Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o and Makerere University (+ Peter Nazareth)

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V M

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Jun 13, 2023, 8:20:44 AM6/13/23
to V M
I was delighted to find the mention of Peter Nazareth, and an
evocation of the heady post-colonial idealism at Makerere University,
in this fine #longread profile of the great Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o:
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2023/jun/13/ngugi-wa-thiongo-kenyan-novelist-profile-giant-of-africa-literature

Frederick Noronha

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Jun 13, 2023, 12:04:57 PM6/13/23
to goa-rese...@googlegroups.com, V M
In the second volume of Ngugi's memoirs called "Birth of the Dream
Weaver", subtitled "A Writer's Awakening" that is set in Makerere,
Ngugi says a lot about Peter. The music he played at the University,
he writing and performing in a play, Peter's writing a critique of his
play "The Black Hermit" produced at the National Theater, and more,
including references to Peter's two novels.

In Chapter 1 Page 1, Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o writes: "Peter Nazareth might
have understood. Though a year ahead of me in college, he was actually
the younger by two years; he was born in Kampala, Uganda, in 1940 and
I in Limuru, Kenya, in 1938. We had worked together for Penpoint, the
literary magazine of the Department of English, but he had just
graduated, having passed the editorship on to me. So I communed with
myself, alone, trying to rally my nerves in a reality I felt helpless
to alter. My one-act play, The Wound in the Heart, would not be
allowed at the Kampala National Theater in the annual nationwide drama
festival...."

The full-text of this 254-page book is available here:
http://www.sunchina.co.uk/books/ngugi/birthofadreamweaver.pdf

FN


I hope the New Year is going well for you.
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V M

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Jun 13, 2023, 12:59:23 PM6/13/23
to Frederick Noronha, Goa-Research-Net
Thank you for sharing this, Frederick!

John Nazareth

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Jun 13, 2023, 5:26:18 PM6/13/23
to goa-rese...@googlegroups.com, V M
I had bought a copy of Ngugu's "Dream Weaver" when it first came out. What struck me at the time was that it was written with a real Goan sensibility. He mentions several Goan friends who permeated his life in Makerere.
When Ngugi came to Makerere in 1959 he said that it was his first exposure to a multiracial atmosphere - a real contrast to the significant segregation that existed in Kenya.
Now, many people may be surprised that I say that especially in the light of the Uganda Asian Expulsion of 1972 that seemed to indicate otherwise.
But Makerere was indeed integrated. And not only that, there were several Missionary-run boarding schools (mainly Christian) that Goans had been attending since the 1950s.
Let me name a few.
I will start with the school I attended - St. Mary's College Kisubi. 8% of the attendees of this school were Goan. Other such African schools in Uganda that Goans attended in significant numbers were: Boys: Namilyango College, Mwire College,
Girls: Mount St. Mary's Namagunga, and Gayaza High School. (Africans had had several other first-rate schools like these since the 1920s in Uganda).
 
These schools made Goans and Africans comfortable with each other - especially because the "boarding" feature meant we were 24 hours together. My wife too attended such a school - Gayaza High School.
It was this background that led to what Ngugi mentions in his memoirs, especially his relationship with Goans (in my opinion).
But further, the fact that one lived on campus in Makerere meant that other South Asians also integrated with Africans with ease as Ngugi describes in talking about his plays.
 
Of course, both he and Peter studied English in Makerere - and their post graduate studies together elsewhere like Leeds, made them very good friends - which they remain so to today.
 
I got to know Ngugi myself and he was kind enough to mention my name too at the end of his memoirs in the Acknowledgements, where he thanks:
“Peter Nazareth and John Nazareth for sharing memories and stories of the past”.
 
It is a short book and well-worth reading.
 
Thanks Frederick for sharing the ebook. I will share it with my friends.
 
John
 
-----Original Message-----
From: goa-rese...@googlegroups.com <goa-rese...@googlegroups.com> On Behalf Of Frederick Noronha
Sent: Tuesday, June 13, 2023 12:04 PM
To: goa-rese...@googlegroups.com
Cc: V M <vmi...@gmail.com>
Subject: Re: [GRN] Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o and Makerere University (+ Peter Nazareth)
 
In the second volume of Ngugi's memoirs called "Birth of the Dream Weaver", subtitled "A Writer's Awakening" that is set in Makerere, Ngugi says a lot about Peter.  The music he played at the University, he writing and performing in a play, Peter's writing a critique of his play "The Black Hermit" produced at the National Theater, and more, including references to Peter's two novels.
 
In Chapter 1 Page 1, Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o writes: "Peter Nazareth might have understood. Though a year ahead of me in college, he was actually the younger by two years; he was born in Kampala, Uganda, in 1940 and I in Limuru, Kenya, in 1938. We had worked together for Penpoint, the literary magazine of the Department of English, but he had just graduated, having passed the editorship on to me. So I communed with myself, alone, trying to rally my nerves in a reality I felt helpless to alter. My one-act play, The Wound in the Heart, would not be allowed at the Kampala National Theater in the annual nationwide drama festival...."
 
The full-text of this 254-page book is available here:
 
FN
 
 
I hope the New Year is going well for you.
 
On Tue, 13 Jun 2023 at 17:50, V M <vmi...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> I was delighted to find the mention of Peter Nazareth, and an
> evocation of the heady post-colonial idealism at Makerere University,
> in this fine #longread profile of the great Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o:
> heguardian.com%2Fbooks%2F2023%2Fjun%2F13%2Fngugi-wa-thiongo-kenyan-nov
> elist-profile-giant-of-africa-literature&data=05%7C01%7C%7Cfb2d5e4153c
> e4a08382b08db6c27ef55%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C638
> 222691012966447%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2
> luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=lKUObzVz3gx
> EGqFLa4rtAY4VQfQVSw%2FOFetW3Acn8I0%3D&reserved=0
>
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V M

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Jun 13, 2023, 9:37:26 PM6/13/23
to John Nazareth, Goa-Research-Net
Dear John - thank you so much for this valuable perspective. 

Another interesting contemporary account of Makerere comes from VS Naipaul's (great) authorized biography by Patrick French. Spending time at the university was hugely consequential for the eventual Nobelist, and even more so for Paul Theroux, who met him there for the first time.
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