Summary
Chapter 15
Waiyaki yearns for someone to talk to, someone to share his desires with. He wonders about even knowing what those desires are, especially as he thought he loved the hills and their people now believes that they are not enough for him.
Waiyaki is superstitious and the Mission has not changed this. He thinks about how the white man came here and found no resistance. Ever since Muthoni’s death, things are only getting worse, and Waiyaki wonders if he is able to create order and bring light to dark.
A mist clouds his thoughts and he can see the shape of a woman coming toward him. She vanishes and he gets out of bed. Outside, the bright moon illuminates everything, making it unearthly and alluring. Waiyaki listens for voices but there are none. Oppression steals over him, and he wants someone to talk to. He thinks life might be all yearning.
Suddenly he realizes he wants freedom and wants to run anywhere, or maybe just hover like a spirit. He moves down to the river and goes to the next ridge, thinking he might go see Kamau.
He stops abruptly and sees Nyambura in front of him. He hadn’t seen her for a long time, but now he recognizes the shape in his mind.
Nyambura fears her father and is often lonely. She likes to go to the river by herself and cry; pain fills her every day. The river is her only companion. She grows colder towards her father. She knows what Muthoni did is a sin, but she is still hard-pressed to think Muthoni herself sinned. She often thinks of Waiyaki and how she barely understood him—how could he be educated at Siriana and then lead the elements that broke away? She wishes he were on their side.
They awkwardly say hello and walk together. Waiyaki realizes he does not really want to see Kamau. The moon lights their path and he knows that something passed between the two of them as human beings, untainted by religion or culture.
The moon seems to root them to the spot. Waiyaki wishes he could touch her but controls himself. She says she would like to see his school and they agree she can come tomorrow. She says goodbye and Waiyaki goes home.
Chapter 16
Four o’clock arrives and Nyambura does not show up. Waiyaki is upset and puzzled, and he goes home.
It is the season of the long rains, a favorite with the people. A good harvest is likely. However, the last few years have been tough. The pattern of seasons seems broken: it rains less and the soil does not respond to the people. Perhaps it is due to the white men and the blaspheming of Makuyu.
Waiyaki often thinks about the prophecy and wonders if Chege really thought it was him. He wishes he understood better. He also thinks of Kabonyi and wonders if the man thinks of himself as the savior. Kabonyi is much older and he challenges everything Waiyaki says at the meetings of the school-governing committee.
Waiyaki is back in his hut ruing the fact that everyone watches him. He knows people would not have liked to have seen him with Nyambura. His thoughts turn to his father and he admires him greatly. He decides he must be like him and serve the tribe. He will open more and more schools and even a college, and maybe he will get teachers from Nairobi.
He watches a small flame in his hut and tries to touch it. A knock sounds and Kinuthia enters. He is nervous and asks if Waiyaki is in the Kiama. He’d heard Kabonyi saying Waiyaki was too young to be let in on the secrets of the tribe, and he warns Waiyaki about him. Waiyaki asks why Kabonyi would not like him, and Kinuthia replies “jealousy.”
Chapter 17
Joshua usually has a full church and people find his preaching rousing. They admire his fidelity; he will never compromise on the tribe’s practices being sinful.
Waiyaki occasionally goes to his church and does not quite know why he does so. Today he is thinking of Kabonyi and the Kiama.
Waiyaki marvels at how Joshua knows the Bible so well and mixes his own words with scripture. Waiyaki’s thoughts go back to himself and how it might be difficult to unite the ridges. Does he even know himself?
Joshua is at the pulpit, condemning, coaxing, and warning. Waiyaki feels guilty but does not know why. Perhaps he is an intruder or a spy. As the hymns swell in the church, he realizes that he was disappointed not to see Nyambura there today.
Waiyaki is in the Kiama; an elder came to tell him. He knew they might not like him in this church, but he believed they’d always stick by him. His knowledge can uplift the tribe and make it strong enough to push away the settlers and the missionaries.
On the way out, Kamau finds him and says hello. Nyambura is passing at a distance, and both look at her. Waiyaki remembers that Kinuthia told him Kamau thought he saw him in Makuyu that night. Kamau asks him pensively what he thinks of that girl; Waiyaki lies and says he didn’t see her. Kamau muses that she is beautiful and Waiyaki fills with jealousy.
Nyambura is waiting for Waiyaki in the next valley. She felt guilty for not going to Marioshoni that day but did not want to disobey her father. Regardless, she has a strange longing for Waiyaki and wishes she could see him.
Now they are face-to-face and Waiyaki realizes she came to see him. He wants to tell her he loves her, but he does not.
Nyambura returns home with a glow inside. Her mother notices but does not know why.
