Saturday, October 31, 2015

A Review of Blossoms of Savannah by Henry Ole Kulet



Maasai Cultural Intricacies: FGM and Changing Social Perspectives
Taiyo and Resian appropriately epitomise the complexities of changing times insofar as culture is concerned. In this novel, Ole Kulet demonstrates the challenges plaguing traditional African mores in the face of contemporary trends that threaten to dismantle such structures that most people have strove to hang onto or even at times to institutionalise. It is a story that casts two daughters on a collision path with their parents and their community’s cultural beliefs.
Their parents, Mr Kaelo and Mama Milanoi symbolise the dilemma for many African families that find themselves torn between urban lives and the rural one. It appears that Kaelo’s time in the town of Nakuru has come to an end since Agribix Limited his employer has closed shop. However, Kaelo seems to have prepared for this eventuality as we are informed that he has decided to set up an agrovet distributing shop in his rural home town of Nasila. However, as we come to discover much later Kaelo’s venture into business is tainted by financial aid from a thrifty unscrupulous business man who usurps his financial and moral authority over his family.
Indeed both Taiyo and Resian have a bad premonition about going back to the rural village where their father hails from. They are both at their prime age having been denied the rich cultural milieu of the Maa people. They are aspiring to join Egerton University to quench their thirst for education. As Resian says, she would like to be called Dr. Resian Kaelo, if only their father would allow them to join the university so that she can pursue a course in Veterinary Science. Unbeknown to them, their father’s and mother’s thoughts have begun to be beleaguered by cultural expectations from which they have been shielding their daughters from. Mama Milanoi’s biggest fear is the fact that her daughters are Intoiye Nemengalana – the derogatory term for uncircumcised women amongst the Maasai.
As a matter of fact, the novel depicts the unenviable position that families who have straddled between two different types of lives find themselves in. They are neither town people nor rural people. The chasm between being recognised as urbanites or rural folks depicts the main conflict in the story. This is because the Kaelos will have to redefine themselves no longer as people of Nakuru but orphans of Nasila. As a result, the Kaelos will have to find ingenious ways to battle the expectations of the Nasila people. The breaking down of one of the lorries could insinuate the challenges on their journey towards being integrated into the lifestyle of the Nasila people.
The sojourn from Nakuru to Nasila foreshadows a clash between the beliefs of the young girls who represent the way of life of urban people and that of the indigenous Nasila habitats who strongly believe in the adherence to communal beliefs like female circumcision. Thus, the expectations of the two sets of people are at odds with each other thereby signifying the inevitable clash and the potential fallout of Resian and Taiyo with their parents. The fallout is compounded by the father’s indebtedness to Oloisudori – a cruel businessman whose evil nature precedes his name. In fact, the text describes Oloisudori as part of the people who have desecrated the Maa culture allegorically referring to how Nasila river was being polluted by chemicals and other poisonous pollutants.
 Although the Kaelo’s can to a certain extent pride themselves in being proactive towards change, their faith is greatly tested when the parents have to host a party in order to be received back into the Ilmolelian clan fold and the bigger Nasila cultural family. It is during this occasion that the demands on the Kaelo’s family begin to appear clearer. For once, the girls realise that being female is disadvantageous amongst the Maasai. A man, Joseph Parmuat, is tasked with the responsibility of coaching the girls about their culture implying the lack of faith on the part of the society towards women’s ability to educate themselves. This is one example of the varied instances through which the community’s culture is depicted as being biased towards women folk. Others include FGM, dowry and marriage negotiations, choosing a partner, education and career amongst others.
A story within the story is told about the myth on FGM and the rise of the fame of the Enkamuratani (female circumciser) and her tool of trade the olmurunya (razor-sharp blade). Like most other cultural beliefs, it has been adopted and perfected over time such that no one dares to challenge it. On the contrary, modernisation, especially through formal education, has brought about a splinter group headed by Minik ene Nkoitoi famously known as Emakererei. She is educated and she believes in individual choices and the pursuit of one’s dreams. It is a position that has seen her alienated from the community – considered an outcast who is out to undermine the authority of Maasai elders. However, she ends up being the voice of reason and the source of hope for most girls like Resian and Taiyo.
Kaelo succumbs to the pressures of his community and selfishly trades his daughter to Oloisudori. Although he would like to present himself as remorseful and a victim of Oloisudori’s greed, we are persuaded to see him as inconsiderate, authoritarian and uncaring towards the desires of his daughters. Indeed, this is clearer from the beginning of the novel when he callously mistreats Resian because he had hoped to get a son for his second child. Resian’s troubled spirit later in life is attributed to this open hostility from her father although she finds solace in her sister’s protective care.
Resian’s adamant spirit pays off when she triumphs over the treacherous snares before her to survive death narrowly. She escapes marriage to Oloisudori only to end up in the hands of Olarinkoi who lures her with the false promise of taking her into safety but he intends to marry her for himself. She has to physically fight him off in order to rebuff an attempted sexual assault, overcome sickness and eventually find help through Nabaru who takes her to Minik’s farm. It is at Minik’s farm that she is reunited with Taiyo, who is unlucky because the olmurunya has been applied on her and she has lost a dear friend Parmuat who dies rescuing her. It is at Minik’s farm that their dreams eventually blossom when they receive the good news that they will be joining the university to further their education.
Kulet’s Blossoms of the Savannah presents a melting pot of cultures and envisions a social continuum in which culture can never be static. It is a text that recognises individual psychic dilemmas, one that pits family members against each other and acknowledges the inevitable clash when an individual’s desires and aspirations are at odds with old and at times outdated cultural beliefs. Ole Kulet recognises that it is not enough to lay blame on colonial structures and changing times, we have to take responsibility for our own shortcomings and individual choices. However, just as certain species of plants bloom in the hot Savannah climate, we will have individuals amongst us who will thrive or blossom irrespective of the debilitating cultural hurdles. 


