Nervous Conditions
Things Fall Apart
Song Of Lawino
Tropical Fish
Nervous Conditions
Nervous Conditions, written by Tsitsi Dangarembga in 1989, is a semi-autobiographical coming of age story about a young woman in modern Africa. The story takes place in Rhodesia in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The story centers around Tambu and Nyasha, female cousins who, until their early teens, lead very different lives.Tambu was raised on her family's farm in Umtali where she was responsible for household chores, gardening, and caring for her younger siblings. Tambu's dreams of getting an education are only fulfilled when her brother dies and she becomes next in line for school since she has no other brothers. She is allowed to stay with her aunt and uncle while she attends school at the mission. While there, Tambu shares a room with her cousin, Nyasha and the girls teach each other many lessons.Nyasha spent most of her formative years in England while her mother and father were getting their education. When she comes back to Africa she realizes the vast differences between European culture and African culture-especially where women are concerned. She experiences inner turmoil as she tries to come to terms with being a woman in Africa. As we see Nyasha's struggles through the eyes of Tambu, we begin to understand the continuing devastation countries are experiencing as a result of colonization by another culture.
Song Of Lawino
A lament sung by a woman whose husband has rejected village life and taken a new wife who speaks English, powders her face and is skinny like European women. It is a lament for the rejection of the deeply-rooted traditions of their ancestors and the superficial materialism of Western values.It is followed by the Song of Ocol, her husbands response. Its terse verse belies the frustration he feels at the outdated values of his society.
The River Between
Waiyaki, the main character in the novel, is brought up by his father Chege to believe that he is the only hope for the ridges Kameno and Makuyu ever uniting and preserving their traditional ways. Chege is a worried man. This is so because of the coming of the “ white man ” to the ridges. The great prophet of the land, Mugo wa Kibiro had in his prophecy fore seen this happening. He prophesized the white man invading the ridges. Mugo prophesized that “ ...there shall come a people with clothes like butterflies....” The people did not believe what he prophesized and instead poured scorn on him, laughed at him and even went to the extreme of suggesting he was not “well ” He was rejected by his own people in his own land; “The seer was rejected by the people of the ridges”.
Mugo’s last words on earth before he died were whispered to his son’s ear, he said ·“salvation shall come from the hills. From the blood that flows in me, I say from the same tree, a son shall rise. And his duty shall be to lead and save the people!” Chege tells this prophecy to Waiyaki and tells him not to forget that he is the last in the “line” that came from Mugo and so he should take up the responsibility of saving the ridges from the white mans rule
River Honia which separates the two ridges is a very symbolic image in the text. River Honia, is the link between the two ridges, it acts as abridge between the two waring parties. The narrator comments a bout Honia in the firat page when he says the two ridges were connected by one source of life, River Honia. The River never dried up and it’s given the human traits of being graceful and having a strong will to live by the narrator.
Waiyaki grows up to become a fine young man, a school teacher, who is respected by everyone in the community. He tries to fulfill the prophecy made by Mugo and carried on by his father Chege. Waiyaki is unfortunate as he is unable to unify the two ridges. He is torn between being faithfull to Nyambura, which means not being faithful to tradition and the ways of the people and being true to the oath he took with the kiama. Kabonyi fixed Waiyaki in the close of this book which is an anti climax as the reader is left in suspense, wondering what happens to Waiyaki and Nyambura. Kabonyi tells the people at the assembly that Waiyaki is marrying Joshua’s daughter an uncircumcised girl, which is an inconceivable and unacceptable idea to the people of the ridges.
Uhuru Film Festival
