INTRODUCTION
KINJEKETILE is the play
which is centred at a historical memory of a real man. In this play,
Kinjeketile is the mere creature of the imagination. Though these two men
historical and imagination) resemble one another in their activities, they are
still not identical. The playwright has moulded the character of Kinjeketile to
suit artistic needs by borrowing freely from the imagination when historical facts
fail to suit his purpose.
ANALYSIS OF THE PLAY
ORGANISATION OF THE PLAY
The
play has been organized into four acts each with different number of scenes.
-Act
One has Two scenes
-Act
Two has Six scenes
-Act
Three has Three scenes
-Act
Four has One scene.
PLOT OF THE PLAY
Therefore,
the play is organized into four (4) Acts. Act one (1) has two (2) scenes; Act
two (2) has seven (7) scenes, Act three has three (3) scene; while Act four (4)
has one scene.
ACT ONE
Scene One
At
the Ngarambo village. Bi Kitunda and the daughter Chausiku are coming from the
river after fetching water. When Chausiku sees smoke coming from Kinjeketile`s
house, Bi Kitunda plans to send her to find out whether they are cooking
something so that they may go and ask for it. This shows how people of this
society are poor. And they are poor because they able bodied men are taken to
work on the German plantations. While still on the path Bibi Kinjeketile comes
from another path and Bi Kitunda quickly calls her daughter to come back. Bi
Kinjeketile and Bi Kitunda start exchanging their views.
They all complain that people have no food
in their house because men work in the plantation all the time and without any
payments.
“Our men work a lot, but they get
nothing,” Bi Kitunda says on the first page of the book. This forces women like
Bi Kitunda to find foods for their family. Some foods like roots of the
poisonous and they lead to the death, Bi Kitunda says;
“And anyway, some of these roots are most
poisonous. Bibi Bobali`s son died from eating some roots.” (p.1).
When Bi Kitunda asks some spinach or
cassava from Bi Kinjeketile, Bi Kinjeketile says she haven`t any. Bibi
Kinjeketile also explains to Bi Kitunda why there is smoke on Kinjeketile`s
house. She says Kinjeketile is performing his rituals and that he has looked
himself in for many days now. Bi Kinjeketile leaves. Bi Kitunda sends Chausiku
again to see what Bi Kinjekitile is cooking. Before she reaches the house,
suddenly a big snake chases her. She runs quickly back from cotton plantation.
People are seen coming back from the
German cotton plantations and some are supporting Kitunda. Bi Kitunda rushes to
her husband. She discovers that Kitunda has whipped by the overseer when he
tried to straightened his back. Then Kitunda grabbed the whip but immediately
the headman was called in and ordered to whip him again and again. All people
disperse. Kitunda family is the last. As Chausiku looks at smoke, Kitunda asks
why is she looking at the smoke. Bi Kitunda explains to him what happened.
Kitunda wonders why Kinjeketile is said to be at his house while he really saw
him in the plantation?
For more Notes, read Notes on “Kinjeketile”
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