Historical Context
Kenya
During the late 19th and 20th centuries, the region experienced significant European colonization, affecting indigenous tribes such as the Maasai and Kikuyu. Britain, Germany, and France all played roles in the colonization, with the Imperial British East Africa Company leading these efforts starting in the 1880s. In 1894, the British government declared the area the East Africa Protectorate. Throughout the 1890s, British military forces were used to suppress African tribal resistance to European rule. The construction of a railway between 1895 and 1903 was crucial in promoting European settlement and agriculture in the East Africa Protectorate during the early 1900s. During this period, native African tribes were confined to reservations and forced to work on European plantations. In 1920, the region was renamed the Kenya Colony, after the highest mountain in the area. Throughout the 1920s, Africans, particularly members of the Kikuyu tribe, began to organize and demand their rights. By the 1940s, a few Africans were permitted to join the Legislative Council. In 1960, a conference in London resulted in an African majority on the legislative council for the first time. In 1963, the Republic of Kenya was established under a new constitution that granted self-rule and national independence.
The Mau Mau Rebellion
In the decade leading up to Kenya's independence, large-scale protests were organized by members of the Kikuyu tribe, known as the Mau Mau Rebellion, which took place from 1952 to 1960. The main issues were European ownership of agricultural land and plantations, along with colonial rule in Kenya. The government declared a state of emergency in response. Jomo Kenyatta was arrested in 1952 for his role as an organizer and instigator of the rebellion and remained imprisoned until 1961—after he had already been elected president of the newly independent Kenya in 1960.
The Kikuyu
Ngugi is of Kikuyu ethnicity, one of the largest tribes in Eastern Africa, making up about 20 percent of Kenya's population. The Kikuyu, also known as Giguyu, Gekoyo, or Agekoyo, were leaders in the African rebellion against British colonialism starting in the 1920s and 1930s. In 1921, the Young Kikuyu Association was formed, later renamed the Kikuyu Central Association in 1925. The Kikuyu were the main organizers of the Mau Mau Rebellion in 1952. Jomo Kenyatta, the first prime minister (1963-64) and first president (1964-78) of the independent Republic of Kenya, was also Kikuyu.
African Languages
In the 1970s, Ngugi declared that he would write exclusively in Bantu or Swahili, his native languages, rather than in English, which is the official language of Kenya. The Bantu language family is widespread across the African continent. Swahili, a Bantu language, is still spoken in many African countries, including Uganda, the Congo, Tanzania, and Kenya.
Literary Style
Narration and Tone
This narrative is delivered in the third person, indicating that the storyteller is not a participant in the events. However, this does not imply that the narrator's tone is entirely neutral. In fact, this narrator employs a tone of almost exaggerated sarcasm to highlight the racist attitudes of the white European settlers. For example, when describing Mrs. Hill's perception of herself as generous and kind to the Africans who work for her, the narrator uses sarcasm to underscore the self-congratulatory mindset of the "liberal" settlers, who believed they were doing a favor for the Africans:
Not only had she built some brick quarters (brick, mind you) but had also established a school for the children. It did not matter if the school lacked sufficient teachers or if the children only learned for half the day and worked on the plantations for the other half; it was more than most other settlers had the courage to do!
The narrator's sarcasm...
(This entire section contains 937 words.)
Unlock this Study Guide Now
Start your 48-hour free trial and get ahead in class. Boost your grades with access to expert answers and top-tier study guides. Thousands of students are already mastering their assignments—don't miss out. Cancel anytime.
Already a member? Log in here.
is especially evident in the mocking tone of the parenthetical remark, ‘‘(brick, mind you)’’; the emphasis on the word "brick" highlights how much Mrs. Hill prides herself on being exceptionally generous to her African workers. When Njoroge reflects with disdain on the inadequacy of his "brick" dwelling to shelter his family, the sarcasm of this earlier comment becomes even more apparent. Thus, the narrator, while not a character within the story, aligns with the perspective of Njoroge and other Africans—using sarcasm to ridicule and criticize the racist behavior of the white settlers towards the Africans.
Setting
Though the story doesn't explicitly mention the location, readers familiar with Ngugi's background can deduce that it takes place in Kenya during a period of rebellion by the Kikuyu people against the exploitation by white plantation owners. This context is crucial because the Kikuyu were the first African group in Kenya to organize a resistance against colonialism, starting in the 1920s and 1930s. Their primary concern was the European ownership of land that rightfully belonged to them, and they were also the main labor force on these plantations. Njoroge remembers that his father was killed for his involvement in the Kikuyu's "struggle" against the colonists: "He had died in the struggle—the struggle to rebuild the destroyed shrines. That was at the famous 1923 Nairobi Massacre when police fired on people peacefully demonstrating for their rights." The story also directly addresses the colonists' theft of Kikuyu land. Njoroge recalls, "A big portion of the land now occupied by Mrs. Hill was the land his father had shown him as belonging to the family. They had found the land occupied when his father and some of the others had temporarily retired to Muranga owing to famine." Thus, while the characters are fictional, the historical and cultural context is rooted in real events and conditions experienced by the Kikuyu people.
