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Matigari

Author	Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o
Original title	Matigari ma Njiruungi
Translator	Wangui wa Goro
Publication date	1986
Publication place	Kenya

Matigari, released in Kenya as Matigari ma Njiruungi, is a 1986 novel by Kenyan author Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o. The work follows the titular character of Matigari, who struggles to survive while attempting to find his family and return home.

Synopsis

The book opens with a preface stating that the book is not set in any specific country and that the setting's time and place is left up to the reader's imagination.

The story opens with the titular character of Matigari burying his weapons beneath a fig tree and promising to himself that he will try to find peaceful resolutions. He also makes plans to journey home, but also wants to find his family. When he arrives in town he's shocked to discover how much has changed while he was gone. The population has dramatically increased and rather than using chauffeurs, people are instead driving their own cars. While traveling to a factory in the city Matigari is shocked to discover that children must pay a fee in order to scavenge through garbage at a dump. While at the dump Matigari saves a boy named Muriuki from a bully. In gratitude Muriuki shows his savior where other children stay when they need shelter, however when he tries to get there children thrown stones at Matigari and knock him unconscious.

He is saved by a man named Ngaruro, to whom Matigari tells the story of how he killed Howard Williams, a white colonizer. Williams's oppressiveness led to Matigari making an initial attempt on his life, only for Williams's servant Mr. Boy to intercede and save his master's life. Matigari manages to escape and was chased into the mountains by Williams, only for Matigari to finally kill his oppressor. During this Ngaruro mentions that the local factor is owned by a man named Williams who has a deputy named Boy. Once they reach their destination, Ngaruro leaves Matigari to rest so he can get back to the factory. While resting, Matigari is approached by Guthera, who is seeking refuge from policemen. The police find her and she tries to escape but is caught and surrounded by their dog. Matigari rescues her and stands up to the police officers who, shocked by Matigari’s courage, let Guthera go. 

Guthera explains to Matigari that she hates the police because they murdered her father who was a freedom fighter. As thanks to Matigari, she decides to stay with him and help him. They start toward where Matigari says his family lives and when they get there, two men stop them and ask to see proof of ownership from Matigari, which he doesn’t have. The two men turn out to be Mr. Williams and John Boys’ sons. Matigari is imprisoned with other inmates with whom he shares food with, which is reminiscent of the last supper in the Bible. Matigari tells his fellow inmates his story. They have already heard how he stood up to the police and are awed by his presence and tell him their stories. Mysteriously, these inmates are set free and Matigari is hailed to some as angelic and God-like; some even believe he is Jesus because of his ability to escape prison. 

Unbeknownst to him, people have been telling his story all over the country which makes him seem even more God-like. Matigari is on his own journey to find the truth and when he asks for help, people don’t recognize him as the legendary freedom fighter and turn him away because he is a stranger. He is then instructed by an old woman to find a group of students who are looking for the same justice and truth that Matigari is. But, once he finds them, they and their teacher are too afraid to help. After being turned away by the students, Matigari goes to the church and seeks out a priest for advice, who it turns out, is no help because he is under the government’s control. Instead of offering counsel, the priest has Matigari meet with the Minister for Truth and Justice later in the day. At this meeting, the prisoners that Matigari helped escape prison are convicted by judges and others who are loyal to the government in front of leaders from Western countries, and the Minister for Truth and Justice. The Minister announces at this meeting that Mr. Williams’ company had been generous enough to donate shares to the country’s leader and to himself. With this generous “donation”, comes the announcement that the company is now owned by the government and the people. 

Matigari then becomes angry and calls the Minister for Truth and Justice unlawful and oppressing, saying that the government only serves to exploit people. Matigari is then made out to be a madman in front of the assembly and he and Ngaruro are sent to a mental asylum. Upon seeing this, the people who are present at the assembly start to protest by singing songs about the revolution which the Minister quickly bans. This causes the government to make stricter laws that are meant to dismiss and eradicate revolutionary thoughts. The people are being more and more oppressed as the government keeps implementing more and more laws. At the asylum, Matigari decides to dig up his previously hidden weapons and take back his vow of peace. He’s decided and realized peaceful protests aren’t getting him anywhere. Matigari escapes with Guthera and Muriuki and makes plans to take back his house. While on the way to the weapons, the three steal a Mercedes from a couple who are having sex on a back road and threaten to expose them if they talk about what had happened. Later, they discover that the woman in the car had been the Minister for Truth and Justice’s wife. During this time, the police have stated that they are looking for the madmen who escaped from the prison, and they announce that Ngaruro has been killed. 

