¶ … RIVER BETWEEN by Ngugi tells the tale of two rival communities, Kameno and Makuyu, which face each other and are separated only by the Honia River. These two villages are in a constant battle over conflicting myths of leadership, which have been the bais of their arguments for many generations.
There is a strong religious undertone in the book, as the author talks about practices like circumcision and clitoridectomy (p. 12).
These ancient hills and ridges were the heart and soul of the land," writes Ngugi. "They kept the tribes' magic and rituals, pure and intact. Their people rejoiced together, giving one another the blood and warmth of their laughter... To the stranger, they kept dumb, breathing none of the secrets of which they were the guardians" (p. 3).
This cultural seclusion with its religious stability would not last forever, though, and Mugo wa Kibiro, "that great Gikuyu seer of old" predicted a change, saying "there shall come a people with clothes like butterflies."(p 2).
The colorful intruders never enter Kameno or Makuyu during this story. Instead, they settle in Siriana, in harmony with missionary practice, spreading the news of the Gospel to the surrounding communities.
But the missionaries had not as yet penetrated into the hills, though they sent a number of disciples to work there," (p. 28) writes Ngugi, when explaining the newcomers. Leader of this "Livingstone" missionary is a local Gikuyu evangelist named Joshua, whose background is questionable. According to the story, he arrived in Siriana and accepted his new religion after hearing a hellfire and brimstone sermon based on the readings of Isaiah, "the white man's seer', but which is apparently spurious and embodies an anachronistic concept of the realm of the dead." (p. 13)
Ngugi concentrates on this indigenous minister's emotional acceptance of Christianity and how this new religion can be distorted and authoritarian. "These strong words frightened Joshua and shook his whole body; shook him to the very roots of his being. He became baptized...
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