A Glimpse of Kenya and Its Literature

Located in East Africa on the

Equator

Largest city- NAIROBI

Official Languages:

English and Swahili

Currency: Kenyan Shilling

Population: 44.35 million as of 2013Named after Mount Kenya: tallest mountain in the

country

BRIEF TIMELINE HISTORY

800 AD- Arabs sailed to Kenya

and traded with Persians.

1498- Vasca de Gama,the first

European, reached Kenya.

19th Century- British controlled

Kenya.

1952- Mau Mau was formed, a

secret group that kills European

and African collaborators.

Dec. 12, 1963- Kenya gained

independence.

1964- Republic of Kenya is

formed with Jomo Kenyatta as

president.

Jomo Kenyatta- Founding

Father of Kenya nation

Kenyatta- A Swahili word

which

means light of Kenya.

Culture

Religion:Protestant 45%, Roman

Catholic 33%, Muslim 10%,

indigenous beliefs 10%, other

2%.Kenyans are group-orientated

rather than individualistic.

Harambee

(coming from the Bantu word

meaning “to pull together”) defines

the people’s approach to others in

life. The concept is essentially

about mutual assistance, mutual

effort, mutual responsibility and

community self-reliance.

Extended family is the basis of

the social structure. It includes

relatives on both sides of the

family as well as close friends.

When people marry, they join

their families, thus ensuring that

there will always be a group to

turn to in times of need.

- When greeting an elder or

someone of higher status, grasp the

right wrist with the left hand while

shaking hands to demonstrate

respect.- The most common greeting is

“Jambo?” (“How are you?”), which is

generally said immediately prior to the

handshake.

- Women over the age of 21 are

often addressed as “Mama” and

men over the age of 35 are often

addressed as “Mzee”. Children

generally refer to adults as Aunt

or Uncle, even if there is not a

familial relationship.

Dining Etiquette:

- Do not begin eating until the eldest

male has been served and started

eating.

- Beverages are not generally served

with meals since Kenyans think it is

impolite to eat and drink at the same

time. They are generally served at the

completion of the meal.

Irio is a combination of

potatoes, green peas and kernels

of corn mashed up into a heavy

nutritious starch. It’s often

enjoyed with beans, stew, meat

or just with some sukuma wiki.

Sukuma Wiki

Along with ugali, sukuma wiki

(known as collard greens in English)

is a staple vegetable in the Kenyan

diet. It is normally sliced very thin,

and fried in oil, along with onions

and tomatoes. Many Kenyans eat

ugali and sukuma wiki as a standard

meal.

Chapatis

Originally from the influence of

Indians, flatbread chapatis are popular

in Kenyaover They are rolled out and

fried in oil until becoming crispy on the

outside and gooey on the inside.

Sometimes they are eaten as a snack

with tea, and other times along with

stew or vegetables.

Ugali

- The staple and most common

food in Kenya is a cornmeal

starch made into a thick paste

known as ugali. It is heavy and

hearty and goes down well with

fried vegetables or any kind of

meat stew.

Tourist Attractions

1. Masai Mara National Reserve

- Each year the Masai Mara National

Reserve is visited by thousands of

tourists who come here to watch the

exceptional population of game and the

annual migration of zebra and

wildebeest. The “Great Migration”

takes place every year from July to

October when millions of wildebeest

and zebra migrate from the Serengeti in

Tanzania.

2. Lake nakuru

- Lake Nakuru is a very shallow

lake in central Kenya. The lake’s

abundance of algae attracts vast

quantities of lesser flamingos,

sometimes more than one million at

once. Often called the greatest bird

spectacle on earth, the flamingos are

one of Kenya’s top attractions.

Tsavo National Park

- Tsavo is the largest national park in

Kenya and one of the largest in the

world. Due to its size the park was

divided into Tsavo West and Tsavo

East. The Tsavo West has spectacular

scenery with a rolling volcanic

landscape while Tsavo East has more

open savannah than its western

sibling.

Malindi

- Malindi provides a very nice

introduction to the coastal tourist

attractions in Kenya with its

extensive coral reefs and beautiful

beaches. There are surfing,

snorkeling, deep-sea fishing and

other water sports. The Malindi

Marine National Park is protected

and has fine beaches clear water and

very colorful fish.

-an epic poem in Swahili language

- written by a man named Mwengo

Utendi Wa Tambuka

(The Story of Tambuka) also known

as Kyuo Kya Herekali

( The book of Heraclius)

The Utendi wa Tambuka is a prime

example of the Swahili poetic form

of utenzi. Utenzi verse form

consists of four-line stanzas, with

each line having eight syllables.

Most Swahili words have

penultimate stress, resulting in

every line having at least

penultimate stress.

“Bisimillahi kut ̠ubu

yina la Mola Wahhabu

Arrah ̣amani eribu

na Arrah ̣imu ukyowa”

First three lines all end in -bu. The lastsyllable of the fourth line ends in thevowel a, and this sound is found at theend of every stanza of the poem. Whenrecited, this last syllable is sustained forsome time and given emphasis.

