Strangely, the concept of generational conflict has been immensely overlooked within Kiswahili literary studies up to now. Generation is one of the social classification constructs like gender, class and even ethnicity. It is indeed, one of the most powerful analytical tools for studying society. Whether we think of (inter-)generational links within families or across historical periods, generation is about connections and contacts across social categories and often conflicts over time (Alber et al, 2008:1).
Every generation is defined by specific characteristics determined by biological, psychological and social factors in their dispensation. Therefore, age mates are expected to display certain mannerisms and attitudes as they move towards maturity. Since, each stage of life is associated with its own orientations, needs and interests, relations between generations are not likely to be smooth and this is what brings about inter-generational conflicts (Braungart & Braungart, 1986:208). Subsequently, generational conflicts are immanent in any living society. Nevertheless, like any other social conflict generational conflicts can be detrimental to social cohesion if they are not well managed.
Our focus on generational conflict is anchored on the premise that literary works are the best channels through which human behaviour can be interrogated. As cultural products, literary works are created by human beings based on their interactions in a given social environment for the service of the same human beings. Discussing generational conflict, though an anthropological and sociological concept as it were, it is here studied from a literary perspective. The focus is on how the actions and interactions between characters in the fictional world imitate what goes on in the imagined human societies.
In the novel characters are the actors or actants1 involved in plot events. From the perspective of the reading experience, character is an especially important ingredient of a narrative. This is because characters make a special invitation to readers in that they connect their fictional experiences with real experiences of the readers (Keen, 2003:4). Moreover, characters are
1 Some critics use the term „actants‟ to emphasize the human-like quality of characters in narrative (Keen, 2003).
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often vested with worldviews, beliefs, values and ideologies whose determined espousal often leads to conflicts (Keen, 2003:30). It therefore follows that characters are the means through which the reader identifies with the fictional world, the conflicting parties and the possible sources of a given conflict.
The Kiswahili novel and literature in general draws its thematic and artistic resources from the society in which it is produced. Also, every text contains a selection from a variety of social, historical, cultural and literary systems that exist as referential fields outside the text (Iser, 2000:18). Attridge‟s assertion on the interplay between literature and society captures this point aptly. He writes:
The experience of immediacy and vividness which we often gain from literary works of the past leads naturally to their being pressed into service as a source of evidence for lives led before ours or in foreign; and although there is a danger that the “reality”, the created illusion of a real referent, may interfere as much as it adds accurate historical and human judgement, the judicious use of literary evidence is clearly as valid as other modes of access to vanished or otherwise inaccessible culture (2005:7).
As a matter of fact, literary texts are suitable means through which cultural values, ideals and beliefs of a given community are communicated to the reader. Stressing the importance of treating literary narratives from a Speech Act approach, Mary Louise Pratt contends that within literature, writers can explicitly lay claim to degrees of historical accuracy. She observes: “We have a category called the historical novel for works claiming a high degree of factual accuracy” (1977:96).
Subsequently, a study of the Kiswahili novel is likely to reveal some of the social conflicts including generational conflicts. It is evident that the Kiswahili novel has tended to develop in correspondence with the socio-economic and political changes in the East African societies. Most of the Kiswahili novelists like Euphrase Kezilahabi, Said Ahmed Mohamed, Shafi Adam Shafi, and Zainab Burhani have attempted to respond to the various issues affecting their communities in a manner to show their causes and suggest possible solutions (Njogu & Chimera, 1996:26-29; Bertoncini, 2009:2). Actually, the Kiswahili novel like any other literary work all over the world has been changing both in form and content (Larson, 1972:280-810; Lichatschow, 1975:158). Indeed, as Madumulla (1992:29) notes, it is the environment in which the Kiswahili novel finds itself that dictates its changes. The Kiswahili novel has also been changing in its literary form in line with the historical epochs reflecting different socio-cultural, economic and political „realities‟ of the day (Khamis, 2005:91-95).
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As Wamitila (2008:130) rightly notes, every novel and virtually every narrative is anchored on the principle of conflict. Therefore, an analysis of the contemporary Kiswahili novel is likely to reveal specific social conflicts within the East African communities. Currently, the East African societies in which and for which the Kiswahili novel is largely produced is experiencing numerous conflicts. To give a vivid evidence of this, we cite serious political conflicts that have characterised elections in Kenya and Tanzania in recent years. A case in point is the 2007 general elections during which, Kenya was almost paralyzed due to post-election violence (The East African Standard, Friday, February 29, 2008). In the 2010 general elections in Tanzania, incidences of political conflicts were reported (Daily Nation, Saturday, November 6, 2010). One wonders the extent to which these conflicts could be a manifestation of generational conflicts within the East African region. Based on the thesis that the Kiswahili novel tends to reflect the social realities of the day, one would be curious to find out the extent to which the contemporary Kiswahili novelists have captured this notion of generational conflict.