Chapter 18
Waiyaki is constantly busy with his schools and the Kiama. People call him “Our Teacher” and believe he will help the tribe. Waiyaki cares more for the teaching, but sometimes feels a surge of idealism and patriotism.
It is the day for the parents to gather from all over the ridges. Waiyaki is convinced that he must press for unity between Kameno and Makuyu; it is the time. It had been a temptation, an echo, a possibility—and now it is a need.
Everyone is there, many to see the Teacher. They think he will help the tribe regain its purity and power. The school seems to be a symbol of their defiance of the foreign ways. The parents walk around and admire it, and they admire Waiyaki as well.
Kabonyi does not like this. He thinks Waiyaki is an upstart and just a boy with silly ideas. His own son, Kamau, is older and just as good of a teacher. He thinks of the prophecy and worries that Waiyaki might be the one.
The meeting finally starts. Children come and sing songs, which Waiyaki had taught them from his own days at Siriana. The last line of the song is “I want the shield and spear of learning,” (93) and some parents shed tears. Waiyaki must be their savior; he opened their eyes and woke the sleeping lions.
Kabonyi writhes with anger as he sees the good impression the young man is making.
Once the songs are over, Waiyaki stands and speaks of his plans for Marioshoni.
Kabonyi stands next and reminds people of the poverty of the land and how there are more pressing needs than school buildings. It is better to drive the white men away altogether. The people must be warriors and restore purity and wisdom to the tribe.
Kabonyi’s words stir something in the people. Many feel that Waiyaki is too young and they're not cowards. However, most people are on Waiyaki’s side. Waiyaki, hurt by the elder’s words, stands. His eyes and voice brim with defiance and he sounds like Chege of old. He tells them all he knows he is young and that the elders must guide the youth. He only wants to serve the ridges, and learning is very important. People shout and cheer. An inter-ridge committee is formed afterward, and Kabonyi is not on it.
Kamau leads his father home. Kabonyi is almost crippled with rage and spits out that his son should have supplanted him. Kamau broods.
More schools are put up in the next few months. Everyone talks of Waiyaki, and his fame is cemented. Waiyaki seems a match for the white men; the faith in him is strong.
Eventually, the Kiama forces him to take an oath of purity and togetherness in the tribe, but he does not stop the think if there is any danger in it. He only sees schools everywhere. Education is life. Only fleetingly does he remember that he did not preach for unity.
Chapter 19
Joshua has been working toward winning people to Christ for a long time now, but it seems like maybe fate is going against him. He listens to what the Mission says even when it sounds puzzling. The problem right now is not that some people return to the old rites, like circumcision, but rather that the young Waiyaki is rising. In response, he has Siriana open up two more schools.
Joshua decides to hold a meeting in Kameno and it goes rather well; a few people are converted. This is a good challenge to the elders.
Waiyaki knew of this meeting but is indifferent about it. After all, he’d had some Christian teaching. The thing he wonders about now is if his moment to preach on unity had passed. He had been intoxicated with wonder and said nothing. Now he just tells himself it will be next time, or another time. Education is his mission and his passion. He even resigns from the Kiama so he can focus on it.
Waiyaki knows he loves Nyambura. They meet very rarely, but there is still a gulf between them. On the day of another Christian meeting, Waiyaki sees her and his heart skips a beat.
Nyambura is rarely happy anymore. She hates living in her father’s home and thinks incessantly of Waiyaki. She is weary of Joshua’s religion. She knows she cannot be a rebel like Muthoni, but she wants a God who can give her the fullness of life and still her restless soul. She clings to the idea of Christ and his love. It seems like Waiyaki is a Christ of sorts, and she begins to think she can only be saved through him, her black Messiah. She often doubts, of course, and she prays for forgiveness. Nevertheless, church wearies her and she skips it sometimes to go to the Honia.
Today she walks into the river. Waiyaki watches her and it seems like a holy light emanates from her body; he thinks the place will forever be sacred to him. He is a little frightened, though, for it seems like she is a sacrifice. He thinks he must run away but she raises her head.
Her intensity thrills him. She tells him not to run away, calling him “Teacher.” This excites him. They talk about the river, being alone in their family, and the bravery of Muthoni. Waiyaki muses that maybe Muthoni did find something true.
He steps toward Nyambura and tells her he loves her. She feels joy and sorrow, and she does not resist him holding her. He asks her to marry him, but she says no—even though she wants to. Her father will not approve, she cries, and rumors are already spreading. She runs off. Waiyaki walks away slowly.
Kamau emerges from his hiding place, burning with rage, jealousy, and humiliation. He had always loved Nyambura. Now Waiyaki is his rival until the death.
Chapter 20
Waiyaki travels from ridge to ridge with his message of education. The elders embrace him and his passion never dims. He does wonder how to get more teachers, though, and he finally approaches some men who had just graduated from Siriana.
