Papers by Elizabeth Odhiambo
Ramogi hill is held with a lot of reverence among the Luo, the bottom-line being that it was the ... more Ramogi hill is held with a lot of reverence among the Luo, the bottom-line being that it was the stopping point of their fore- father, Ramogi, upon his entry into Kenya through Uganda from Southern Sudan. As a result, several myths exist among the Luo which revolve around the various cultural sites found in the hill. This was a study of the significance of the myths associated with the hill and their implication for the socialization process in the Luo community. The objective of the study was to identify the various myths associated with Ramogi hill and discuss their role in the socialization process in the Luo community. The data for the study was collected through face to face interviews with informants aged seventy years and above. Purposive sampling and snowballing was used to identify the informants. The myths collected were then analyzed to establish the morals transmitted through them and their implication for the community. The functionalist theory was instrumental in the a...
Journal of Arts and Humanities, 2013
This was a study of Bessie Head’s literary commitment. The objective of the study was to interrog... more This was a study of Bessie Head’s literary commitment. The objective of the study was to interrogate the extent to which the writer is committed as a woman and as a Third World person based on the text Maru. The study adopted the analytical research design. The data collected through content analysis was coded according to thematic concerns, stylistic choices, the mode of characterization and vision of the author. The postcolonial theory was employed in the reading analysis and interpretation of the selected text. The findings reveal that as a woman, Bessie Head is committed to reconstructing a positive image for her female characters by challenging stereotypical perception of women through dismantling of patriarchal structures that previously relegated women to subordinate roles. This is seen in the presentation of the female characters as strong willed, determined, assertive, independent and enterprising. In delineating the experiences of women as women, she explores their most pe...
International journal of business and social research, 2012
Ramogi hill is held with a lot of reverence among the Luo, the bottom-line being that it was the ... more Ramogi hill is held with a lot of reverence among the Luo, the bottom-line being that it was the stopping point of their fore- father, Ramogi, upon his entry into Kenya through Uganda from Southern Sudan. As a result, several myths exist among the Luo which revolve around the various cultural sites found in the hill. This was a study of the significance of the myths associated with the hill and their implication for the socialization process in the Luo community. The objective of the study was to identify the various myths associated with Ramogi hill and discuss their role in the socialization process in the Luo community. The data for the study was collected through face to face interviews with informants aged seventy years and above. Purposive sampling and snowballing was used to identify the informants. The myths collected were then analyzed to establish the morals transmitted through them and their implication for the community. The functionalist theory was instrumental in the a...
African humanism is conceptualised in the idea of Ubuntu. This term embodies various values that ... more African humanism is conceptualised in the idea of Ubuntu. This term embodies various values that are uniquely African, culturally and conservatively. They include communalism, sharing, openness, respect for life and the upholding of the dignity of persons, and the devotion to family ties. The research examined the status of African humanism in Kenya as represented in selected popular fiction works of Meja Mwangi, namely Kill Me Quick (1973), Going Down River Road (1976) and The Cockroach Dance (1979). Based on the study, this paper presents and discusses the findings on how social structures affect individuals’ sense of African Humanism in the selected novels. The study was qualitative in approach, employing analytical research design in the collection and analysis of data. Qualitative data was collected using content analysis. The study population comprised African popular fiction, with special focus on popular novels by Kenyan popular writers. The study narrowed down the populatio...
Being humane is a primary requirement for mutual and healthy relations in society. African humani... more Being humane is a primary requirement for mutual and healthy relations in society. African humanism is built on the notion of „I am because you are, and because you are, so I am.‟ Accordingly, humanism is the lifeblood that nourishes an integrated and cohesive community, where respect and dignity of every individual is upheld. The study interrogated the portrayal of African humanism in the selected novels of the Kenyan writer, Meja Mwangi. In this paper, Meja Mwangi‟s popular fiction, Going Down River Road (1976) and The Cockroach Dance (1979) are studied. The texts represent Mwangi‟s urban-trilogy, among his forty-four novels. The study‟s discussion was also enhanced by secondary texts such as relevant journals articles, books, theses and internet were obtained from the library during this research. The study was qualitative in approach, employing analytical research design in the collection and analysis of data. Qualitative data was gathered through content analysis. The study pop...
Education and Linguistics Research, 2018
Facebook (FB) is one of the social networks that allow its users to interact freely by posting sh... more Facebook (FB) is one of the social networks that allow its users to interact freely by posting short messages, pictures and videos. FB has a forum where people write and post their opinions, pictures and videos to see their friends’ reactions. FB also allows anonymity thus giving users the freedom to use a language of their choice without restrictions. Given the fact that FB is an informal context, users employ certain patterns of language in their interactions. This paper endeavors to examine the manner in which these patterns of language are used on FB with special focus on Kiswahili language. Kiswahili is now an official language in Kenya and there is a paradigm shift concerning patterns of texts that are sent on FB interaction. The objective of the study was to analyze the linguistic features used in selected social interactions on FB (SSIFB). The units of analysis in this study were texts that were sent as reactions to the news and pictures that were posted on the FB forums suc...