Christian Iconography
Indirect references to Christian iconography are integral to the story's symbolic meaning. Although Ngugi later renounced Christianity, he was initially educated in missionary schools, and this influence is evident in the Christian references and symbolism in many of his works. In this story, the "martyr" in the title alludes to Christ as a martyr. Njoroge is symbolically portrayed as a Christ figure. His choice to save, rather than kill, Mrs. Hill can be seen as an act of Christian charity. Njoroge's subsequent death at the hands of Mrs. Hill makes him a martyr for the Kikuyu cause against the colonists. The narrator underscores Njoroge's symbolic role as a Christ figure by stating that Mrs. Hill "did not know that she had in fact killed her savior." The use of the word "savior" to describe Njoroge clearly links him to the image of Christ as a savior.
Literary Heritage
Kenya boasts a striking diversity, both in its landscape and cultural composition. The country's terrain includes tropical coastlines, largely uninhabited desert regions, and lush highlands bordered by Africa's two tallest mountains. Although nearly ninety-nine percent of the population consists of black Africans, there are significant ethnic and linguistic divisions, resulting in more than forty distinct ethnic groups. The Gikuyu, to which Ngugi belongs, is the largest group, comprising twenty percent of Kenya's 32 million people. Other major ethnic groups include the Kalenjin, Kamba, Luhya, and Luo, each identifiable by their unique languages or dialects. The remaining one percent of the population consists of East Indians, Europeans, and Arabs. Many Kenyans bridge language gaps by using Swahili, the national language, or English, the official language.
Kenyan traditional literary forms are predominantly oral. Oral narratives, dramas, riddles, histories, myths, songs, proverbs, and other expressions serve to educate, entertain, and remind communities of their ancestors' heroic deeds, history, and cultural practices. Folktale tellers often employ call-response techniques, combining narrative with music. In Ngugi's Petals of Blood, Nyakinyua preserves cultural heritage as the village bard, telling stories and leading songs. During the circumcision ceremony, she sings a clever, ribald song with Nguguna, contrasting with the crude verses sung by Chui and his modern friends. Ngugi's use of multiple viewpoints and storytelling in the novel reflects his nod to traditional oral literary practices. In a 1980 essay, Ngugi noted that while the African novel adopts a borrowed form, it owes a significant narrative debt to native oral traditions. His 1977 play, I Will Marry When I Want, which led to his arrest, was particularly provocative because it used songs to underscore its messages. The play resonated with Gikuyu-speaking audiences due to its use of traditional literary techniques. After his imprisonment, Ngugi decided to write in his native Gikuyu to more effectively reach the peasant and working-class people of Kenya.
Compare and Contrast
Early 20th Century: Kenya remains a British Protectorate until 1963.
Late 20th Century: Following 1963, Kenya emerges as an independent and democratic republic.
1960s and 1970s: During the 1970s, when Ngugi's short story ‘‘The Martyr’’ is initially published, Jomo Kenyatta serves as Kenya's president.
1980s and 1990s: After Kenyatta's passing in 1978, Daniel arap Moi assumes the presidency of Kenya.
1960s and 1970s: At the time of the first publication of Ngugi's story ‘‘The Martyr,’’ he resides and works in Kenya, where his books are actively sold and read.
1980s and 1990s: Due to political repression, Ngugi is forced into exile from Kenya, where his works face a ban.
Early 20th Century: A typical Kikuyu man's homestead includes a hedge or stockade and separate huts for each wife.
Late 20th Century: Starting in 1952, the Mau-Mau Rebellion leads to many Kikuyu being displaced by government forces. The subsequent village settlements and land consolidations offer economic benefits to the Kikuyu, which are often preserved even after the emergency concludes.
Bibliography and Further Reading
Sources
Cantalupe, Charles, ed., Ngugi wa Thiong'o: Texts and Contexts, Africa World Press, 1995, p. x.
, The World of Ngugi wa Thiong'o, Africa World Press, 1995, p. 5.
Clarke, John Henrik, "Introduction," in Homecoming: Essays on African and Caribbean Literature, Culture and Politics, by Ngugi wa Thiong'o, Lawrence Hill, 1972, p. viii.
Killam, G. D., An Introduction to the Writings of Ngugi, Heinemann, 1980, pp. 5, 17, 73-6, 78-9.
Njogu, Kimani, ‘‘Living Secretly and Spinning Tales: Ngugi's 'Secret Lives and Other Stories,'’’ in Ngugi wa Thiong'o: Texts and Contexts, Africa World Press, 1995, p. 340.
Further Reading
Booker, M. Keith, The African Novel in English, Heinemann.
This book features the chapter, ‘‘A Brief Historical Survey of the African
Novel,’’ along with discussions on Ngugi's Devil on the Cross and works
by Chinua Achebe, Ama Ata Aidoo, and Nadine Gordimer.
Jussawalla, Feroza, and Reed Way Dasenbrock, eds., Interviews with
Writers of the Post-Colonial World, University Press of Mississippi,
1992.
This collection includes interviews with notable writers such as Ngugi wa
Thiong'o, Chinua Achebe, Anita Desai, and Sandra Cisneros.
Larson, Charles R., ed., Under African Skies: Modern African Stories,
Farrar, Straus, 1997.
A compilation of short stories from various African authors. Features "A
Meeting in the Dark" by Ngugi wa Thiong'o.