At home, the Kiama is gaining power. Its message is to keep the tribe pure and to fight for the land that had been taken by the settler, the government, the missionary. The Kiama wanted people to take the oath, and the people were glad Waiyaki had taken it.
Thus the old rivalry continues. Waiyaki sees himself in the middle and is committed to reconciliation, especially as things are worsening. Waiyaki’s guilt at not having said this earlier eats at him. He must bide his time, though, and wait for the right moment.
Waiyaki works hard. He often thinks of Nyambura. One day, Kinuthia comes to him nervously and says some people are saying he is one of Joshua’s followers now and he was seen in the church. Others say he wants to sell the tribe out to the white men. Waiyaki laughs at this calumny.
Kinuthia is still serious and finally asks if he is going to marry Nyambura. Waiyaki is shocked. Kinuthia presses on, saying he is the symbol of the tribe and is born again in its might. People take the oath in his name. He had best be careful not to let his name be his ruin. Waiyaki calms him and says she would not marry him.
A few weeks later, he meets with an elder who praises his father and grandfather. Waiyaki glows with pride, but then feels a sense of foreboding as Kinuthia’s words come back to him.
Christmas is approaching, and it coincides with the tribal ceremonies and rituals. Many come to talk to Waiyaki, but he is losing contact with them because he does not participate in the rituals.
One day, news spreads that one of Joshua’s followers’ huts was burnt. This makes Waiyaki think of the Kiama, and with a shock, he realizes he never should have resigned. Its power is everywhere.
Analysis
Events begin to escalate in this series of chapter, and things that were long simmering begin to come to a head. Joshua is no longer comfortable with the pace his conversions are going at, and expands his reach into Kameno. Kamau and Kabonyi begin to plot against Waiyaki, their jealousy and frustration with the young man beginning to come to a head. The two most important things, however, are Waiyaki’s continuing struggle with the mantle of leadership and what that really means for himself and for the tribe, and his budding relationship with Nyambura.
First, Waiyaki realizes that he is lonely and has “the desire to share his hopes, his yearnings and longings with someone” (71). In his position of power (he is now called “Teacher”), he is isolated and cannot help but acknowledge that “he thought he loved the hills and their people” (71)—but it is not enough. He ponders if life is nothing more than yearning for something, and he wishes he could be truly free. Even though he is occasionally shortsighted, he does see well enough to know he is being watched by everyone. He worries about Kabonyi and about the Kiama, of which he is a part and from which he eventually resigns.
Waiyaki’s problems, however, stem not from the things he does realize but rather from the things he does not. He does not think too deeply about taking the oath, which Ngugi foreshadows as a problem. He is also devoted single-mindedly to education for his people, and although he feels convicted that there needs to be unity between Kameno and Makuyu, when the time comes for him to say something, he does not. He pushes it to the back of his mind, only allowing for pangs of guilt every once in a while. He also does not know where he truly stands in regard to the tribe’s position on the white man. He attends Joshua’s church to see what it’s like, but he feels like a spy. He admits that “he loved some Christian teaching” (100).
As ever, Waiyaki is full of ambivalence, constantly wondering if he’s betrayed the tribe or is doing the right thing by it. Ngugi is not subtle about Waiyaki’s vacillation, writing, “His god, education, guided him…He had not yet stopped to think where all this was leading” (109) and “Waiyaki was losing that contact with people that can come only from taking part together in a ritual. He was becoming too obsessed with the schools and the widening rift and divisions” (113). Critic Ato Sekyi-Otu notes that the focus on the white man’s education is problematic in and of itself, for Siriana and Waiyaki’s attitudes are contradictory: “it is a symptomatic contradiction whose deeper roots are to be found in the power relations of the colonial situation –power relations which, intimately connected with the politics of land alienation, determine the character and goals of educational practices, the entire sphere of intellectual and cultural production, no less than the relations of material production.” Thus, it is ironic and inherently problematic that Waiyaki thinks he can use the language and “magic” of the oppressor to combat that oppressor. Charles E. Nnolem suggests that as a tragic hero, Waiyaki’s tragic flaw is not indecision and certainly not hubris: “it lies squarely in his failure to achieve self-knowledge, in his blindness to the impregnable obstacles he is up against (obstacles born of the contradictions inherent in his chosen course of actions.”
The other thing that is distracting Waiyaki from what is going on is, of course, his relationship with Nyambura. The two fall in love at the river, the symbolic neutral ground between the ridges, but once they are away from the river, their love is fraught with peril. There is the jealous Kamau for one, but at the point at which they meet, the traditionalists and the converts are even more divided than ever. There is little likelihood that open-mindedness and acceptance will be freely given to these lovers.