Taking the Mercedes again, Matigari starts back to the tree to get his weapons, but he is chased by the police. Determined to lose them, Matigari continues to drive to Mr. Williams’ house where there is a big crowd waiting for him to return. He drives the car into the front of Mr. Williams’ mansion that then catches on fire as the police try to drive Matigari out of his hiding place. Matigari, Guthera, and Muriuki try to run from the police who are chasing them with dogs. While trying to cross a river to lose their pursuers, Guthera and Matigari are shot and attacked by police dog. Their bodies are swept away by the river and are never found, which results in legends being passed around that Matigari had survived. Muriuki survived, finds the fig tree, digs up Matigari’s weapons and vows to take up his fight.

Characters

• Matigari ma Njiruungi: Referred to as Matigari, he is the protagonist of the story. Matigari’s name means “the patriots who survived the bullets". Matigari is in disbelief of the country since the last time he was there. He believes that the country would have been in better shape after the countries fight for their independence. Matigari is a believer in community and feels that everyone is stronger when they can come together as one.

• Muriuki: Muriuki lives in the garbage scraps that is also known as the vehicle cemetery. He lives in a Mercedes Benz and takes pride in that thinking he is better than all the other children living in the scrap yard. Matigari stands up for Muriuki when there is an altercation between the two boys over shoelaces. Over the course of the novel Muriuki proves to be a good friend to Matigari. Muriuki gets Matigari out from prison and from the mental asylum. Muriuki carry’s on Matigari’s legacy by digging up the weapons that Matigari buried at the beginning of the novel to keep fighting for a better future.

• Ngaruro wa Kiriro: Refered to as simply Ngaruro, he helps Matigari when the boys go after him trespassing in the scrap yard. Ngaruro is known as the leader of the workers. With a strike about to happen,due to the fights for higher salaries and better working conditions for the employees Ngaruro is aware of the exploitation that is occurring at the factory.

• Guthera: Throughout this novel Guthera is looked at as a very religious person. This has stemmed from her fathers differences in which he was a rebel. Guthera does not want her virginity taken away so she makes a commitment to herself to never sleep with the police officer.

• The Minister for Truth and Justice: The Minister for Truth and Justice is the forefront of the government, he is seen as a totalitarian leader who controls the education system and the media. He believes that the way to solve disputes at the workplace is to make strikes and dreams illegal. The Minister for Truth and Justice stands by his government and feels that he as all the control. He deliberately has sneaky plans, avoids facts he does not want to discuss and tries to manipulate the people in the community.

Other Characters

• John Boy - Settler Williams Servant
• Settler Howard Williams- White Colonizer
• John Boy's Son- Represents corrupt black ruling class
• William's Son- Represents corrupt black ruling class

Themes

Poverty and Exploitation

This is the central theme in this novel. When Matigari comes back from the mountains, the first thing that comes into his head is the poverty of the ordinary people. The children are exploited because they have to pay an entrance fee to the dump, which grants them the right to rummage through the garbage. Matigari steps in when he sees two boys fighting over a shoelaces, which proves how poor people are when even a cheap shoelaces is considered valuable enough to have them fight over. Matigari realizes that poverty is an essential tool of control for the imperialists, capitalists.

Oppression

Throughout the novel, the government is presented as an abstract force that oppresses its own citizens. This makes it ironic as it is called "government of the people," when it does nothing to help the lives of the people. In the beginning, Matigari does not help the police because he does not trust them. His thought is later confirmed by two policemen chasing and threatening a woman because she did not want to involve herself in sexual intercourse with them. The radio program "The Voice of Truth" constantly announces new measures to keep the people in line. Other elements of oppression such as sentences without a trial or public trials to scare potential revolutionaries are still all too common in many countries around the world, therefore explaining the author's claim that the story does not have a certain time or setting.

Revolution

As soon as, Matigari learns that the freedom he fought for has still not reached, he decides to stand up against the oppressors and start a revolution. Even though he is courageous, the majority of people are too afraid of the government because they have informers everywhere, which means that there is an atmosphere of distrust. The people are so focused on a glorified leader figure that they do not realize that they themselves are the key to break the chains of oppression. For example, in the prison the murderer says, "Finding your mouth can't really be all that hard." The murderer does not realize it, his words are a call for a peaceful demonstration, where people are courageous enough to demand their rights. Matigari eventually realizes that is it impossible to stop this situation by remaining peaceful.