FROM DECOLINISNG THE MINDS: Ngugi wa Thiong’o

FROM DECOLINISNG THE MINDS: Ngugi wa Thiong’o                                   

1.      Describe the author’s experiences about language and literature ?

       Ngugi Wa Thiong'o famously began his writing career writing in English. He had considerable success, but eventually turned to writing in his mother tongue, Gikuyu. Ngugi is among a handful of authors who have written successfully in more than one language. In his essay Decolonizing the Mind argues in favour of expression by African writers in their native languages rather than in European languages. The children spoke Gikuyu and listen to Gikuyu tales with lot of interest. Ngugi stresses an important insight: Africans relate to their mother tongues in a very different way than they would use these foreign imposed languages. Speaking and writing in the language of colonizers make Africans think foreign. They even learnt the music of their language. When Thiong’o joined a colonial school, English became the language of his formal education. So the first four years there was still harmony between the language of his formal education and that of the limuru peasant community. The education of colonial schools in Kenya drove children away from their own selves and their culture. It was the official vehicle the magic formula to the colonial education. Language and literature took them away from their native culture. Thus language and literature were taking them further and further from themselves to other selves, from their world to other worlds.

2.      How does the title, DECOLINISNG THE MINDS get a voice through the life Ngugi wa Thiong’o?

The central objective in decolonizing the African mind is to overthrow the authority which alien traditions exercise over the African. This demands the dismantling of white supremacist beliefs, and the structures which uphold them, in every area of African life. Among the problems with Decolonising the Mind is its political and ideological slant. He writes of "two mutually opposed forces in Africa today: an imperialist tradition on one hand, and a resistance tradition on the other. ‘Decolonising the Mind’ is a political treatise with its many rants against colonialism and imperialism. For the author, the reverting back to local language use is the best way to rectify the evils and ills of adverse colonial influence. To say that Ngugi’s book is rife with ideology is an understatement. For him, Africa today is caught between two opposing forces: the colonial and the traditionalist.

3.      What is the importance of language in the story telling sessions of Ngugi’s childhood?

‘Decolonising the Mind’ is both an explanation of how he eventually decided to write in Gikuyu, as well as an encouragement for African writers to write in their native languages. According to Ngugi, language is more than just a means of communication; it is the essence of their being. Story telling is a part of the African Children’s life. It enabled them learn about their culture. In story telling language was effectively used. It was not a mere sitting of words but had a suggestive power. It gave the children a view of the world. It had a beauty of its own. It reflected their culture and way of life.

4.      Bring out the colonial systems of education experienced by Ngugi in his own native Kenya?

       Ngugi rightly complains that an educational focus that embraced essentially only foreign works was destructive. The local language is an integral part of conveying that experience, often because much of local tradition has been preserved in that language -- for example, in the songs and stories that have been passed down. Ngugi convincingly shows the benefits of working in the local language, and within local traditions, as the entire community works together to create and shape a play.

5.      What happened to the education system after 1952?

In 1952 when the Nationalists Schools were taken over by the colonial regime, English became the language of the writer’s formal education. Pupils were not allowed to speak in their native language. If they spoke they were given corporal punishment. English became the measure of one’s intelligence, which determines the progress.