The River Between

Time has passed. Waiyaki’s father is dead, and Waiyaki is now the headmaster of Marioshoni, the first school built by the Gikuyu people using a European framework. Waiyaki views the creation of his school as something “beyond himself, something ordained by fate” (60). After the death of his father, Waiyaki was unable to return to Siriana because his circumcision branded him a “prince of darkness” (60), so he decided to “serve the people” (60) and build schools instead. The people see him as a “man destined to serve his country” (60) as he travels among the hills, setting up schools.

The schools awaken the “sleeping lions” of the ridges. The people of the ridges have no interest in white customs or beliefs, but they do covet the “secret magic and power” of education. The schools become a way for the tribes to exert their own autonomy and determine their own path forward. Education is presented as the “hope and glory” (61) of the Gikuyu people by parents and students alike, but in the aftermath of Muthoni’s death, the divide widens between the “men of Joshua” (61) based in Makuyu and the traditionally oriented people of Kameno. Additionally, another faction exists, the one spearheaded by Kabonyi, Joshua’s convert and helper. Surrounded by these divisions, Waiyaki feels unsure of where he stands, and his only certainty is his belief in the positive effect of education. His poise at such a young age make the villagers wonder if he has become his father or if he is merely the product of the European educational system. However, the people unabashedly view him as their leader, calling him “the pride of the hills and the pride of Kameno” (62).

Waiyaki is lonely and unable to sleep. He has no one in his life to whom he can confide and share his lifelong doubts and passions. Although he has tried to speak to his mother, he cannot form the words with her. He reflects on the lack of intimacy in his life, which was compounded by the death of his young sister, his only real love relationship. While he “love[s] the hills and their people” (63), they cannot fill the void that his sister left behind. He wonders if she is a spirit; and this spiritual turn, a mindset that is “superstitious" and of the ridges, causes him to consider if European education is a “contamination.” Muthoni’s death has caused deep divides both between and within people. Waiyaki believes that few people have Muthoni’s courage and conviction but understands that everyone is trying to reach the “light.” His life seems indistinct and shadow-like, with no clear demarcations marking a way to the light of certainty. Suddenly, the mental image of a woman impinges upon his consciousness and then fades away. Wanting to visit Kamau, he leaves his hut and wanders, swept up in the surreal quality of the land and by the magic of the moon. A familiar yearning and hollowness envelops him, but even in the face of life’s uncertainty, he is still determined to continue helping the people. He finds himself at Honia, and crosses the river, thinking about Kamau and Kinuthia and their shared experiences. Suddenly, he stumbles into Nyambura. A few seasons ago, he saw her by the river but hid from her out of awkwardness. He realizes that the shape of a woman who had visited him earlier in his extreme loneliness was the shape of Nyambura.

The chapter’s point of view shifts to Nyambura. She, too, is lonely without her sister. Sitting by the river Honia is the only thing that gives her any sort of solace. She has distanced herself from Joshua, outwardly obeying her father but also partly blaming him for her sister’s death. While she still considers circumcision to be an act that Heaven denounces, she does not see her sister as a sinner. The nature of Waiyaki’s character lingers in the background of her thoughts. He helped her sister, but he has always remained aloof, as if he is above her. He is known to be the head of the factions breaking from Siriana, as well as the leader who has founded so many schools in the ridges. Despite his distance, Nyambura wants to speak to him about Muthoni because he knew her sister more deeply than anyone else outside the family. Now, Waiyaki and Nyambura begin to walk together. With the moon’s light, Waiyaki can see “the woman in her” (66), and in this charged setting, he feels a connection between them, for they are “two human beings, untainted with religion, social conventions or any tradition” (66). Before parting, they stand together, and Waiyaki has the strong urge to touch Nyambura; he wants to “dance the magic and ritual of the moon” (66). He invites her to visit him at his school the next afternoon. They separate, and Waiyaki decides not to visit Kamau after all; he does not want to see anyone after his encounter with Nyambura.

Waiyaki waits for Nyambura after school the next day, but she does not arrive. Hurt and angry, Waiyaki heads home. He wonders if Kamau was right to characterize Nyambura as proud, or if she is simply afraid of her father’s wrath. Waiyaki suddenly feels “the gap between them” and realizes that it is as “big as the one dividing Kameno and Makuyu” (67). He returns to his mother’s hut; after Chege died, his hut was burned ceremoniously. Waiyaki thinks about the upcoming rains and verdant greenery, a time when everyone looks out for one another and interacts harmoniously with nature. However, the rhythm of the seasons is beginning to disintegrate. Drought persists, and the rains eat away at the soil, which “no longer answer[s] the calls and prayers of the people” (68). Waiyaki wonders if this is an effect of the Europeans and their followers. Waiyaki considers his father’s prophecy, questioning its validity. He wonders whether Kabonyi is actually the prophesied savior; Kabonyi has renounced his loyalty to Joshua and now leads the factions against him, becoming the de facto leader of the hills. Kabonyi also seems hostile, for within the school’s governance, he always opposes Waiyaki.

Within the darkness of his hut, Waiyaki lights a lantern and forgives Nyambura for failing to meet him. He is also relieved that Kabonyi did not have the chance to spy him with Nyambura, a thought that makes him fear he is “becoming a slave to the tribe” (69). He wonders about the cost of service, following “his father and the ancestors before him” (69), and how it is affecting his freedom. But he perceives this battle as his fate and feels a new sense of respect for his father, who stood strong in a lonely leadership position. His thoughts turn from doubt to resolve. He will continue to serve, focusing on providing education up through the college level institutes that Livingstone had often talked about. Kinuthia arrives, and they visit Waiyaki’s mother next door. Waiyaki misses the time he spent with her when he was a child. As she prepares food, Kinuthia informs Waiyaki that he is to be a part of Kiama, and that Kabonyi is angry over this decision, probably due to jealousy. As he leaves, Kinuthia offhandedly remarks that Kamau thought he saw Waiyaki in Makuyu. Waiyaki neither confirms nor denies this.

Waiyaki listens to Joshua’s hypnotic preaching and analyzes the man’s words and presence, not knowing his own motivation for attending the sermon. Joshua’s pull on people is sustained by his unwavering faith in the Christian religion, a commitment that only grows stronger. He begs the people to join him in the New Jerusalem and warns that no one can walk on “two roads at the same time” (72). This causes Waiyaki to wonder if “there was no halfway house between Makuyu and Kameno (72). Waiyaki feels profound guilt and leaves the congregation, feeling “like an intruder or a spy” (72) and wondering if he has only visited the church because of Nyambura. The singing of the congregation—Christian words in the Gikuyu language—opens up the yawning chasm within him again, a desire for completeness. This emotional disarray is soothed by an ecstatic vision of Gikuyu “educated sons and daughters, all living together, tilling the land of their ancestors in perpetual serenity” (73). In his vision, these men and women are indebted to him, as he has fulfilled the prophecy of the “Sent One.”

Waiyaki runs into Kamau, and when Nyambura passes by, Waiyaki watches her. Kamau asks him what he thinks about Nyambura, but Waiyaki pretends that he did not see her. Waiyaki feels jealous when Kamau mentions that he finds Nyambura beautiful. The narrative shifts to Nyambura’s perspective. She awaits Waiyaki. She did not meet Waiyaki at school because she feared repercussions from her father. Her feelings for Waiyaki have grown since their moonlight meeting; ever since, “she [has] felt a strange longing for something that not even the river could give her” (74). Now, the two meet and exchange pleasantries. Waiyaki is hit with the certainty that he loves Nyambura. When they separate, Nyambura is physically affected by her feelings for Waiyaki.