adminMorris Mtisi
IT is pertinent that we briefly visit our playwright’s biographical information so that we get to understand him better. Remember writers are mirrors of the societies they come from and their work is greatly influenced by their experiences .Hence to understand their work better readers need to know their general background.
According to the Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia on the net, Taban lo Liyong was born in 1939 and is one of Africa’s well-known poets and writers of fiction and literary criticism. He was born in Uganda.
Upon completion of his studies in the U.S, Idi Amin’s autocratic regime barred him from returning to his home country. Instead, he proceeded to neighbouring Kenya where he taught at the University of Nairobi.
He has also taught at several international universities across the globe.
In collaboration with Henry Owuor – Anyumba, Liyong wrote on the Abolition of the English Department in 1968 because they realised the unnerving influence of European Literature over African literary works and called for the educational system to emphasise Africa’s traditional form of learning oral tradition. They questioned the value of an English Department in an African context.
They suggested that the post-colonial African university must first establish a counter-curriculum of African languages and literatures and then return to a study of European and other world literatures from an African perspective.
Thus, Lo Liyong addresses an African audience in the majority of his work, but mostly he attempts to universally put forward the idea that African knowledge is of benefit to the intellectual world at large.
In other words, he advocates for an Africa-centred approach to language and literature in Africa.
Having said that, I believe that the reader of Liyong’s closet drama can begin to realise that the playwright is not simply writing about the incestuous relationships we find in The Colour of Hope.
If one looks at it with an Africa-centred approach it becomes clear that there are some layers of meaning which the reader has to unravel in order to get to the bottom of the story. It is arguable that Lo Liyong is talking about colonialism, imperialism, cultural decadency, patriarchy, debauchery and oppression among other numerous concerns.The source of all these is the West who brought foreign dominance over Africa.
It is highly paradoxical that Liyong is protesting against foreign dominance in Africa but he continues to use a foreign language in his writing.
However, he defended himself by saying that the English language is a prostitute with whosoever has used the language has slept with.
Through the use of the English language the dramatist is able to expose the debauchery nature of the speakers of the language.
The explicit language used befits the culture of that language and it could be inappropriate to describe such immoral activities using an African language.
“It is only after realising the import of these sexual imagery as symbols of subverting the immorality of cultural imperialism that comes with foreign domination that one realises there is no better way of demonstrating the moral revulsion that comes with the predatory culture of aliens than to throw their dirty back at them,” argues Dr Augustine Tirivangani.
Obviously Liyong does not want to undermine the culture he seeks to protect by describing such immorality in an Afican language.
It should also be noted that Lo Liyong chooses to use sex language the way he did because his simple argument is that most readers enjoy reading about sex so why not use the language enjoyed by many to drive home an important massage.
In the next issue we shall be unlocking the meaning of the closet drama in light of this general background of the playwright.
Online Reporter