The River Between

These chapters establish the viewpoints of characters in Makuyu, Kameno’s opposing village, thus introducing the seeds of disagreement and potential conflict between the two communities. To this end, Joshua is portrayed as a zealous, religious man who is often motivated by a toxic combination of fear and shame. Ironically, although he believes he has found peace in Christianity, his actions continue to stem from fear, leading to drastic decisions such as disowning his daughter, Muthoni, for straying from the beliefs he has set forth for his family. Rather than seeking a bridge between new religious ideas and traditional ones as Muthoni is attempting to do, he spends his time preaching in order to convert and dispel the perceived ignorance and darkness that he finds inherent in the traditional Gikuyu ways. Consumed by zealotry, his goal to find a “New Jerusalem,” a Christian term for an earthly place in which all true believers can thrive. Significantly, this aim immediately places him in opposition with Chege and Waiyaki’s belief in the necessity of striving for Gikuyu unity. Unlike them, Joshua does not care about finding common ground; instead, he is hyper-focused on meting out punishment for those he perceives to be steeped in sin, and his worldview offers no room for compromise or reconciliation.

This section also establishes the thematic contrasts that exist between the two villages, even amidst their similarities. For example, while Joshua’s idea of redemption hinges upon the concept of Jesus as the ultimate savior and therefore differs vastly from traditional views, Waiyaki’s prophecy is also laden with messianic language. Thus, the similar emphasis placed on a savior for both the traditional Kameno and Christian Makuyu blurs the lines between precolonial Gikuyu beliefs and the invasive tenets of a foreign religion. In a further blurring of boundaries, the children of each village’s spiritual leader behold their respective fathers with a spirit of reverence, but the underlying tone of their regard differs significantly. Like Waiyaki, Nyambura is fearful of her father and reveres him as a powerful being, but she also begins to see him as aging, fallible, and capable of humiliation. Finally, the two villages differ greatly in their approach to the old Gikuyu ways, for although Waiyaki is encouraged to participate in the traditional rite of passage for boys, Nyambura and Muthoni are subject to the influence of an increasingly Christian Makuyu and are therefore banned from the ritual. Ultimately, however, as Muthoni’s disobedience proves, the children in both villages will have to make sense of the world themselves rather than relying upon adults to point the way.

As the ideological tensions in the increasingly Christian village of Makuyu demonstrate, the antagonism between the two villages is growing, and new tension exists between the precolonial ways of life and the spread of colonial beliefs and Christian practices. Yet even within this dichotomy, individual characters find unique ways to express their spiritual desires, for although Nyambura is curious about the circumcision ritual, she does not share her sister’s need to follow the Gikuyu traditional ways. Instead, her spiritual passion is focused on the river Honia, to which she feels a physical reaction, using language that is almost romantic to describe it. Nyambura’s spiritual connection to Honia therefore demonstrates her connection to the land, and although this connection is distinctly Gikuyu, it also transcends any specific cultural practice.

Additionally, these chapters develop several conflicts around gender issues. Most notably, Muthoni is fixated on the idea that female circumcision will make her a “real” woman, highlighting the theme of Cultural and Colonial Threats to Identity. Her attempts to achieve self-realization are based on the heavily gendered values of the Gikuyu community, for the usage of the word “real” invokes the idea that the ritual will grant Muthoni an “authentic” connection to the land. Such rites of passage enable the Gikuyu people to actualize and become fully mature beings, and this custom differs greatly from the detached way of life that Christianity idealizes. Significantly, Ngugi uses key details of the setting to imply the unnatural presence of Christianity in a traditional Gikuyu world, and it is no accident that Joshua’s uniquely foreign tin roof is already decaying. This image symbolizes the idea that Christianity is not native to the area and cannot take root and flourish. In a society that holds symbiosis with the land in such high regard, deeming something unnatural is synonymous with damnation. Faced with these conflicting ideologies, Muthoni struggles to become a woman in a changing society that distances her from herself.

This section also introduces the complex role of women in Gikuyu society, for the subjugation of women is presented as explicitly baked into the community’s lore and history. However, Ngugi makes it a point to critique the societal belief in the inferiority of women throughout the narrative, placing the Gikuyu view of women in stark contrast with the protagonists’ conceptions of womanhood and self-actualization. As a result, Ngugi does not make a clear-cut judgment and label Gikuyu ways as entirely beneficial for women and Christian ways as entirely detrimental. Instead, he creates a complex yet realistic portrayal, for although the Gikuyu ways speak to Muthoni, Chege’s words to Waiyaki earlier in the narrative also reveal that women are viewed as inferior in their society. Ngugi therefore strives to create a more nuanced depiction of these conflicting worldviews that leaves no easy answers.