sovereignty over the colony is obtained by the metropole and social structure,
government economy within the territory of the colony are changed by the
colonists. It is a certain set of unequal relationship between metropole and
colony and between the colonists and the indigenous population. Colonialism
normally refers to the period from the 15th to the 19th centuries when the
nations of Europe established colonies in other continents. The reasons for the
practice of colonialism at this time include the profit to be made, the need to
expand the power of metropole or escape persecution in the metropole and to
spread the coloniest way of life including religious and political beliefs.
Collins English Dictionary defines
colonialism as the policy of acquiring and maintaining colonies especially for
exploitation. The Standford Encyclopedia of philosophy uses the term
‘colonialism’ to describe the process of European settlement and political
control over the rest of the world, including America, Australia and parts of
Africa and Asia2.
In Africa, colonialism brought a new
dimension into the concept of land and various other aspects of the culture of
the African people. Colonialism is the child of capitalism and what capitalism
seeks to do is the maximization of profit at the expenses of labour. Therefore,
the incursion of the settlers into Africa is an attempt to utilize, to the
maximum all resources both human and material resources that are available
there. Capitalism can be said to be individualisitic in nature while the
already existing system in Africa is communal and this points out the fact the
two systems negates each other. Walter Rodney (1972; 4), argues that,
Many writers would concede, at least partially that
colonization was a system which functioned well in the interest of the
metropoles. Such writer, would however raise another issue on how much
Europeans did for Africa and it is necessary to draw up a ‘balance sheet of
colonialism’ Quite often they will conclude that the good outweighs the bad. He
concludes that ‘colonialism’ had only one hand. It was a one-aimed benefit.
It could be based on the above fact
that the British came to Africa with the major aim of exploitation and in the
process of exploitation; the Africans were oppressed and alienated.
Exploitation in this context means the system whereby the British came and used
all resources both human and natural resources selfishly to serves their own
interest. Through their superior weapons, technology and the use of religion,
as the case may be, the Whiteman took over the land from the Africans and
turned them slaves on their own land. Africans were subjected to the worst form
of colonization which is slavery. Able bodied men, women and children were
forcefully taken away across the sea from Africa to a new world to work on the
sugarcane, cotton and tobacco plantations and other places outside the
continent.
Maurice Comfort (1962; 6) states
that, “The exploiters, as a class seek all means to consolidate their property,
to extract more surplus labour and to increase their wealth”. This means that
if colonialists were exploiters and oppressors: they maltreated the Africans
and extorted all they could from them and their land. The Africans were thrown
into jail at the slightest provocation, curfew and state of emergency were declared
at any time. African writers explore this sociopolitics in their works. An
example of this reflection is when Njeri and Kori, the wife and son of Ngotho
in Weep not Child by Ngugi Wa Thiongo, are arrested at Ngotho’s door
step and all he, Ngotho could do is just watch. This reflects a terrible kind
of oppression when a man watches his family being taken away without being able
to defend them.
Another evil of colonialism is total
alienation of the black people. Alienation is the estrangement of a man and
even a society from what seems to be the totality of existence. An African man
who works as a labourer on the farm loses interest in the society because he
has been turned into an alien in his home. Alienation during colonization comes
in different forms one of which is political alienation. This estrangement
occurs when the people are not allowed to participate in the government of
their land and they do not enjoy the government imposed on them. For instance,
politics which is a game of governance and which is intended to provide
peaceful atmosphere is threatened and citizens are denied their rights.
Political alienation may give rise to class distinction. As a result, we have
the privileged class living in opulence in the society while the masses (commoners)
wallow in abject poverty.
Another is economic alienation: This
arises when Africans who are engaged in hard labour get next to nothing and
those who do nothing get the bulk of the profit. Africans who severed as
labourers were made to all do the work. They work in factories, mines and
sawmills. For example, Ngotho in Weep Not Child by Ngugi Wa Thiongo get
just little for his service while the bulk of the gain is enjoyed by Mr. Howland
who sits in his office doing nothing. It is however the opinion of some people
that labour is treated by capitalistics inclination. This means that it is an
attempt to make gain that capital employs labour, which means that the less the
money that goes to labour, the more the gain or capital. The aim of capitalism is to maximize interest at
the expense of labour thereby disallowing people from enjoying the fruit of
their labour.
Cultural alienation is yet another.
The culture of the Africa people, their religion, mode of dressing, food,
language etc. were considered by the colonizers as inferior and they therefore work that they
be discarded. The settlers’ religion became the only religion acceptable and
the Africans are discouraged from going about their own way of life and
therefore their culture, religion and language were imposed on them
Psychological alienation is also part
of the sufferings of the black people. It can be regarded an outcome of the
totality of the political, economic and cultural alienation. Psychological
alienation is characterized by frustration, violence, aggression, failure,
disappointment etc. In A Grain of Wheat by Ngugi Wa Thiongo, Mugo is
artistically portrayed as a character in a state of psychological tension. He
is isolated and alienated.
1.2 AIMS
OF STUDY
The purpose of this study is to
examine the different ways the play wrights have responded to colonialism in
Athol Fugard’s Sizwe Banzi is Dead and Ngugi Wa Thiongo and Micere
Mugo’s The Trial of Dedan Kimathi. The work aims at analyzing both texts
and their portrayal of colonialism.
Athol Fugard’s Sizwe Bansi is Dead responds to colonialism within a
social – context while, The Trial of Dedan Kimathi by Ngugi Wa Thiongo
and Micere Mugo responds to the ideology within a political context. This means
that the study will specifically focus on social and political responses to
colonialism in the two plays.
1.3 JUSTIFICATION
Many works have been done on
colonialization in African plays among them are Sizwe Banzi is Dead by
Athol Fugard and The Trial of Dedan Kimathi by Ngugi Wa Thiongo and Micere
Mugo, but the two plays have hardly been together a subject of study. The need
to compare the two plays within a colonial framework justifies this research.
1.4 SCOPE
AND DELIMITATION
This study will only focus on
colonialism in the plays used in this study. We shall give an analysis of the
two texts used in this research and the study will discuss colonization
explored in the plays. In this study, we will only limit ourselves to the Perspectives
in Colonialism in Athol Fugard’s Sizwe Bansi is Dead and Ngugi Wa
Thiongo and Micere Mugo’s The Trial of Dedan Kimathi. The research work
has four variables which are: Perspectives, Colonialism, Athol Fugard’s Sizwe
Bansi is Dead and Ngugi Wa Thiongo and Mugo Micere’s The Trial of Dedan
Kimathi.
1.5 METHODOLOGY
The data for this study will be
gathered from the library, internet, and the method is descriptive.
1.6 ORGANIZATION
OF CHAPTERS
This study will have four chapters.
Chapter one will include the general introduction and literature review.
General introduction will be about the main focus of the research work, the
definitions of the keyword ‘colonialism’. Literature review will examine what
previous researchers have done that is relevant to our topic.
Chapter two will be on Athol
Fugard’s Sizwe Bansi is Dead. It will be an analysis of the play and on
Fugard’s response to colonialism.
Chapter three will be on Ngugi Wa
Thiongo and Mugo Micere’s The Trial of Dedan Kimathi. It will be the
analysis of the play and on Ngugi and Mugo’s response to colonialism in it.
The last chapter which is chapter
four will be on the conclusion, a comparative study of both plays and the
bibliography.