Early Life and Career
Ngugi Wa Thiong’o was born on January 5, 1938, in the Limuru region of Central Kenya. He studied at the renowned Makerere University in Kampala, Uganda, and at the University of Leeds in Great Britain. At the age of 30, he had established a career as a writer, making literary history. His drama "The Black Hermit" was performed during Uganda’s independence in 1962, and his 1964 work "Weep not, Child" was the first published novel from East Africa.
Breaking Free from Western Cultural Dominance
After his time in the United Kingdom, Ngugi rejected Christianity and shed his Christian name, believing it was a sign of Anglo-American neocolonialism. In 1967, he took the name Ngugi Wa Thiong’o and began teaching English literature at the University of Nairobi. He eventually settled in California, where he was a professor of English and comparative literature at the University of California, Irvine.
The Power of the Mother Tongue
A pivotal moment in Ngugi’s life came in 1977 when he was asked to write a piece with writer Ngugi Wa Mirii for a theater near Kenya’s capital, Nairobi. They chose to write in the national language of Gikuyu, which was also their mother tongue. The play, "Ngaahika NDEENDA" ("I am getting married, if I like"), was a success, attracting audiences from the entire Kikuyu region. However, it also drew unwanted attention, and after only nine performances, it was banned, and Ngugi was arrested for a year.
Colonial Heritage
The experience had little effect on discouraging Ngugi. Instead, it solidified his conviction to write in his mother tongue. He wrote his first Kikuyu novel, "Devil on the Cross," on toilet paper while in prison. Ngugi believed that colonial languages in Africa symbolized neocolonial oppression beyond political independence. He argued that literature in African languages should be translated directly into other African languages without using English as an intermediary.
Exile and Later Life
Ngugi lived in exile for 22 years, returning to Kenya in 2004. However, he was attacked, and his wife was raped, leading him to believe that his home country had become too dangerous. He then moved to the United States, where he taught at universities, including Yale and the University of California. Ngugi’s novels were translated into over 30 languages, with the author often translating his works into English himself.
Legacy
Ngugi’s work has been widely recognized, with his 2006 novel "Wizard of the Crow" receiving international acclaim. He has been considered for the Nobel Prize for Literature and has received honorary degrees from universities worldwide. His most recent work, "The Perfect Nine," written in Gikuyu, was the first work in an indigenous African language to be nominated for the International Booker Prize in 2021. Ngugi’s legacy is a testament to the power of literature to promote justice and bring about change.
