An Enemy to All

In The River Between Ngugi works to make a point about not only religious strife and the conflicts of tradition, but also the extreme and insurmountable difficulty of bringing two differently minded groups to a place of unity and agreement. While the river between distinctly separates two different ridges, it is also the figurative separation of the Kiama, the tribal council intent upon the preservation of tribal tradition, and the followers of Joshua, the Christians residing in Makuyu. The hatred between the two groups ran deep as the tribe despised the interference of the white man in religious traditions and the Christians wanted to cleanse the tribe of tribal rituals like circumcision. This extreme difference in not only perspective but religious belief and tradition built a wall between the two tribes just as such religious differences today can cause strife and disagreements between individuals and groups. But between the two tribes stood one who longed to bring unity and understanding between the two; Waiyaki. He had respect for the traditions of the tribe but also saw the benefit of Christian resources from the white man – the power of education. He wanted peace. And he too longed for salvation. I believe Ngugi is pointing out the almost stubbornness of humanity in tradition and practice. We are afraid of change, value tradition and fear what may appear in our eyes a revolution from what we have known. We want salvation but are afraid to reconcile our differences and look beyond what we know in order to find it. It is unfortunately a part of human nature. Ngugi illustrates that in fear of the tribe. Yes the strong voiced leaders and elders stand firm on their tradition, but I believe the people saw that Waiyaki was right. They were afraid to stand by him. And so the man, instead of being the champion of unity, found himself in the hands of the enemies. He became the enemy of both sides, instead of the savior of all.