Kenyan literary icon, the prolific writer and activist,
James Ngugi Wa Thongo, decries the burden of tribalism in his play, The Black
Hermit. The play was first produced in November, 1962 at the Ugandan National
Theatre and published in 1968 by Heinemann Educational Books Ltd. The setting
is a typical newly independent East African society, which grapples with a new
form of oppression after the dethronement of colonialism through a fierce
struggle for independence
. Revolutionary nationalists and the Mau Mau
guerrillas as chronicled in Ngugi’s, famous novel, Weep Not Child, were at the
vanguard of that anti-colonial struggle.
PLOT
The play, The Black
Hermit, revolves around Remi, a young and vibrant nationalist, who as a
university student, had vigorously campaigned for the ruling Africanist Party
and mobilized his people, the Marua tribe, to vote it into power. Now, the
protagonist is disenchanted with the government because it abandoned the ideals
the nationalists had stood for and created a dichotomy between it and the
peasants, using divisive tactics – tribal sentiments, marginalization and
nepotism, which result in mediocre governance. Remi is irked at the realization
that his people have neither infrastructural amenities nor high profile
appointments in public service. He feels responsible for their predicament. He
had instead of going into politics, chosen to work as a clerk in an oil firm
after his university education. He had also abandoned the village, tribesmen,
family and church to live as a hermit in the city. As the only educated man of
the tribe, they need him now, to provide leadership by possibly forming a
tribal political party that will reposition the Marua tribe into reckoning at
the national polity. His nationalistic convictions clash with the parochial
interest of his tribe, whose pathetic plight as a neglected people stare him in
the face.
Thematic
Preoccupation
The Black Hermit has the central theme of liberation from
oppression. This is an over-riding theme in most of Ngugi’s works such as Weep
Not Child, Petals of Blood, The Trial of Dedan Kimathi , The Devil on the
Cross, The River Between, A Grain of Wheat and Detained: A Writers Prison
Diary, which he had written after years of incarceration without trial. The
consistent exploration of this theme reveals the playwright’s radical
disposition as a socialist who dedicates his writings to a course he strongly
believes in. However, the play introduces a new dimension to the struggle-
emancipation from the conflict within the individual, moral burden that puts
the social crusader in a dilemma and the cankerworm of tribalism, which though
inimical to growth and development, eats deep into the fabrics of the society.
The Black Hermit also portrays a theme of escapism which is explored through
Remi’s spirited, albeit futile attempt to escape from reality and live in the
fantasy world he creates for himself. The protagonist does this by absconding
from the village angry with his parents and elders for coercing him to succumb
to the traditional custom of remarrying Thoni, his elder brother’s widow whom
he had loved, but lost to his brother because he was too shy to let her know.
Refusing to fulfill his filial family obligations as a son and husband, he
moves to the city where he gets himself a white South African girlfriend, Jane
with whom he frolics and frequents night clubs and wild parties. Moreover, the
theme of conflict of interests emanates from the parochial, but desperate
desires of the dramatis personae. The elders of Marua want Remi as ‘the savior’
of the tribe instead of a representative who will serve the entire nation, the
pastor wants him to steer away from the corrupting influence of politics
because he sees him as a potential successor, both Jane and Thoni want him as a
husband and the politicians use the masses as a pawn to win elective positions.
Characterization
The dramatis personae are Remi, the protagonist, Nyobi, his
widowed mother, Thoni, his estranged wife, Omange, his foil, Jane- his white
girl friend, the village Pastor, elders, neighbours and a crowd. The main
character, Remi is portrayed as a hermit who embarks on a self-imposed exile
estranging himself from family and the rustic community to live a solitary
life. He settles in ‘the city’ where he works as a clerk with an oil firm.
There, he seeks solace in escapist indulgencies- night clubbing and partying,
living a cocooned life, with the vague hope of being shielded from the stark
realities of his circumstances. In other words, he is an idealist who lives in
the imaginary world fabricated by his idealistic fantasies. He denies the reality
of his marriage to Thoni, his brother’s widow assuming that she never loved him
and denouncing the custom and people that approved the union. Remi is a chronic
introvert, so withdrawn that he hides from his own shadow. His only friend,
Omange and lover, Jane, are shocked to learn of his carefully hidden secrets
later.
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