Kevin Turnbull

AFST 200-Dr. Lamont King

December 5, 2017

A New Cross to Bear: An Allegorical Representation of the Struggles of Neo-

Colonialism in Africa

In his controversial novel, Ngugi uses the vessel of Jacinta Wariinta to break down

and talk about the different facets and effects of neo-colonialism in African life. Though the

story itself is fictional, the societal pitfalls that are presented were very real for people in

this time. However in order to understand what exactly Ngugi is truing to say, the term

neo-colonialism must first be unpacked. Once some basic definitions have been

established, more specific character analysis of the Devils Feast participants will reveal

striking parallels to society in many African nations post-independence periods.

Neo-Colonialism, or new colonialism, is a complicated term. In theory, its quite

broad. Any nation that has gained political independence, but not economic independence,

is said to be operating in a system of neo-colonialism. To give a non-specific real life

example, whenever a countrys economy relies mainly on exports, or what it can sell to

other countries, its economic sustainability will be half-decent at best. We can see this

principle more specifically in countries like the Philippines, Vietnam, and other poorer

southeast Asian countries.

So what does neo-colonialism mean to Ngugi in the context of this novel? In order to

easily articulate his grievances with Kenyan society, Ngugi centered the structure of this
novel around an event called The Devils Feast. At this feast, 6 people competed to

prove they were the best at thievery and robbery in the country. These six men, (Ndaaye

wa Kahuiria, Gitutu wa Gataanguru, Kihaahu wa Gatheeca, Mwireri wa Mukiraai, Nditika wa

Nguunji, and Kimeendeeri wa Kanyuanjii), and their actions comprise the bulk of Ngugis

allegorical retelling of his own experience in post-colonial Kenya.

Immediately, Kahuiria is disqualified from the competition. As he only stole food

in order to survive, it is determined that he isnt quite on the same international level as

the others, and is asked to leave. To me, this was an illuminating moment. Though I had

always thought about a gray area in stealing, this was one of the first times I saw the

concept of stealing for survival approached in this way. Though Kahuiria was likely

punished by the system, in the overall theater of life, stealing for survival is not nearly as

taboo an act as many others.

Next, Gataanguru calls himself cunning. His brand of capitalism is basically to

outsmart the system. At one point, he makes a suggestion that, to paraphrase, air should

be packaged and sold just like food and water. Obviously this is impossible, but

Gataanguru represents a facet of neo-colonialism that turns basic needs into commodities.

We see similar practices here in the USA, with everything from toilet paper to menstrual

products, which we all have no control over using, that are sold by a variety of companies.

Gatheeca is a kind of real estate mogul. He talks about how he can earn money off of

housing, and riffs about making houses the sizes of birds nests, and eliminating
competition so that everyone who needed a house had to go through him. This represents a

facet of capitalism not seen in the USA since the early 1900s, when anti-trust legislation

was making its rounds. In fact, Gatheecas brand of monopoly control over the housing

industry is exactly the kind of greed that anti-trust laws attempt to eliminate.

Mukiraai is primarily a manufacturer. His main grievance with the current system is

how in the marketplace, his wares are repeatedly undercut in value by foreign merchants,

and it has gotten so bad that he even had to seek employ from the foreign merchants. Of

this, he doesnt bemoan the advantage-taking that foreign powers assert over subordinates,

but rather that citizens of a country should be able to rob their own people and consume

the plunder right there. In other words, he wishes to be in the seat of power that the

foreign powers are in currently, and he vehemently opposes imperialism because it is what

has brought him into a position of subservience.

Nguunji is a black market salesman primarily. He mentions a holy trinity of theft,

which he defines as grabbing, extortion, and confiscation. Basically, this means that

anything assumed previously to belong to the public should be appropriated. He

summarizes his belief best by expounding on the possibility for the very rich to purchase

entire new sets of organs, essentially buying themselves two lives.

Kanyuanjii is perhaps the worst of the six thieves present. He talks about the work

that they all do as drinking the blood, milking the sweat, and devouring the brains of

the working class. He goes further to speak on this concept literally, and promotes the
packaging and sale of this blood, sweat, and brains, for profit. Though this is a wildly

exaggerated proposition, its one that is not too far removed from reality when examined in

the big picture. All that labor is, quite literally, is the sale of ones time and working abilities

for profit.

So with this analysis of the Devils Feast, we are left to ponder the meaning of

Ngugis title for this work, Devil on the Cross. There are no literal crosses in the novel

obviously, so where does it come from? In my personal view, I saw the novel as kind of a

testimony against the injustices of capitalism. Quite literally, Ngugi took the horrors of the

world as he saw them, and put them on blast in the loudest way that he could. What was his

roll of toilet paper in jail has now turned into dozens of social media platforms. We all

crucify proverbial devils each and every day. In a world where he was forced to tell this

story in secret, fiction was the only way to get this kind of message across. Thankfully today

we live in a country that protects citizens rights to protest its workings. If people are

unhappy, their grievances are usually listened to. For Ngugi, this was the way to get

listened to.