Wizard of the Crow by Ngugi wa Thiong'o

First published:Mũrogi wa Kagogo, 2004 (English translation, 2006)

Type of work: Novel

Type of plot: Magical Realism

Time of plot: Early twenty-first century

Locale: Aburĩria, Africa

Principal characters

• Nyawĩra, the leader of an underground political group
• Kamĩtĩ, a homeless man
• The Ruler, the dictator of Aburĩria
• Tajirika, the owner of Eldares Construction, Nyawĩra’s boss

The Story:

The Ruler of the fictional Kingdom of Aburĩria has been in power for so long that no one can remember how long he has been governing. Now, the country is in such devastation that most average people are starving. In the midst of this poverty, The Ruler decides to build a testimony to his legacy—a massive skyscraper called Marching to Heaven that will be high enough to reach space. Having run out of the people’s Buri notes (the national currency, whose name means “worthless” in Gikuyu), he resolves to approach the Global Bank and ask for a loan to pay for the building.

Meanwhile, when a rumor circulates that the Eldares Construction Company is hiring, a queue of applicants builds that wraps around the entire city. Kamĩtĩ decides to try his luck and is the first to inquire about a position. He makes an unsuccessful bid for the job, failing to convince Tajirika that his Indian postgraduate degrees are of any value. Tajirika even humiliates him, and Kamĩtĩ leaves feeling angered and frustrated. Nyawĩra has witnessed the humiliating scene and is strangely drawn to Kamĩtĩ. They meet again the same night. Both of them are dressed in beggar’s clothing, and they are run out of Paradise, an exclusive restaurant. Two policemen follow them to Nyawĩra’s apartment, and Kamĩtĩ creates a sign for the door to ward them off: “enter at your own risk.” Tying chicken bones and string to the sign, he hurriedly signs it with a wizard’s moniker. To protect himself, Kamĩtĩ is forced to adopt the new identity he created for the sign: The police are frightened away, but they return soon after, seeking advice from the one who calls himself the Wizard of the Crow.

When the police leave, Kamĩtĩ and Nyawĩra begin talking. Nyawĩra shocks Kamĩtĩ when she throws a plastic snake at him, the same kind that had created the disturbance at Paradise earlier that evening. The night ends with each of them increasingly interested in the other but afraid to know more. Nyawĩra returns the next day to Eldares, and Kamĩtĩ stays behind and waits for her. While he is waiting, one of the policemen returns; remembering his moniker, Kamĩtĩ does his best to conjure the spirits by consulting a mirror. The policeman leaves, satisfied by Kamĩtĩ’s wizardly powers and confident that his own path to success has been assured. It is not long before others hear about the Wizard of the Crow.

At work, Nyawĩra notices that her boss has been bringing in Buri notes by the sackful. After a meeting with The Ruler, Tajirika has been put in charge of organizing the construction for Marching to Heaven. Afraid that a thief will steal his money, he soon starts carrying a gun. His paranoia builds, and he begins acting very strangely; his wife and children suspect that he has changed into an ogre, the African creature of greed. Tajirika even refuses to wash the hand that shook The Ruler’s hand, and he covers it with a protective glove. Eventually, Tajirika goes mad, and his wife takes him to see a diviner whose name has been gaining in popularity—the Wizard of the Crow.

Kamĩtĩ consults his mirror again and explains that Tajirika has been struck with the need to be white. Embarrassed, Tajirika leaves Kamĩtĩ with three sacks of Buri notes as payment. Kamĩtĩ finds that the money has a foul smell, and he decides to bury it in a field. The money begins to sprout trees that produce American dollars.

Meanwhile, Nyawĩra plots a demonstration during a visit by the Global Bank. Her female political dissent group, the Movement for the Voice of the People, stages a protest against the building of Marching to Heaven. On camera, the women expose their buttocks—the ultimate show of disgust. They also hurl trademark snakes at the politicians. Infuriated at the display, The Ruler sends Machokali and Sikiokuu, his “eyes and ears,” to find and arrest the leader of the dissidents.

