The Black Hermit
The
Black Hermit was the first play by the Kenyan
author Ngũgĩ wa Thiongʼo,
and the first published East African play in English. The traveling theatre of Makerere
College were the first to produce the play,
putting it on in honour of Ugandan independence at the Ugandan National Theatre in Kampala
in November 1962. The play was published in a small edition by Makerere
University Press in 1963, and republished in Heinemann's African Writers Series in 1968.
Plot
The
Black Hermit, a play by Kenyan author Ngũgĩ wa Thiongʼo,
is the story of a young man, Remi, who is the first of his tribe to attend
university. Amidst the backdrop of a politically torn country, Remi himself is
torn between his sense of tribalism and nationalism. This struggle runs deep,
as he finds it at the heart of his afflictions between himself, his marriage
and familial relations, and his greater sense of obligations to his people and
the country. The overwhelming nature of these problems drives him into
isolation as a black hermit. His self-imposed exile into the city leads him to
find contentment in the Jane, his new lover, and nightly clubbing. However,
after he is lobbied to return to the tribe, he must now confront the demons of
his past.
Act 1
Scene
1
The
play opens with Remi's wife and mother, Thoni and Nyobi, respectively, carrying
out household chores. A conversation is struck as both admit to suffering from
the absence of their beloved Remi. Thoni's distress is caused by her lack of
fulfillment of motherly and womanly obligations to her tribe. Nyobi seeks to
comfort her daughter-in-law, directing her to escape her sorrow: I hate to
see your youth wearing away, falling into bits like a cloth hung in the sun.
[quote].
A
knock at the door distracts them only to reveal the presence of one of the
tribe's elders. A premonition had occurred in the village messenger, an oracle,
that the strength and bounty of the village would return should the green seed,
Remi, along with his university education, be planted. The elder, on behalf of
the other elders, approaches Nyobi asking for her blessing in the plan to bring
Remi back to the tribe. She obliges the messenger and mission her blessing but
seeks out the power of Christ to return her son.
Scene
2
The
elders of the tribe are congregating to discuss the plight of the tribe. Uhuru,
or freedom, was promised yet not delivered by the Africanist Party and their
neighbors who they conceive to be aspiring against them are surely to be blamed
for their misfortune. Their salvation would be in Remi, the prodigal, educated
son of the tribe, would lead their tribe back to strength and influence;
therefore, the leader along with additional elders, along with Nyobi's
blessing, elect to travel to the city.
Scene
3
Nyobi
fears the elder's efforts will not work without divine intervention from the
God of Christ. She visits the tribe's priest for spiritual guidance and
comfort, not only for herself but for her daughter-in-law, Thoni, whose
demeanor is affected by Remi's absence. She doubts the tribe's elders will be
effective in returning him, so after the priest offers her words of comfort,
she pleads the case for him to travel to the city and convince Remi to return.
He obliges.
Act 2
Scene
1
Over
the last few weeks, Remi has become increasingly mindful of home. Jane, his long
time lover since moving to the city, has noticed this and addressed him about
it. His thoughts and concerns are with his mother, so much so that he has
become distant from Jane and negligent in remembering their plans. Jane wants
for Remi to open up about his past, even suggesting that the two should visit
his home. Nevertheless, he evades her inquiries, and the two depart to a night
club.
Scene
2
Remi
then gets a surprise visit from a longtime friend and colleague, Omange. The
two engage in an impassioned debate about social issues in the country. At a
glance, it appears to be of the typical matters. race relations, politics and
regime transitions, tribalism versus nationalism, etc., are all brought up.
Yet, things take a turn, as Remi discusses his politically active past at his
university and in his tribe.
He
goes on to reveal that his childhood crush, who was to be married to his
brother, was left widowed following his brother's accidental death, and that
under tribal custom, he was to marry her. This was his reason for leaving, as
surely, she could not have loved him, and, given his political ideology, he
could not agree with following tribal law.
Just
as Omange suggests that Remi return home to reconcile this grievance, the
elders enter; Remi requests of Omange to depart and to prevent Jane from
entering. The elders lobby Remi regarding the same manner, his return to the
tribe. However, they desire of him to lead them politically and to be the
liaison between them and the government. Remi grows agitated, as the same
tribalistic passions he once escaped have followed him. He sends them off, as
he vaguely fails to agree or disagree with their demand.
Their
departure is followed shortly by the arrival of the tribe's Christian Priest.
Shockingly, he too arrives to ask for Remi's return. This time, he approaches
the task from a religious and emotional perspective: God needs you... Your
mother needs you. Finally, after this emotional lobby, Remi agrees to
return. He comes to the realization that up until now he has been a hermit,
hiding from his conflictions.
Scene
3
Days
pass as the date of departure draws near. For obvious reasons, Jane is upset
that he's leaving and begs him to allow her to join him. He provides the
reasoning that their cultural differences wouldn't permit her to function
within the tribe. Further interrogation reveals that Remi's true reasoning for
denying her the trip, and the reason for his coming to the city: his tribal
marriage. She becomes distraught and leaves him.
