Talking about "Tribe"
Moving from Stereotypes to Analysis
Africa Policy Information Center (APIC)

See News And Politics Thread Talking Tribes Moving from Stereotypes to Analysis

Just for you Breadfruit.

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DECOLONIZING THE MIND

Ngugi wa Thiong’o

Excerpted from Decolonising the Mind: The Politics of Language in African Literature. London: James Currey, Nairobi: Heinemann Kenya, New Hampshire: Heinemann, 1986.

Introduction: Towards the Universal Struggle of Language

This book is a summary of some of the issues in which I have been passionately involved for the last twenty years of my practice in fiction, theatre, criticism and in teaching literature. For those who have read my books Homecoming, Writers in Politics, Barrel of a Pen and even Detained: A Writer’s Prison Diary there may be a feeling of déjà vu. Such a reaction will not be far from the truth. But the lectures on which this book is based have given me the chance to pull together in a connected and coherent form the main issues on the language question in literature which I have touched on here and there in my previous works and interviews. I hope though that the work has gained from the insights I have received from the reactions — friendly and hostile — of other people to the issues over the same years. This book is part of a continuing debate all over the continent about the destiny of Africa.

The study of the African realities has for too long been seen in terms of tribes. Whatever happens in Kenya, Uganda, Malawi is because of Tribe A versus Tribe B. Whatever erupts in Zaire, Nigeria, Liberia, Zambia is because of the traditional enmity between Tribe D and Tribe C. A variation of the same stock interpretation is Moslem versus Christian or Catholic versus Protestant where a people does not easily fall into ‘tribes’. Even literature is sometimes evaluated in terms of the ‘tribal’ origins of the authors or the ‘tribal’ origins and composition of the characters in a given novel or play. This misleading stock interpretation of the African realities has been popularised by the western media which likes to deflect people from seeing that imperialism is still the root cause of many problems in Africa. Unfortunately some African intellectuals have fallen victims — a few incurably so — to that scheme and they are unable to see the divide-and-rule colonial origins of explaining any differences of intellectual outlook or any political clashes in terms of the ethnic origins of the actors. No man or woman can choose their biological nationality. The conflicts between peoples cannot be explained in terms of that which is fixed (the invariables). Otherwise the problems between any two peoples would always be the same at all times and places; and further, there would never be any solution to social conflicts except through a change in that which is permanently fixed, for example through genetic or biological transformation of the actors.


Decolonizing the Mind

Can Someone Explain To Me Why This Thread As Been Moved And More Importantly To The Black Roots Forums????

Please explain what I had posted had to do with this:

This forum is for the discussion of Black History, from Africa to throughout the Diaspora. Feel free to post things about great leaders of the past, Kings, Queens, Events, Ordinary people and Revolutionaries to name a few. This forum isn't meant to keep us in the past but to teach each other to be proud of our heritage and roots and to acknowledge them. Helping us to move forward with immense pride knowing where we came from. Remember alot of the things that you may think are not relevant to history both past and present, may be relavant to someone else. So each one, teach one, share some and learn some Black history! - credit to Ladyday & opinionated

Kunjufu I hope you haven't got anything to do with this

Hey I think the 'tribe' situation can be resolved by Africans of each so called 'tribe' speak about the perspectives as it is happening like those reality tv shows.

Ngugi wa Thiong’o, although he has commanded respect both there and here in the West, he is not an actual good representative because he is not in the midst of the scourge that is happening with world headlines.

I think there is a major religious factor involved with the Kenyan situation and the large number of American missionaries (they are for the most part have alternative motives) that plague their country before the election. I have been to numerous meeting with so called missionaries and their doings in Kenya.

Somehow I think they provoked much influence over the elections there.

The church violence for one.

Plus if you check out black people here in America our voting patterns tend to be once a black person is in office we tend to re-elect them till the term limit despite their lack in achievable progress within their constituents. I see the same pattern in Kenya in terms of political office.

allAfrica.com: Kenya: Only Truth And Justice Will Set Us Free (Page 1 of 1)

Well thanks for the story and if this was put elsewhere I hope you receive the answer to your question.

Tahliba,

I moved your thread here; the reason being the topic here (imho), has a strong historical basis, which one will need to know, and discuss in order to understand.

The Village Square, is usually for more general threads; threads that without regular contributions, disapper, quite quickly. Taking them away, not only from their context, but also literally from view.


For those reasons , the thread was moved.

So you moved my thread based purely on the title!

I put it in the village square because it is the most read forum and because although the term tribalism as a historical base it's usage amongst us is very much contemporary. The purpose of the post was to offer up some analysis of the terms usage by the Diaspora on these forums...You know the whole 'Africa can't unite because of 'tribalism'; Africa is in turmol because of 'tribulism' threads'. Given the posts including my own on the Kenya situation it was very much in context.

I will give you on your argument about the turnover of posts on the village forums But it was my decicion to post it there And I would have understood if you'd moved it to the politics forums, or left it where it was and copied or linked it to the so called history forum.

More importantly I am not some newbie poster, the decent thing would have been to have contacted me (I was still on-line when you made the move) and asked my opinion before making a decision about my post based on your own opinions. Out of order

Can you explain what you mean by the above?

Tahliba,

Respectfully, I do not have to ask any poster here permission to move, edit, close or delete a thread they may have created. That's never been part of my role here as a moderator. So I'm well in order in excercising full editorial control over these boards (as part of the Moderation team here); that's what I was invited on the team to do - on a voluntary basis.

Though you may be upset that your thread was moved, I made that decision, as I other Mods make similar decisions here frequently.

I explained my reasons, which you summarized to be only about the title. You're not a newbie poster, so you could have equally PMed the Mod team to request your thread moved back.

There is no onus on me or any moderator to contact posters, when we edit any thread or post here - newbie or not. What we try and do is get along with the membership, which is not always possible, as you should know and can imagine.

The thread will be returned to the Village Square.

[quote=Tahliba;1455246]Talking about "Tribe"
Moving from Stereotypes to Analysis
Africa Policy Information Center (APIC)

See News And Politics Thread Talking Tribes Moving from Stereotypes to Analysis

Just for you Breadfruit.

Tahliba just SHUT UP !!

Thank you Breadfruit, much appreciated, but not required since I have already placed it in the politics thread (I figured you all couldn't argue with it being there)

[quote=The Phantom;1455941]And the point you are attempting to make is.......?!?

Yes, what is happening is he has not taken a political grip on his country in terms of designating a political party affiliation.

Based on this reference he apparently simplify the matter to this, if any dare to get the actual article I give thanks, his tendency is appears please to appease some non-Kenyan audience most likely Western.

This is a simplistic view of how the world is in very many western quarters ie

you probably heard this term before

"The world will be divided into haves and have-nots"

"There was the house negro and the field negro"

I have never heard anybody from outside the west in particular from Africa and the Far East use this to description to finely describe the modes of operation in ones country.

They mention too many variables if one has the patience which is key but in the west we are always point out the extreme: poverty vs rich, black vs white, haves vs have not

I know he has written books in his people's language but he has been picked up recently by Random House and going to many book clubs, he probably does a circuit and make sure his words are easily digested by western audience.

Usually in the west, many people do not have the patience to even listen to an African or Asian talk in depth about their country and political situation.

If you cant keep western people entertained in 3 minutes you lose their attention.

Check this out

This is very western, no question about it. Many times even a great number of black people here in the west display about the same attitude.

So this mentality is very worrisome in my opinion. And I see that Ngugi wa Thiong'o has apparently caught some of this infection.