As the Wizard of the Crow, Kamĩtĩ is soon busy with visits from all over Eldares. He eventually starts believing in his conjuring skills as he gains repeat customers. Because Kamĩtĩ tells his customers only that their enemies will be struck down, without naming them, he leaves the door open for the person’s true enemy to emerge. Often these enemies turn out to be the people themselves.

The Ruler becomes tired of his sycophant Sikiokuu after he fails to gain the loan from the Global Bank. Resolved to see Marching to Heaven made a reality, The Ruler decides to seek monetary help from the United States. While there, he is struck with a sudden and mysterious illness that causes him to blow up like a balloon and float on the ceiling. The Wizard of the Crow is kidnapped from Aburĩria and flown to New York to cure The Ruler.

Kamĩtĩ’s diagnosis for The Ruler is simple: He is pregnant. Everyone, including The Ruler, is shocked. Kamĩtĩ escapes New York and attends a meeting of the People’s Assembly. The hunt is on to capture the Wizard of the Crow and Nyawĩra. Kamĩtĩ leads a prodemocracy demonstration and, claiming that Nyawĩra is merely a lover of freedom, encourages anyone who loves freedom to announce that they, too, are Nyawĩra. One by one, everyone at the assembly stands, claiming to be Nyawĩra. Suddenly, an explosion erupts within the State House; Kamĩtĩ is shot, but the real Nyawĩra finds him and leads him to safety.

The blast in the State House is actually The Ruler, who has become so overblown with inner corruption that he explodes. Afterward, he is left with a forked, snakelike tongue. He announces on television that he was indeed pregnant because he is the same as the nation, and what they have both given birth to is multiparty democracy. The arrival of democracy, however, is accomplished in name only.

Finally, Tajirika, who has acquired a white arm and leg from a genetics clinic, convinces an angry mob that he is a deity and that The Ruler has ceded all power to him. In fact, Tajirika has killed The Ruler, and a new era arrives in Aburĩrian history: the Empire of Tajirika. Focusing on building the country into a new Rome, Tajirika fails to deliver on simple tasks such as garbage collection. As a result, the country is in an even worse state than before. Together, Kamĩtĩ and Nyawĩra vow to keep fighting until true democracy becomes a reality for Aburĩria.

Bibliography

Cantalupo, Charles, ed. Ngugi wa Thiong’o: Texts and Contexts. Trenton, N.J.: African World Press, 1995. A collection of critical essays written by Kenyan scholars. Provides a fresh look at Ngugi’s life from those within the country Ngugi left behind; discusses why his work is still important in his homeland.

‗‗‗‗‗‗‗. The World of Ngugi wa Thiong’o. Trenton, N.J.: African World Press, 1995. A second collection of essays on Ngugi’s work, covering even the minor texts, including his children’s book. The criticism also covers Ngugi’s language arguments and historical research.

Gikandi, Simon. Ngugi wa Thiong’o. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2009. Juxtaposes Ngugi’s life with a social history of Kenya, providing a level of detail that only a native Kenyan could offer.

Ngugi wa Thiong’o. Decolonising the Mind: The Politics of Language in African Literature. London: James Currey, 1986. An important contribution to the theory and criticism of African, postcolonial, and Marxist literature. Although some of the material may be dated, the argument that language can be used as a tool in colonial domination is still a valid one.

Ogunde, James. Ngugi’s Novels and African History: Narrating the Nation. London: Pluto Press, 1999. Ogunde provides a critical examination of Ngugi’s earlier novels, while discussing Ngugi’s positioning of female characters and his value to Kenyan history.

Simatei, Triop Peter. The Novel and the Politics of Nation Building in East Africa. Edited by Eckhard Breitinger. Bayreuth African Studies Series 55. Bayreuth, Germany: Bayreuth University Press, 2001. Simatei examines Ngugi’s place among other writers from East Africa and ways in which his literary contributions have shaped nationalistic agendas in Kenya.