African folktales written in African languages by African children

From the time I applied for acceptance in the MACS program, there was the realization it was going to be my life’s work. This was a scary notion. This work is more than a job; I have staked my reputation on it. What if I misread the situation and there is no problem to work on? What if my idea of a solution is not enough?  What if I fail?

There was no doubt in my mind whatsoever that the general theme of my research would be language preservation for I wonder, “Is there anything in the world more tragic than the loss of a human language? Whole concepts, relationships, understandings, perspectives, and information are contained in a language, things that cannot be replicated or translated. An entire aspect of humanity, developed over thousands of years, goes with it”. (Cultural Survival). But for me, it is much more than that. I have realized that culture informs who we are and children walking in two worlds need the necessary tools – a language to be used in the global world, and a language to be used in their ‘local’ world.

At the beginning of the program, I was very sure I knew what form my work would take. My certainty unraveled during the residency and once I started writing my groundwork proposal, my thoughts were scattered to the four winds. The more I researched, the more I realized I did not know and just how much work there is to be done.

Teaching a few language classes was all I could think to do. I forgot all about my dream to one day get the children of Kenya to share their individual cultures, to work together to preserve their heritage and learn from one another, not as Luos, Turkanas or Sabaots, but as Kenyans. If our children do not begin to work together, our country  I fear will cease to exist as a society.

My vision of the work I want to do will take three trajectories: researching why children and parents no longer feel invested in their language (to be done among the diaspora), getting the children of Kenya involved in their own languages and recording oral literature before those who have this knowledge are no longer with us.

My groundwork project has started. I am collecting and recording folktales and stories as I find them even as I have not worked out how to showcase these artifacts in a relevant and accessible manner. The foundation for dialogue with parents and their children about our indigenous languages is being laid. I have had six weeks to think about my leadership style and realize that while I can propose and lead, success will depend on how I work with my partners.  As I have said on this forum, I will continue to be guided by their wishes, will strive to answer these questions:

How will you tell our story?
Who are you to tell our story?
Maybe we do not want you to tell our story!

Reflection on Groundwork Proposal

In Decolonising the Mind, Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o discusses colonial effects on language and culture “…the destruction or the deliberate undervaluing of a people’s culture, their art , their dances, religions, history, geography, education, orature and literature……. and the conscious elevation of the colonizer”.

Communicating in a foreign language reflects “’real language of life’ elsewhere”, but this begs the question: while this was applicable to children who lived in an African village, spoke one language and when they attended school, spoke another, does it apply to the children of Africans in the diaspora today?

Culture is a product of the history of a people which in turn it reflects. Do our children know their people? Do they know where they came from? When we read, speak and are educated in a foreign language, we are divorced and disassociated from our natural and social environment. If this is by choice, no damage can be assessed. However, if this happens because of lack the materials that carry our culture, the damage can be addressed.

This is where the development of writing, reading and listening material comes in. We have a head start with Ng’ano cia Marimũ. Is this all there is to it? Is there a market for this?

The more I think about it, the more I think I want to discuss this issue with the young people in question. In my attempts to advocate for our languages, I have insisted that children should learn these languages because it is good for our nations. But, is it relevant in their lives? Do they want to know their people , are they interested in learning about where they came from? Are they invested in the societies their parents left? Most important, do they care? There is only one way to know: ask them!

This writer urges us to consider all sides of a story:

The dangers of the sinlge story: http://www.ted.com/talks/chimamanda_adichie_the_danger_of_a_single_story.html

Stay tuned!

Links Helpful to My Work

Bomas of Kenya     http://www.bomasofkenya.co.ke/
Boma is the Swahili word for homestead. The idea of Bomas of Kenya was to showcase the culture of every tribe in Kenya, to “preserve, maintain, promote the diverse cultures of Kenya”. Land was set aside, funds allocated but it is debatable if the institution has fulfilled what was set out in its mission statement. Between 1980 and 2002, corruption in Kenya was such that the land and the funds set aside for this work was appropriated. As a result, the bomas already set up represent a few of the nationalities in Kenya. Whose bomas are up, which people are represented at the Bomas of Kenya? Who are not represented? Why? What does this say about the social stratification of the different tribes in Kenya? What more can be done?

