By Daniel  Muhau
There are many lessons one can learn from The Black Hermit. The society that Ngugi waThiong’o portrays in the play is battling a plethora of problems, but the playwright does not want to blame all of them on Africa’s former colonisers.

From tribalism, religious and cultural conflicts to a leadership crisis, the play brings real life experiences on stage, and the players enact the conflicts, tensions and changes in this Kenyan society, which is microcosm of the situation in many African countries.

However, though Ngugi does not seemingly pour the entire blame on the foreign invasion of Africa, many of the problems he portrays in the play are in one or the other associated with the influence of a foreign culture.

The playwright wants the audience to see these problems through the characters like Remi, his mother, Thoni, the Pastor and traditional village leader. Perhaps one of the most important lessons from the play is through our understanding of the problems faced by the society that Ngugi portrays. Most important, Ngugi wants the audience to learn from people’s mistakes and adjust.
 
Tribalism and racism
The problem in The Black Hermit are real. They were real then and still exist even today in Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda and the rest of Africa. For example, he wants to show how badly tribalism has stalled development in these countries.

Tribalism is a deep-rooted problem in many African countries. There were tribal wars in many parts of the continent then and now. There are many cases of people getting jobs based not on their qualifications or competence but tribal orientation.

Tribalism and racism, Ngugi wants to show, create tensions and disunity. They are an obstacle to development because people waste time, money and their energies on things that don’t matter at all. As a result of tribalism in The Black Hermit, people are not united against a system that is responsible for their miserable lives.
The playwright is against this situation and through Remi in the play, he says:

“We must help ourselves… turn to hearts and minds to create a nation, then will tribe and race disappear. And man shall be free…” He adds:

“Even you, Pastor you and other Christians must not live isolated. We must link our hands.”
This is a powerful statement aimed at mobilising the society to take a united stand against tribalism and racism. To demonstrate this, Remi brought a man from another tribe, Njobe, and joined hands with him in a show of unity.

If only people could learn to do what Remi did, Ngugi wants us to learn, this world would be a better place.

There are many other lessons. We learn that one does not solve his problems by running away from them as Remi did. He runs to the city to escape his responsibilities at his village, but realises later that it was a mistake.

He is selfish, and Ngugi wants us to understand that selfishness is like a curse. Because of selfishness, Remi ends up frustrated, frustrates his White girlfriend and causes the death of late brother’s wife.

He admits: “I thought I would escape from things that were me. They were part of my life. I must now rise and go to the country. For I must serve our people, save them from traditions and bad customs, free them from tribal manacles.”

Moreover, the playwright wants the audience to understand that a society is built only if people are responsible. Responsibility is one of the main lessons in the play.

He also shows this through Remi, who runs away from taking care of his widowed mother, his wife and village. He is the only well educated man in the village and everyone has their hope in him for political and religious leadership but he tries to escape. He fails, and that is how the whole tragedy unfolds.
Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Add this page to your favorite Social Bookmarking websites