The twenty-first century has particularly been marked by an increase in Kiswahili novel production by older and younger generation authors (Bertoncini, 2009:2). From the older generation we have Said Ahmed Mohamed who has authored among others Asali Chungu (1977), Utengano (1980), Dunia Yao (2006) and Mhanga Nafsi Yangu (2012) is his latest novel. Euphrase Kezilahabi who has authored Rosa Mistika (1971) and Kichwamaji (1974) is credited to be the pioneer of the experimental novel captured in Nagona (1990) and Mzingile (1991). Shafi Adam Shafi who entered the Kiswahili novel scene with Kuli (1974) followed by Kasri ya Mwinyi Fuad (1978) is the author of Vuta n‟kuvute (1999) and Mbali Na Nyumbani (2012). Zainab Burhani has written several novels including Kikulacho (1985) Mwisho wa Kosa (1987) and Kipimo cha Mizani (2004) is the latest one.
In the 1960s to the 1980s, Tanzanians dominated the Kiswahili novel scene. However, from the 1990s to 2000s, more Kenyans have come in vehemently. Among the younger generation novelists we have Ken Walibora, K.W. Wamitila, Mwenda Mbatiah and John Habwe2 among others. Regrettably, we have very few female Kiswahili novelists in Kenya. Clara Momanyi is among the few Kiswahili novelists credited for writing Tumaini (2006) and Nakuruto (2009).
2 Wamitila has authored Nguvu ya Sala (1999), Musaleo (2004) Bin-Adamu! (2002) and Harufu ya Mapera (2012), Mwenda Mbatiah wrote Upotevu (1999) and Vipanya vya Maabara (2007) while John Habwe authored Maisha Kitendawili (2000), Paradiso (2005) and Cheche za Moto (2007).
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Kiswahili is both the official and national language in Kenya and Tanzania. Subsequently, Kiswahili and its literature are among the compulsory subjects examined at the primary and secondary school levels in these countries (Momanyi et. al, 2012:9, 14). Moreover, today Kiswahili is an important regional lingua franca in East Africa and Central Africa. Anna Kishe (Momanyi et al, 2012:150) points out that Kiswahili is one of the official languages of the African Union (AU) since July, 2004.
Therefore, the Kiswahili novel is an important medium for cultural communication among Kiswahili speakers. For this reason, an analysis of the contemporary Kiswahili novel can yield vital information on some of the social, political and economic changes and challenges within and outside the East African region. This is based on the premise that the novel as a genre can best represent social life. Mlacha alludes to this fact as follows:
Riwaya, tofauti na tanzu nyingine, inakuwa na wahusika ambao hujengwa kutokana na hali ya kimaisha ya binadamu ili kumwakilisha binadamu katika kuufikisha ujumbe wa msanii... ni utanzu unaowaelezea watu kwa undani zaidi na jinsi wanavyoishi. Ikiwa na mchanganyiko na matukio, hali, mazungumzo na majadailiano, maelezo na kauli za msanii, riwaya imejizatiti kwenye kuelezea nyanja nyingi zaidi za maisha kuliko tanzu nyingine za fasihi… Riwaya kama kazi zote nzuri za fasihi, inaweza kusaidia kufafanua na kutoa mambo yaliyojificha au yasiyoonekana katika maisha ya kila siku…
Riwaya huyatoa matendo ya binadamu kwa uwazi na ukamilifu wa kutosha kuweza kumfanya binadamu ajione, ajifunze na kujikosoa (1991:10).
[Different from other genres, the novel constitutes characters that are constructed based on human experiences in life in order to represent mankind with a view to communicating the author‟s message… it is a genre that explains the nature of human beings and their life styles in detail.
Equipped with a mixture of episodes, settings(hali), conversations and discussions, descriptions(maelezo) and statements(kauli) of the author, the novel is committed to explaining(kuelezea) various aspects(Nyanja nyingi ) of life more than any other genre in literature…
The novel like all other good works of literature can help elaborate (kufafanua) and reveal hidden unseen ideas in daily life…The novel exposes human actions(matendo) clearly and more accurately (kwa uwazi na ukamilifu) that enables an individual to see himself, to learn and to correct himself]
(MOT).
Within the framework of Narrative theory, narrative voice and focalization are the narrative strategies upon which the analysis of the theme generational conflict in the Kiswahili novels is undertaken. As Wamitila (2008:84-95) observes, focalization plays a key role in deciphering as well as comprehending the total make up of narrative texts. The current study postulates that focalization and its counterpart; narrative voice, play a major role in not only revealing the specific generational conflicts but also the reading of the conflicts in the selected novels. The „Hermeneutic triad‟ reading model developed by Paul Hernadi (Czarniaswska, 2004:60) is adopted and adapted for the analysis of the four novels. This being a case study, an extensive library research, textual and contextual analyses were carried
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out. Furthermore, interviews were conducted with authors of the four novels as well as Kiswahili literary critics to illuminate the textual analysis.
Against this background, the study examined the deployment of narrative voice and focalization in portraying generational conflicts in the four contemporary Kiswahili novels.
The argument is that literature, and specifically the Kiswahili novel, is a key space through which implied authors relay certain social values, beliefs and ideals to the implied or targeted readers. In this sense, the Kiswahili novel becomes a channel through which authors perform what Mary Louise Pratt (1977:86) calls „a cultural communicative act‟. Narratives are meant to communicate a message from the implied author to the implied reader (Chatman, 1978:149). Indeed, narration is a common mode of communication since people always tell stories to entertain, to teach and to learn, to ask for an interpretation and to give one (Czarniaswska (2004:10-11).