Female empowerment
The theme of female empowerment is in many ways the backbone of The River and the Source. Akoko models female empowerment for the women in her lineage who come after her. Akoko grows up in a patriarchal society where men hold the power and their voices are more valued, yet she refuses to be limited by this. Rather than walk in demurely when she meets her husband, Akoko enters with her head held high and looks him in the eyes as an equal. After her brother-in-law steals her personal wealth and takes over as chief, Akoko sets out on a daring journey to a completely unknown city to fight for her grandson’s birthright, standing up to her brother-in-law and ensuring her family’s well-being. Her decision inspires her daughter Nyabera to seek a new life for herself after she is unable to fulfill society’s expectations of being a wife and mother. The novel is full of examples of female excellence and pushes back on old ideas of women being less worthy than men. Elizabeth pursues an education at a time when many considered it a waste to educate women; her daughter Vera goes against tradition and decides not to marry; and her daughter-in-law Wandia becomes the first Kenyan woman to earn a doctorate in medicine. These women are strong, capable, hardworking, and wise. They demonstrate what is possible when women choose to live their lives honestly and bravely and are supported by those around them.
Tradition
Tradition is a key theme in The River and the Source. The novel begins in a rural Luo village in the 1870s where tradition is woven into every aspect of community life. Chik, the traditions and customs of the Luo, guides characters' actions and rule society, keeping order. Naming holds great importance for the characters, and individuals are named based on season, dreams sent by ancestors, and personality. When Akoko and Owuor are betrothed, there is a strict set of steps to be followed so that everything is done with honor and respect. Akoko’s decision to return to her family's house after accusations of witchcraft shocks everyone because she is breaking tradition by leaving her husband's home. When there is a difference of opinion, characters often reference Chik in order to strengthen their argument. While these customs provide order to society, they also maintain a status quo of women’s subordination to men. Therefore, throughout the novel not only Akoko but her daughter Nyabera and granddaughter Awiti (Elizabeth) push back against tradition to forge their own path. Even as time goes on, certain traditions remain very important. When Becky decides to marry a white man named John, her sister warns her that even though interracial marriage is taboo, she still has a duty to go tell her father before they get married because that’s how things are done.
Colonialism
The theme of colonialism is woven throughout the novel and it profoundly affects the characters and the society they live in. At first, the Luo people react to the rumors of white people and their strange ways with amusement and disbelief such as when they hear about them traveling around in “swift moving little metal houses which had eyes'' (cars). Since the Luo live further inland, they remain mostly untouched by the British even once the British have nearly full control. However, Obura’s death in WWI reveals how black bodies were exploited for a white man’s war, something Nyabera struggles to understand after her brother’s death. In 1930, Akoko and her two nephews travel to Kisuma to appeal their case before the colonial government. They receive help navigating the city and its unfamiliar ways from another African. Although he helps them, he holds disparaging views about them as “primitives straight out of the bush” while he, who has been to a mission school and dresses in European clothes, is “civilized,” betraying how many Africans internalized racist views of European superiority. Religion was often used as a tool to win over native populations during colonial rule. Catholicism, brought to Kenya during colonialism, has a deep impact on many characters in the novel, as will be discussed in the theme of religion below. The events of Kenya’s independence movement impact Elizabeth and Mark, as they are young parents. Elizabeth moves back to Aluor to keep her and the kids safe. Mark, alone in the city, hears about the brutal tactics used by the British who targeted not only Mau Mau fighters but anyone from the Kikuyu tribe. Eventually Kenya gains its independence, but lingering distrust between white and black people remains. Over a decade later, when Becky decides to marry a Canadian pilot named John, her sister Vera warns her of the ostracism she will face for marrying a white man although her children from that marriage are accepted into the family.
