The European missionary believed too much in his mission of conquest not to communicate it in the languages most readily available to the people: the… - Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o

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The European missionary believed too much in his mission of conquest not to communicate it in the languages most readily available to the people: the African writer believes too much in 'African literature' to write it in those ethnic, divisive and underdeveloped languages of the peasantry!

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About Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o

Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o (5 January 1938 – 28 May 2025) was a Kenyan author of fiction and nonfiction. He used to publish in the English language but later primarily wrote in his native language of Gikuyu. He often wrote on topics regarding colonialism, language, and theatre.

Also Known As

Alternative Names: James Ngugi James Thiong'o Ngugi Ngugi wa Thiong'o Ngugi wa Thiongo
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Additional quotes by Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o

But, somehow, in time, I began to connect a few threads, and things became clearer as if I was emerging from a mist. I learned that our land was not quite our land; that our compound was part of a property owned by an African landlord, Lord Reverend Stanley Kahahu, or Bwana Stanley, as we called him; that we were now the ahoi, tenants at will. How did we come to be ahoi on our own land? Had we lost our traditional land to Europeans? The mist had not cleared entirely.

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They looked beyond the laughing face of the whiteman and suddenly saw a long line of other red strangers who carried not the Bible, but the sword. […] The iron snake […] was quickly wriggling towards Nairobi for a thorough exploitation of the hinterland.

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