Ministry of State for National Heritage & Culture   http://www.nationalheritage.go.ke/
This site contains information on government policy with regards to culture in Kenya. It is a one-stop shopping of organizations whose activities I want to keep abreast of; the National Archives of Kenya, Kenya Tourism Board, National Museums of Kenya, Department of Culture, Kenya Cultural Center and the Government of Kenya website. On this site, I can read on projects that are ongoing, proposed, upcoming and proposed projects.

World Oral Literature Project

voices of vanishing worlds

http://www.oralliterature.org/

Started by the Universitof Cambridge, the project provides funding to support local communities and fieldworkers in research of oral literature. The work ismainly in the preserving of endangered cultural practices. Copies of the literature are then deposited with the University of Cambridge which “aspires to become a permanent centre for the appreciation and preservation of oral literature” . The results of the funded projects are expected to respect local ritual belief and their availability online will be guided by the communities’ desires and needs.

Cultural Survival

http://www.culturalsurvival.org/explore

The work of preserving/sustaining work as it were, is a struggle that is expensive. Cultural Survival is an advocacy group with on going projects all around the world.

Reflection on our First Residency

How will you tell our story?
Who are you to tell our story?
Maybe we do not want you to tell our story!

When I look back on the period between receiving my acceptance into the MACS program and the residency, I remember my certainty as I explained to friends and family what cultural sustainability is, and explaining at length what it was I was going back to school to do. They know me well enough that when I started my explanation with “…I will be working with ng’ano cia marimũ (folktales), they smiled. After all, the smiles seemed to say, isn’t that what you have been doing all along?

I have been collecting, compiling and translating folktales to Kikuyu for a couple of years. On Friday, January 8th, 2010, as I drove to Goucher College, that was my idea of what cultural sustainability is. I am not sure whether to cry for lost innocence or to celebrate the growth I experienced during the residency. My idea of culture and cultural sustainability was turned on its head. This ‘violence’ going on in my mind was buffered by the friendships I made between the introduction dinner and dinner the second day. By the end of class on Saturday, I did not feel I was among strangers. I was among a tribe that spoke my language – cultural sustainability.

I look back on the exercise on January 10th, 2010, where we were asked to write down a description of cultural sustainability on post-it notes and post it on the back wall of the classroom, as the moment the unraveling of my thoughts started. It framed the work we will be doing in three parts:

Gathering/collecting: When we were done with our descriptions, we posted our different colored post-it notes on white paper on the wall. The wall was a colorful mass of ……… ideas. That, in my mind is how culture looks like, what I knew it is when I signed up for this program. I was very comfortable with the jumble, with the mess, and the idea I had of how I would go about “cultural sustainability”.

Sorting/categorizing: The second part of the exercise involved sorting the descriptions and grouping those that were similar. Not only was my comfortable world disturbed, and my idea of the work I wanted to do disintegrating, I felt as if I would be ‘disturbing’ culture if I sorted or categorized it. Why, I wondered, even as I marveled at the descriptions we as a group had come up with, did I have to do more than listen to Mike as he told us about restoring skip-jacks or sit under a tree and listen to story tellers? This question was answered as the residency went on and we met those who work on the ground as well as policy makers.

Analyzing: There is more to cultural sustainability than collecting material; I am grappling with what I will do with the material I am collecting.  I have no answer for this part just as I still do not know for sure what I will be collecting and gathering. However, I know that all I will do will be guided by my answers to:
How will you tell our story?
Who are you to tell our story?
Maybe we do not want you to tell our story!

The answers will inform my willingness to work with my constituency and my acceptance of the boundaries they set. After all, is it not all about the people?

My deep gratitude to all the friends I made, my companions in this new world and faculty too, for being there during that tumultuous week. Thanks for sharing and once again, for being there. I look forward to our journey together in the world of cultural sustainability (whatever ‘cs’ turns out to be).

Language is a vital component of culture. It is important to maintain cultural identity and integrity at the local level, and diversity within the world on a broader level as well as satisfy needs for self-determination and renewed cultural pride.

When we lose our cultural heritage, we not only deny future generations their heritage, we lose a chance to showcase our uniqueness and strengths. When our children learn to appreciate these strengths, they can work together instead of turning on one another.