The River Between

The next morning, Waiyaki waits in the river Honia for the circumcision to take place. Despite having anticipated this precipice of manhood for years, he is afraid. The ritual is carried out, and a “religious bond link[s] Waiyaki to the earth, as if his blood was an offering” (46). He resents the pain, and his thoughts drift to Muthoni’s experience. The pain causes him to come in and out of consciousness, as if in a dream-state. Within this delirium, he recognizes similarities between Livingstone and Chege’s abilities to stand apart from the group. Despite conjectures among the villagers that living among the white people would make Waiyaki unable to tolerate the pain of the ceremony, Waiyaki handles the occasion well. All of the newly circumcised boys are swollen and in pain, but they are soothed by the stories they hear about other men who have gone through this same rite of passage.

Chege learns that all of the girls are faring well except for Muthoni. While other girls have dried scars, Muthoni’s wound grows large. Chege believes it to be the curse of her father. After healing, Waiyaki visits the still-ailing Muthoni in her aunt’s house. Because Muthoni misses her sister and mother, Waiyaki seeks out Nyambura. He finds her by the Honia and takes her to see Muthoni. Alarmed by Muthoni’s state, they decide to take her to the hospital in Siriana. Muthoni dips in and out of lucidity, stating deliriously that she is “a woman now” (49). Nyambura informs their mother of Muthoni’s grave condition, and Miriamu is deeply distraught.

Muthoni dies in the hospital in Siriana. Her last words are about both Jesus and her feeling of belonging to the tribe. To Waiyaki, the sky and the animals seem unusually quiet as he wanders, not wanting to return home after Muthoni’s death in Siriana. He sees her face before him and thinks of her aunt, Njeri, who is a childless widow; Muthoni’s presence once brought joy to her pale life. He thinks of the close relationship that Muthoni had with her sister Nyambura, and he wonders why Muthoni chose to be circumcised, “clinging to that obsession which had led her from Makuyu to Kameno” (50).

The chapter shifts to the perspectives of Joshua, Chege, and then Livingstone. Upon learning of his daughter’s death, Joshua remains mostly stoic and scornful of his daughter who “longed for the cursed land” (51). He continues to focus on his goal of building a new Jerusalem. Chege takes the news with feelings of inevitability and concern and considers Muthoni’s death a “punishment to Joshua” and a “punishment to the hills” (51). He wonders if the god Murungu is angry, if the ridges will avenge this conversion to a new foreign religion, and if anyone will be able to unite the two villages. He wonders if Waiyaki’s time with the Europeans was a mistake. Livingstone sees Muthoni’s death as a clear sign that the Gikuyu traditions are savage.

Like Chege, Livingstone is aware of his aging body and mind. After 25 years in Siriana, he has learned the Gikuyu language. Heroic dreams sent him from Europe to Kenya, dreams of saving the souls of Black people through Christ. He thought himself clever to learn the local language and seek to understand Gikuyu customs, but the initiation rituals disgusted him. Generally disappointed in his own progress, he continues to carry out his duty to the Lord, converting souls to Christianity with the help of Joshua and Kabonyi. After Muthoni’s death, abolishing circumcision becomes a priority for Livingstone and the missionaries. A woman of the Mission tells him that Muthoni is Joshua’s daughter, and Livingstone believes that this will start a war among the ridges.

Rumors abound about the cause of Muthoni’s death. The elders of Makuyu see the anger of god in the violent weather patterns across the ridges. They regret not listening to Chege’s portents, and they fear it is too late to save the tribe from Christianity, as Chege himself is dying and the Christians are full of vigor and conviction. Siriana and encroaching settlements in the ridges now seem much more dangerous and sinister; Makuyu is building a strength that will soon rival Kameno’s, and abolishing circumcision has become the central rallying cry. Meanwhile, Waiyaki stays home with his dying father. He wonders if the two villages will war with one another, and speculates that this may have been the foreigners’ intention all along. He predicts that more animosity will surface as Livingstone implements ever-more-draconian policies due to Muthoni’s death. To Waiyaki’s surprise, Kabonyi renounces the Christian faith while Joshua remains steadfast in his devotion. The fractious state of the villages saddens Waiyaki. He himself feels a “stranger to his land” (55).

Later, Waiyaki learns that he cannot return to finish his schooling in Siriana because he has been circumcised; no one who follows tribal customs will be allowed in Siriana on Mission grounds. This dismays him, for he deeply loved pursuing his education. Later, Waiyaki finds his mother crying at home; this is the first time he has ever seen her cry. Upon seeing a group of elders exit his father’s hut, Waiyaki runs to catch one last glimpse of his father alive.