Giant of modern African literature and post-colonial thought Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o died last month, leaving behind a plethora of novels and theory that detail the impact of colonialism and give voice to those who lived through it.
Born in Kenya in 1938, whilst the East African country was still under the colonial rule of the British Empire, the author lived through the Mau Mau Uprising and the subsequent State of Emergency declared by British colonial forces, losing two brothers in the conflict. Brutal repressive measures were utilised by British forces, including detention camps and capital punishment.
Ngũgĩ’s first novel Weep Not, Child was published in 1964 under his birth name James Ngugi and was written during the author’s time studying English at Makerere University in Uganda. The book is divided into two parts, addressing protagonist Njoroge’s education and the impacts of the Mau Mau Uprising respectively. Ngũgĩ’s novel conveys the complexity of the colonial experience and the fight for independence.
By 1977, Ngũgĩ had renounced his birth name and had begun writing primarily in his native language Gikuyu. As laid out in his 1986 non-fiction publication Decolonising the Mind, Ngũgĩ argued for a conscious move away from the hegemonic colonial language of English, writing that ‘language as culture is the collective memory bank of a people’s experience in history’. To prioritise the language of their former colonisers and oppressors is, for Ngũgĩ, to let colonialism and the active repression of native languages triumph.
In a 2017 interview with the Los Angeles Review of Books, Ngũgĩ stated:
“I want to join all those others in the world who are fighting for marginalized languages. No language is ever marginal to the community that created it. Languages are like musical instruments. You don’t say, let there be a few global instruments, or let there be only one type of voice all singers can sing.“
Language holds and creates culture, and must not be lost according to Ngũgĩ. Ethnologue classifies Gikuyu as stable, with digital support for the language increasing worldwide.
Ngũgĩ’s legacy of language as political lives on in Irish rap trio Kneecap, who have shot to infamy in recent months for controversial messages at their shows, with member Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh (who performs under the stage name Mo Chara) due to appear before Westminster Magistrates’ Court 18 June. According to the 2021 census, only 2.43% of the population of Northern Ireland speak Irish on a daily basis, highlighting a clear danger of the language being lost in the region.
Despite this, Irish only gained official recognition and protection in 2022 under the Identity and Language (Northern Ireland) Act. Kneecap’s message and influence is clear: Irish is a language for all and steps must be taken to encourage and protect learning of the language, particularly considering how recently anti-Irish language legislation has been upheld; a 300 year old ban on the use of Irish in court in Northern Ireland was only lifted 4 months ago.
Whilst the literary world lost an East African great last month, his legacy lives on in the republican and ketamine-fuelled lyrics of Kneecap. Tigwo na thaayũ Ngũgĩ.
Words by Arthur Clinton
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