Representations of land in Kenyan song

Abstract

Historically, land has been central in political debate and identity formation in Kenya. From the different communities’ myths of origin to the colonial occupation and especially in the liberation struggle and beyond, land has been central to the writing of Kenya’s histories. This article explores two key perspectives on land as presented in music performance: the pre-independence claim to the idea of land as ‘a God-given right’ and as synonymous with political rights, and the post-independence irony of achieving political independence with no access to the land. The article examines two Mau Mau freedom songs: Kenya nĩ bũrũri wa andũ airũ (Kenya is a land of black people), and Twarĩkanĩire (We had agreed), and one post-independence choral art music: Nimerudi Mashambani (I have returned to the farmland) as examples to demonstrate not only how music archives, reflects and responds to, social, economic and political issues but also how it is influenced by the contexts within which it is created. The paper analyses the songs’ narrative strategies regarding land and their invocations of nationhood, the structural aspects of the music in relation to salient issues on land (dis)possession and nation building, and their performance contexts. It argues that the songs demonstrate the enduring, emotive, moral, cultural and political value of land, especially for those Kenyans who are unable to access or release the material or monetary value of land.

Historiquement, la terre ont une place centrale dans le débat politique et la formation de l’identité au Kenya. Entre les mythes des origines très différents de communautés et l’occupation coloniale et en particulier la lutte de libération et au-delà, la terre est au centre de l’écriture des histoires kenyannes. Cet article explore deux perspectives clé relatives à la terre telles que présentée dans la représentation musicale : la prétention pré-indépendance de l’idée de la terre en tant que ‘droit divin’ et synonyme de droits politiques, et l’ironie post-indépendance de la réalisation d’une indépendance politique sans accès aux terres. L’article prend pour exemples deux chants de liberté Mau Mau : Kenya nĩ bũrũri wa andũ airũ (Le Kenya est une terre de personnes noires), et Twarĩkanĩire (Nous avions convenu), et une musique de choeur post-indépendance : Nimerudi Mashambani (Je suis retourné à la terre agricole) pour démontrer en quoi la musique archive, reflète et répond aux problèmes sociaux, économiques et politiques mais aussi en quoi elle est influencée par les contextes au sein desquelles elle est créée. L’article analyse les stratégies narratives des chants relatifs à la terre, leurs invocations de l’idée de nation, les aspects structurels de la musique quant aux problèmes critiques relatifs à la (dé)possession et à la construction nationale, et les contextes de leur représentation. Il affirme que les chants manifestent la valeur permanente, émotive, morale, culturelle et politique de la terre, en particulier pour les Kenyans qui ne peuvent pas accéder à ou libérer la valeur matérielle ou monétaire pour accéder à la terre.

Keywords:

• Kenya
• nation
• revolution
• nationalism
• land
• music

Mots-clefs:

• Kenya
• nation
• révolution
• nationalisme
• terre
• musique

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank Dr. Cherry Leonardi and Adrian Brown for the invitation to attend the workshop, at Durham University, UK, which provided a platform to present, discuss and critique the paper with the workshop participants. I would like to express my appreciation to Prof. Ambreena Manji of Cardiff University, UK, for being the reader and discussant of my work. The questions and comments from the workshop participants helped in framing and writing of the paper. I would also like to express my gratitude to Prof. Christine Lucia of Stellenbosch University and Dr. Doseline Wanjiru Kiguru of The British Institute in Eastern Africa, as well as the two anonymous reviewers, whose questions, comments and suggestions helped me strengthen the argument in this article.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1 Performed to me by a group of women, from Murang’a County, who were linked directly with the Mau Mau movement. It was recorded and translated by Muthoni Njenga, on 20 February 2013. It is important to point out that the women were not part of an existing singing group. In the process of undertaking my research, I had met Pauline Mahugu, a literary scholar who had conducted a study on Mau Mau songs. She assisted me in identifying and locating the group of four women. The women were linked to the Mau Mau movement in the sense that they had prepared meals for the freedom fighters during the colonial period (Monte’s interview, 20 February 2013). Furthermore, the respondents intimated to me that they came to learn the songs in the detention camps because this was a space ‘where [they] would sing about the difficult situations they were going through’ (Monte’s interview, 20 February 2013). It is also important to note that the performance of the songs by the women only does not imply a female-oriented music. It is possible that Mau Mau songs were performed by a single or mixed gender group.

2 Also performed to me by the same group of women I mentioned earlier. The song was also recorded and translated by Muthoni Njenga, on 20 February 2013.

3 See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9vp1NChrkFc, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YDoYJwx507A, and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jAwLe3jiprs for a performance.

4 See also https://www.standardmedia.co.ke/business/article/2000052563/kenyan-choir-to-perform-at-queen-s-bash and http://allafrica.com/stories/201202270414.html for other commentaries on the song.

5 Although this report was written two years ago, poverty levels in rural Kenya are still high.