Cultural Change
Spanning over one hundred years of Kenyan history, the novel offers readers a window onto the cultural upheavals that transform Kenyan society. The contrasts between the traditional Luo village that Akoko grows up in, the Catholic mission where Nyabera moves with the family, and city life in an independent Kenya reveal broad social, economic and cultural changes. Whereas Akoko’s marriage was entirely arranged by the two families, Elizabeth and Mark meet on their own and only once Mark decides to propose do their families meet. Their betrothal is a mix of old and new ways: it is negotiated by the families, but Akoko and Nyabera decide to ask for a purely symbolic bride price. By the next generation, ideas about marriage and dating are loosening even more. When Vero goes to university, dating has become commonplace without it necessarily being attached to marriage. At the start of the novel, women’s entire role and value in society is centered on being a wife and giving birth to many children, something that Akoko and Nyabera face incredible pressure to measure up to. However, by later generations in the family, opportunities for education and career are opening up, allowing greater freedom for the female characters of the novel. The theme of change comes up again and again: as money is introduced and becomes more widespread in society, as people move to the city and the pace of life becomes more chaotic, as people from different tribes begin to interact and inter-marry. Throughout there is a push and pull as characters navigate searching out and pursuing change and deciding how much of the old ways to hold onto.
Religion
The theme of religion is present throughout the novel, although who the characters are worshiping changes. The Luo people pray to Were, their creator, whom they call the god of the eye of the rising sun. It is Were who the Luo believe provides life, both agriculturally and in a mother’s womb. After Akoko’s second son dies, her only living child Nyabera angrily questions whether Were even exists, wondering why he would give people children only to take them away. Nyabera’s decision to search out the white people’s new religion changes the trajectory not only of her life, but of those of the rest of the family. Nyabera finds haven in Catholicism, which helps her make sense of her suffering. She brings Akoko, her daughter Awiti, and her nephew Owuor to live there with her. All of them except for Akoko eventually shift from using their Luo names to Chrisitan ones. Growing up in the church, Owuor feels called to become a priest, a decision he debates since he would be giving up on his grandmother’s dream of him reclaiming the title of chief. In the following generation, two of his cousin Elizabeth’s children also feel called to religion. Tony becomes a priest and Vera, after realizing that she’s been a Catholic her whole life without understanding anything about the religion, decides to join Opus Dei, an institution within the Catholic Church. One of the biggest conflicts characters have with the Catholic religion is its stance on marriage. Mark struggles at first with both of his children’s decisions because it means they will never marry or have children. However, seeing how happy they are, he comes around to it.
Motherhood
The novel focuses on four generations of Kenyan women, and motherhood is a key part in their lives. Beginning in a rural village, Ogola portrays how much of a woman's worth in traditional Luo society is based on her ability to provide numerous children for her husband, specifically sons. Both Akoko and later her daughter Nyabera face pressure both external and internal when they cannot meet these expectations. Akoko has three children: two sons and her daughter Nyabera. Nyabera gives birth to many children throughout her life, but all but her daughter Awiti die young due to illness. The women navigate the incredible joys and pain that comes with motherhood. For both characters, caring and providing for their families becomes a driving force in their lives. After fearing that perhaps their family line would die out, Nyabera’s daughter Elizabeth Awiti has seven children with her husband Mark; she embraces both motherhood and her career as a teacher. Elizabeth Awiti’s daughter-in-law Wandia also balances being a mother and having a career, struggling to make the decision of whether or not to accept a prestigious research opportunity since it will mean spending a year away from the family. Both women have spouses that support their wives' careers. Wandia describes her mother as devoted and self-sacrificing, having raised and supported five children on her own. These qualities are reminiscent of Akoko and how hard she worked to support her family, Ogola is perhaps suggesting that many Kenyan mothers fit this description. Akoko as the matriarch in this family is held to almost mythical proportions, as even those in generations who never met her talk about her with awe and seek to emulate her.
Suffering and resilience
The characters in The River and the Source experience hardship and loss throughout their lives, and as such, the theme of resilience in the face of suffering is a constant refrain. Akoko does not live an easy life: over the course of her lifetime she loses her two sons and husband, yet each time she finds the strength to keep going. Her daughter Nyabera suffers a similar fate. Akoko has an iron-willed personality and rarely breaks down; she becomes frustrated with her daughter whom she sees as wallowing in her misfortune. Akoko models the resilience to push on, frequently saying that “God owes nobody anything” but that “yesterday is not today and today is not tomorrow” meaning each day is a fresh start. The will to persevere that Akoko instills in her family is so strong that future generations reference Akoko and her fighting spirit when facing challenges, almost as a mantra to carry them through the moment.
