We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.
We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.
from Part I - Serenades & Beginnings
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 27 July 2019
Opening Cycle and Point of Entry
Hodi! Hodi!
Knock! Knock!
Gũkũ nĩkwaũ?
G?kũ nĩkwaũ?
Gũkũ nĩkwaũ?
Menye nĩguo njarie cararũkũ
Wũĩ, wainaga!
Whose place (home) is this?
Whose place (home) is this?
Whose place (home) is this?
I want to know so that I can speak bluntly
Yes, singer/dancer that used to be!
Nĩkwa mũrata
nĩkwa mũrata
Nĩkwa mũrata
Aria, nakuo kwaria nĩkwendana
Wũĩ, wainaga!
It is a friend's (place) home
It is a friend's (place) home
It is a friend's (place) home
Speak, for to hold dialogue is to love
Yes, singer/dancer that used to be!
Mũrata ũrĩkũ?
Mũrata ũrĩkũ?
Mũrata ũrĩkũ?
Mũini wĩ ngumo nĩwa arata aingĩ
Wũĩ, wainaga
Which friend?
Which friend?
Which friend?
A famous singer/dancer has many friends
Yes, singer/dancer that used to be
Nĩkwa wa Thiong'o
Nĩkwa wa Thiong'o
Nĩkwa wakinĩ
Wĩgwaku mũciĩ; aria cararũkũ
Wũĩ, wainaga
It is wa Thiong'o's place (home)
It is wa Thiong'o's place (home)
It is an age-mate's place (home)
You are in your own home; speak bluntly
Yes, singer/dancer that used to be
With permission to enter the homestead, the poetess's imagination grows wings
Words trip over her tongue, impatient for the moment of utterance
Hyperbole seizes the license to decorate plain words with extra lacy language
Now only the feet drag with the weight of age as dancer after dancer enters as if claiming territorial ownership of space: as if swearing to eclipse all competition
First Cycle (one score): Entry into the Dance Arena
Wũi wakwa-ĩ! (Oh my!) I, dancer/singer that used to be!
Where shall I find the feet to enter this competition-bound dance arena
where younger, more nimble dancers are sworn to make a shadowy fool of me
stomping the yielding ground that readily surrenders to their aggressive youthful energy?
Oh, who will lend me youthful feet to enter the arena, I, dancer/singer that used to be,
to celebrate my age-mate, the son of Thiong'o, on this his eightieth birthday?
Of a truth, ancient proverbial wisdom did not lie: wainaga nĩeroragĩra!
(Sh/e who once danced/sang can turn into a spectator)!
But, refusing to turn into a spectator, I dancer/singer that used to be, vow to call upon the spirit of rebellion to possess every inch of my body.
To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.
Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.
Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.
To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.
To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.