Act 3
Scene
1
The
day has now come when Remi is to return. While Nyobi is filled with excitement,
Thoni contains fear in her heart. Premonitions and dreams fill her mind with
symbols that signal to her a less than harmonious return of her beloved.
Comforting from both Nyobi and the Pastor prove ineffective, and upon the
arrival of Remi, her feelings were proven true. In his return, he detests the
tribalistic urges pushed by the elders and rejects the efforts of both his
mother and the Pastor to reunite with his wife.
Scene
2
Filled
deeply with sorrow, Thoni attempts to escape the village. Her destiny is to be
exiled to the country of darkness -a place where she's visited before- of where
she will be free of the pain she experiences. A local woman petitions her to
abandon the voyage and return to the tribe. Her efforts are to no avail,
however, as Thoni disappears.
Scene
3
Remi
remains blinded to Thoni's love until the delivery of her letter, where she
pours out her heart. This news transforms his demeanor instantaneously, as he
rushes to his house in pursuit of her. To his avail, he finds nothing but Nyobi
and the pastor. Nyobi unaffectionately brushes his concerns until she
acknowledges the sincerity of them, which causes her to attitude to shift.
Nevertheless, all parties become disheartened at the return of Thoni's corpse
to the house. Remi is left in pain and sorrow at the sight of his deceased wife
as the play concludes.
Structure and genre
This
work is an African Genre and play.
Themes and concepts
Multiple
themes reoccur throughout the play and factor into the plot and character
development. One of the main themes involves the pull between Nationalism and Tribalism
that exists in the Post-Colonial country. We see these two varying attitudes on political
life expressing themselves in how Remi and the elders in his tribe seek to
address the tribe's issues. This can be seen directly in Scene three of Act
three where Remi and his friend, Omange, agree that to deal with tribalism
with ruthless vigour is a part of the solution. Another ithematic
Origins
The
nature of this work's origin is unclear, being that it was written in one of
Ngugi's early years. However, it is believed that the chief of his influences
for writing The Black Hermit is his personal experience of regime change
following independence from a colonizer: In the early 1960s, when Ngugi was
writing, the relationship between ethnicity and nationalism was clearly a vexed
one.
Publishing history
The
Black Hermit was the first play by the Kenyan
author Ngũgĩ wa Thiongʼo,
and the first published East African play in English. The travelling theatre of Makerere
College were the first to produce the play,
putting it on in honour of Ugandan independence at the Ugandan National Theatre in Kampala
in November 1962. The play was published in a small edition by Makerere
University Press in 1963, and republished in Heinemann's African Writers Series in 1968.
Translations
Ngugi
originally produced this work in English. Later on, however, a change in
perspective of writing in English rather than his native tongues drove him to
print the work in Swahili and Giyuku. Today, the work is published in over thirty languages.
References
· Geoffrey Axworthy (1984). "African
Theatre". In Stanley
Hochman (ed.). McGraw-Hill
Encyclopedia of World Drama: An International Reference Work in 5 Volumes. VNR AG. p. 27. ISBN 978-0-07-079169-5. Retrieved 17 November 2012.
· · Ngũgĩ wa
Thiongʼo; Reinhard Sander; Bernth Lindfors; Lynette Cintrón (2006). Ngugi
wa Thiong'o Speaks: interviews with the Kenyan writer. Africa World Press. p. 1. ISBN 978-1-59221-265-1. Retrieved 17 November 2012.
· · F.
Abiola Irele, Biodun Jeyifo, eds. (2010). The
Oxford Encyclopedia of African Thought.
Oxford University Press. p. 161. ISBN 978-0-19-533473-9. Retrieved 17 November 2012.
· · G. D. Killam,
Alicia L. Kerfoot, eds. (2008). Student
Encyclopedia of African Literature.
ABC-CLIO. p. 111. ISBN 978-0-313-33580-8. Retrieved 17 November 2012.
· · Wa Thiong'o,
Ngugi (1968). The Black Hermit. Kampala: Makerer University Press: Kampala:
Makerere University Press, 1963. Reprinted AWS 51, Nairobi, London, Ibadan:
Heinemann Educational Books. p. 42.
· · Wa Thiong'o,
Ngugi (1968). The Black Hermit. Kampala: Makerer University Press: Kampala:
Makerer University Press, 1963. Reprinted AWS 51, Nairobi, London, Ibadan.
p. 42.
· · Chakraborty,
Amitayu (May 2014). "Nationalism,
Ethnicity and Gender in Ngugi's The Black Hermit" (PDF). The Journal of Pan African Studies. 6 (9).
· · Ogude, James
(1999). Ngugi’s Novels and African History: Narrating the Nation. Pluto P.
·
OBYERODHYAMBO, OBY (2014). "Ngũgĩ Wa Thiong'o: The Unrecognized
Black Hermit". African Theatre 13: 48–52. JSTOR 10.7722/j.ctt6wpbr7.14.
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