 

55 comments:

  1. Quite informative and educative analysis.

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  2. I need characters and characterization plus themes of the book

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    1. Contact will sell for you 0796777093

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    2. Does the book have any weaknesses?
      (Negative criticism is also acceptable)

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  3. Dear Derick,have you gotten anywhere with the text's themes/characterisation? Look into aspects of gender empowerment, social-cultural issues etc.

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  4. Replies
    1. Thank you, you are welcome to share your thoughts on other reviews too.

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  5. Larry where/how can I get the whole analysis of the novel for exam purposes? Kindly

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    1. Unfortunately I only usually do quick reviews and not necessarily in-depth analysis of the texts. Kindly share some specific issues and I will try to see how I can assist you

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    2. Larry Ndivo,kindly expound on themes, language and style and characterisation

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    3. Tough one this one Bwana Chege. Kulet's language is usually lyric owing to his concern with nature. He also tends to write in short sentences, draws a lot from the Maa tradition and writes symbolic narratives. Any helpful?

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  6. All themes tends to revolve around one umbrella theme which is culture and tradition but for the sake of examinations,how do we split them?

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    1. Embedded in the issue of culture is the gender problem. Also, where there is reference to tradition there is an aspect of conflict owing to the clash between the old and the new. What do you think?

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    2. More importantly, the theme of change which heralds all thst transpires. When he loses his job, he changes location, social status etc

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  7. Nice... but is there characterization of this book?

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    1. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  8. Thank you Emmanuel, yes there are varied perspectives through which the characters have been developed. Are there individuals you admire in the text? Why? Or, are there some personalities presented in the story that you dislike, probably because of their behaviour or how they treat others? If yes, why or for what? This should help you understand the roles of the characters and their values

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  9. I really need Chapter two synopsis

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    1. Antony, I hope you have now finished reading the text. Why don't you go right ahead and try it out then we can all bring our thoughts together? Thank you

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  10. The themes will mainly range from Gender based violence , tradition vs modernity, Education and its impact on culture, FGM , Oppression of women in a patriarchal society , Materialism and greed, Betrayal among others. My take.

