The New Versus The Old
During the early stages of religious exchange and colonial expansion, African communities split between those who accepted the European’s new religious and education practices versus those who stayed true to their traditions. Ngugi uses the river as symbol of the divide between the village.
While the divide between those who followed the Europeans new order and the villagers who followed the traditional way started off small, there soon became a larger and larger gap between them. Waiyaki’s father, Chege, foresaw the growing problems and sent his son to the Siriana Mission School to learn the white men’s ways and become the bridge between the two sides 3. After the Siriana Mission School shuts its doors to the students …show more content…
When the ships first arrived in Africa, all European powers wanted to colonize because they saw the land as a source of profit 1. For example, the Europeans force Waiyaki’s tribe to pay a hut tax, sequester the village’s land and force the tribe to work their lands3. Chamberlin express how little the European powers actually cared for their colonies in this statement, “not truly a mother at all, but appeared rather in the light of a grasping and absentee landlord desiring to take from his tenants the utmost rents he could exact” 1. The British Empire not only felt that it owned Africa, but it was obligated to teach the African natives a, “security and peace and comparative prosperity to countries that never knew these blessings before” 1. Chamberlin truly thought that the British were helping the African people, not infringing upon their culture and …show more content…
For example, in “The River Between” Joshua forbids his daughters from going through the African traditional ceremony of being born again. Christianity does not approve of this rite of passage because it involves circumcision, calling spirits of the dead, drinking alcohol, and making animal sacrifices 3. However, if one does not go through their second birth then they not considered an adult and cannot get married to a tribesman, like Nyambura3. Unfortunately, when Joshua’s daughter, Muthoni, get a circumcision so that she can be considered a woman, she ends up not healing correctly and dies3. Muthoni’s death splits the community even more drastically with each side blaming the other3. The elders of the Gikuyu village become so irate with the Christians, they plan to burn some of their homes3. Eventually the Africans were done with putting up with the Europeans mistreatment of them and began fighting back. For example, the Maji Maji Rising came about because the Germans were over working the people. The men were so fed up with the Germans that they attack Germans strongholds4. Many villages all over Africa became increasingly upset with the Europeans whether it was because of religious or economic reasons.
During the early stages of colonization of Africa there was not an immediate see eye to eye of the new European culture and religions with the African traditions. Instead the European’s
During the early stages of religious exchange and colonial expansion, African communities split between those who accepted the European’s new religious and education practices versus those who stayed true to their traditions. Ngugi uses the river as symbol of the divide between the village.
While the divide between those who followed the Europeans new order and the villagers who followed the traditional way started off small, there soon became a larger and larger gap between them. Waiyaki’s father, Chege, foresaw the growing problems and sent his son to the Siriana Mission School to learn the white men’s ways and become the bridge between the two sides 3. After the Siriana Mission School shuts its doors to the students …show more content…
When the ships first arrived in Africa, all European powers wanted to colonize because they saw the land as a source of profit 1. For example, the Europeans force Waiyaki’s tribe to pay a hut tax, sequester the village’s land and force the tribe to work their lands3. Chamberlin express how little the European powers actually cared for their colonies in this statement, “not truly a mother at all, but appeared rather in the light of a grasping and absentee landlord desiring to take from his tenants the utmost rents he could exact” 1. The British Empire not only felt that it owned Africa, but it was obligated to teach the African natives a, “security and peace and comparative prosperity to countries that never knew these blessings before” 1. Chamberlin truly thought that the British were helping the African people, not infringing upon their culture and …show more content…
For example, in “The River Between” Joshua forbids his daughters from going through the African traditional ceremony of being born again. Christianity does not approve of this rite of passage because it involves circumcision, calling spirits of the dead, drinking alcohol, and making animal sacrifices 3. However, if one does not go through their second birth then they not considered an adult and cannot get married to a tribesman, like Nyambura3. Unfortunately, when Joshua’s daughter, Muthoni, get a circumcision so that she can be considered a woman, she ends up not healing correctly and dies3. Muthoni’s death splits the community even more drastically with each side blaming the other3. The elders of the Gikuyu village become so irate with the Christians, they plan to burn some of their homes3. Eventually the Africans were done with putting up with the Europeans mistreatment of them and began fighting back. For example, the Maji Maji Rising came about because the Germans were over working the people. The men were so fed up with the Germans that they attack Germans strongholds4. Many villages all over Africa became increasingly upset with the Europeans whether it was because of religious or economic reasons.
During the early stages of colonization of Africa there was not an immediate see eye to eye of the new European culture and religions with the African traditions. Instead the European’s