Devil on the Cross
What is the relevance of the title DEVIL ON THE CROSS to the book Devil on the Cross
From the novel Devil on the Cross by Ngugi wa Thiongo
From the novel Devil on the Cross by Ngugi wa Thiongo
The crucifixion of the Devil is offered to the readers in the form of Wariinga’s recurring dream, as allusion to the crucifixion of Christ.
She saw first the darkness, carved open at one side to reveal a Cross, which hung in the air. Then she saw a crowd of people dressed in rags walking in the light, propelling the Devil towards the Cross. The Devil was clad in a silk suit, and he carried a walking stick shaped like a folded umbrella. On his head there were seven horns, seven trumpets for sounding infernal hymns of praise and glory. The Devil had two mouths, one on his forehead and the other at the back of his head. . . . His skin was red, like that of a pig. (13)
As Wariinga’s dream continues, the people proclaim the Devil’s sins before crucifying him:
You commit murder, then you don your robes of pity and you go to wipe the tears from the faces of orphans and widows. You steal food from people’s stores at midnight, then at dawn you visit the victims wearing your robes of charity and you offer them a calabash filled with the grain that you have stolen. (13)
As the allusion continues, the Devil is rescued by a certain group three days after his crucifixion:
After three days, there came others dressed in suits and ties, who, keeping close to the wall of darkness, lifted the Devil down from the Cross. And they knelt before him and they prayed to Him in loud voices, beseeching him to give them a portion of his robes of cunning. (13-14)
As you can see, the allusion is an obvious retelling of the Christ's crucifixion. Unlike Christ, however, the devil isn't persecuted by those in power, but rather, he is indicted, accused and punished by the people. On the other hand, like Christ, the Devil is resurrected and served by his disciples.
In my reading, the Devil is a personification of international/ colonial capital and the disciples are the native elite who, even after the “Devil” has left still rely on the exploitative practices introduced and mastered by the former colonizers. So, one could read the title in itself as a reversal of the traditional associations with the cross and thus read the novel as a journey into the functioning of the “Devil” of capital and the possibilities of resistance against it, especially within the framework of postcolonial nation-state and its workers, peasants, and the poor in opposition to the native elites, the disciples of the Devil!
Masood Raja/ July 11th, 2019/ Postcolonial Books, Postcolonial Guides, Reading Guides