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    1. This is part of the themes definitely, thank you for sharing. We sure hope there will be more views on the same. Good evening

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  11. how can i get the theme of the calture in chapter one and two

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  12. You are welcome. Can we also hear your take on the text? It would be a pleasure to know what you found exciting about the story. Thanks

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  13. Hey guys, may you help me the analysis of characters and their characterization?????? And the issues of conflicts as it appeared within a novel?????

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  14. Dear Omari,
    What do you like or dislike about the characters? What values do they stand for? Do they agree with each other or not? If they don't why? Please share your thoughts.
    Thanks

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  15. Thanks
    I'd wish to have the thematic concerns of the novel, dramatic techniques and how relevant it is to the society today
    Thx

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  16. Looks good but I need to know about the male chauvinism and betrayal

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  17. Odhis shared this information through my email but I can't see it here. Probably it will be useful to some of you:
    Rowlings Odhiambo has left a new comment on your post "A Review of Blossoms of Savannah by Henry Ole Kule...":

    Hi emmauel, this link contains the characters and characterisations for the characters in blossoms of the savannah. I have no clue about the web page but if it gets you what you want I am happy for you. See below:

    https://www.easyelimu.com/high-school-notes/english/blossoms/item/509-characters-and-characterisation-blossoms-of-the-savannah
    All the best and keep sharing your thoughts on the text.

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    1. Hello,

      I deleted it because I was afraid to be reported as spamming :) but now that you have endorsed it, here is a link with more information on Blossoms of the Savannah, including
      -Synopsis and summary
      -Character and characterization
      -Themes
      -Language and styles
      -Sample practice questions and answers
      -Sample essays

      I hope it will be of help to someone.

      https://www.easyelimu.com/high-school-notes/english/blossoms

      Delete
  18. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  19. This is a nice book though I am not fully convinced by his choice of words and use of the local dialect requires one to get the meaning at the glosary instead of explaining the meaning immediately after the word

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    1. Thank you June for the observation. He uses a lot of them but also appreciate the fact that it would be tedious to incorporate all the descriptions within the narrative. But, does the use of the words hinder your understanding of the story?
      I will be glad to hear more from you. Keep reading

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    2. The use of the local dialect is one element that makes this novel interesting. One great value to the book is also to preserve the language. By doing this, in 10 to 50 years, these words will still exist through the novel. The local dialect clearly also indicates his direct audience, this is a clear message to them. We who read the glossary are other readers, but we also learn new words in a rich language. The local dialect also shows how rich African languages are.Ole Kulet does this beautifully.

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  21. quite informative the book is very educative

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  22. Thank you Dammaris. Enjoy your readings and share your thoughts too

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  23. I've read many of Kulet's books and i see this as so intriguing too, will drop my thoughts once ready. bought this book already,many thanks for the insight.

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  24. Good analysis Dr.Larry Ndivo.The book is so interesting that the themes base on the real life situation of our kenyan communities..negative effects of culture eg girl circumcision et cetera.

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    1. Men across have been portrayed as beasts, the few good ones like Parmuat become the sacrifice. Is it a true portrayal of how our society is?

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  25. Hey Larry,
    I have written a manuscript but I don't know how to get a reliable prove reader and later a publisher.My email is shown below.resianems17@gmail.com

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  28. Guys this is a fruitful discussion

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  29. Discuss deposition as a theme in blossoms of Savannah

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  30. I like it Dr. I now why you recommended to us, great review with content...

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  31. when he looses his job and relocates to nasila village,i think its more of alienation than change.what do u think?

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    1. It's physical change but when he gets there we see how alienated he and his family have become.

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  32. Hello @ Larry Ndivo. Please I need you as my Literature tutor and friend. I've successfully completed a bachelor's degree in literature.I believe I'm going to learn more with you. Thanks for your review. I like it.

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  33. Please write me through the email, ogutu332@gmail.com, phone number 0703995963.Thanks

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