The plot depicts a religious war

between the Byzantines and the

Muslims. The Prophet sends a letter

to East Roman

Byzantine Emperor Heraclius, in which

he tells him that the Byzantine belief

that Jesus is the son of God is incorrect.

they refuse to be converted and are

executed.

Heraclius declares his intent to persevere in

his adherence to Christianity on the grounds

that the Byzantines have inherited their

belief from their ancestors. The Muslims

attack and, after epic struggles, eventually

defeat the Byzantines. Heraclius' minister

and his associates are captured and once

again given the choice to accept Islam or

die; they refuse to be converted and are

executed.

Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o

- An icon of not only Kenyan but

African literature, Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o

casts a large shadow over the canon of

literary works in Kenya, and his

forthright opinions about language,

publishing and writing make him a vital

presence within the African literary

world.

Weep Not, Child

-First major novel in English by an East

African.

-tells the story of a family and how it is

affected by the open antagonisms

between natives and colonists. When

the novel opens, the family is poor but

happy and harmonious; the course of

the novel traces the disintegration of

the family.

The protagonist, Njoroge, is a

young boy who wants more than

anything to receive an education

and is thrilled to attend a

missionary school. His father,

Ngotho, is a tenant farmer on

land owned by Jacobo, a

wealthy African farmer.

Ngotho works for the British Mr.

Howlands on a tea plantation

that is Ngotho’s ancestral land.

He waits patiently for the time

when the gods will fulfill the

prophecy and deliver his people

from their oppression. His older

son, Boro, has returned from

military service in World War II,

bitter, disillusioned, and having

learned of the white man’s

violence.

Boro loathes his father’s

passivity. In an effort to appease

Boro, Ngotho becomes involved

with a strike and leads an

attack on Jacobo, who attempts

to quell the strikers.

Consequently, Ngotho loses his

job. Boro becomes a guerrilla

leader and political activist who

ultimately kills both Howlands

and Jacobo. Although Boro is

arrested and sentenced to be

hanged, Ngotho confesses to

killing Jacobo and is tortured

and killed.

He finally decides to leave town

and makes an attempt to take

his own life, but his two

mothers are able to bring him

back from the brink. The novel

closes with Njoroge's utter sense

of hopelessness.

“Aaa! You could never tell whatthese people would do. In spite ofthe fact that they were all white,they killed one another withpoison, fire and big bombs thatdestroyed the land.”

Excerpt from Weep Not My Child

His most celebrated work remains A

Grain of Wheat, which focuses on the

Kenyan struggle for independence, and

weaves a complex web of betrayal,

deceit and bitter rivalry beneath the

seemingly celebratory occasion of

Kenya’s independence.

Grace Ogot

- East Africa's best-known

woman author, Grace Emily

Akinyi Ogot (born 1930) wrote

novels and short stories. She

also became an important

political figure in modern

Kenya.

- First African female writer to

be published in English.

The Promised Land

A young farmer and his wife

who have migrated to Tanzania

from Kenya become embroiled in

issues of personal jealousy and

materialism, and a

melodramatic tale of tribal

hatreds ensues.

The novel explores Ogot's

concept of the ideal African

wife: obedient and submissive

to her husband; family and

community orientated; and

committed to non-materialist

goals. The style is

distinctively ironic giving the

story power and relevance.

Excerpt from The Promised Land

“Why waste your tears? The men

have chosen the job themselves.

They are neither Slaves nor

prisoners; they are just normal men

who come to town to earn money to

buy things for their wives,”

explained Ochola, seeing his wife

looking at the labourers and

weeping for them.

Yvonne Adhiambo Owuor

- Named "Woman of the Year"

by Eve Magazine in Kenya in

2004 for her contribution to the

country's literature and arts.

She won the 2003 Caine Prize

for African Writing for her story

"Weight of Whispers", which

considers an

aristocratic Rwandan refugee in

Kenya.

Weight of Whisper

This is the story of a man who

once had the universe at his

feet. A man used to glamour,

refined food, beautiful women

and who travelled the globe on a

whim. Boniface was once a royal

prince of a French speaking

African country.

He finds himself suddenly

thrown into a world of

dissarray when the political

situation in his homeland

brutally flings him into an

Anglophone country in exile.

Kenya no less.

The collection of teeth on the

man’s face is a splendid brown. I

have never seen such teeth before.

Refusing all instruction, my eyes

focus on dental contours and

craters. Denuded of any superficial

pretence; no braces, no fillings, no

toothbrush, it is a place where small

scavengers thrive. “Evidence!” The

man giggles.

Excerpt from Weight of Whisper

Sources:wikipedia.org

theculturetrip.com/africa/kenya/articles/kirinyaga-rising-ten-of-the-best-kenyan-writers/

http://www.sciencekids.co.nz/sciencefacts/countries/kenya.html

http://gobackpacking.com/travel-guides/kenya/kenyan-food-typical-traditional-cuisine/

http://buzzkenya.com/kenyan-foods/

http://www.touropia.com/tourist-attractions-in-kenya/

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/159336.Weep_Not_Child

http://www.africanbookscollective.com/books/the-promised-land

http://www.gallardo.net/gen-t/weight_of_whispers.pdf