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF LANGUAGE & LITERATURE, 2018
The African continent continues to grapple with challenges of despotic leadership. Since the citi... more The African continent continues to grapple with challenges of despotic leadership. Since the citizens of various African countries have adopted a host of responses to counter despotism, the despots have reengineered the craft of despotism into a sly and manipulative form of leadership where countries project a hoodwinking façade of democracy while the masses remain oppressed. Ethiopia is one of the African countries which have been run by dictators yet she has steadily exhibited a backcloth of democracy. Modern despots recognize that one of the hallmarks of democracy in society is a free press hence they attempt to manipulate it in order to present a false front of democracy to influence the citizens" perception. This paper investigates the contribution of Hama Tuma"s selected short stories in engaging the rampant and evolving phenomenon of despotism in the continent so as to unpack the new face of despotism. It particularly explores how the author exposes the mass media as a pliable tool used by despots in enhancing authoritarianism. Hermeneutics of suspicion is used for the critical reading and analysis of the selected short stories.
The International Journal of Linguistics, Literature and Culture, 2018
Research on Humanities and Social Sciences, 2013
Shimoni slave caves in Kenya are a significant historical site reminiscent of the history of slav... more Shimoni slave caves in Kenya are a significant historical site reminiscent of the history of slave trade on the East African coast. A people's Orature always embodies their philosophical world view, their religious orientation while at the same time recording moments in and aspects of their history. In this regard, the study investigated whether the community around Shimoni reconstructed the traumatic experience of slave trade through their Orature. The objective of the study was to examine how the people's philosophy of life is reflected through their oral narratives in their attempt to reconstruct their history. The data for the study was collected through face to face interviews with the informants. Participant observation was employed to enable the researcher to interact freely with the oral literature material. Purposive sampling and snowballing were used to identify the informants. The narratives collected were analyzed to establish the morals transmitted through them and their implication for the community. The functionalist theory was instrumental for the analysis of the function of the narratives. The findings reveal that the narratives of the community not only reconstruct the history of slave trade but also reflect the philosophical world view of the community. They show that the community believes in divine intervention, unity among its members and sanctity of life. Bad deeds were punished as a way of ensuring conformity.
Journal of Educational and Social Research, 2015
The current study examines the influence of identity on literary commitment in Bessie Head's When... more The current study examines the influence of identity on literary commitment in Bessie Head's When rain clouds gather. In particular, the study is interested in the hybrid syncretic crossings reflected in the text and which define her commitment as a writer in the Third Space-a dimension that has so far been overlooked by critics of her literary works. The study adopts the analytical research design. The postcolonial theory is instrumental in the reading, analysis and interpretation of the selected text. The data collected through content analysis of the text is coded according to thematic concerns, the mode of characterization and the vision of the author. The findings reveal that Head's identity influences her commitment in her choice of characters that like herself, are cast in the in-between space. These characters shuttle between points of inclusion and exclusion. Within this in-between or Third Space, identities defy fixity thereby remaining fickle, fluid and unstable. People are thus cast in a perpetual process of becoming, always mutating or changing into something 'other'. Essentialist formulations of identity are undermined by defiance of territorial confinement which allows for cultural fusion, but in the process also results in fission or more precisely, a shift from essentialist perceptions of self image. Hybridity, on the other hand, emerges as the coexistence of differences. In such cases, differences meet, mix and tolerate one another. However, it does not imply total erasure of cultural differences; its only impact is to blur the boundaries. Despite this, hybridity is propped by the author as the recipe for a perfect society.
Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences, 2013
The study examined elements of hybridity in Meja Mwangi's Little White Man, a text set in colonia... more The study examined elements of hybridity in Meja Mwangi's Little White Man, a text set in colonial Kenya. In particular, the study was interested in the writer's juxtaposition of the world of the child characters with that of the adult characters and the hybrid syncretic crossings reflected therein, against the backdrop of colonialism. The postcolonial theory was useful in the analysis of the selected text. The findings reveal that the text reflects both cultural and character hybridity. For the child characters, hybridity is a site for social reconstruction from which they emerge wiser and more enlightened through social interaction and practical experience of each other's world. The adult world on the contrary, stands in total contrast to the children's world. It is characterized by suspicion, insecurity, tension, contempt, violence and racial prejudice. It largely revolves around the interplay of power relations with the colonial settler at the top and the natives at the bottom. At interpersonal level, the adults always impose their will on the children. In effect, colonization is depicted at two levels in that, the Africans are colonized by the whites and secondly, the children are colonized by the adults who deny them the freedom to pursue their personal interest. It is notable however, that even under such strict conditions; the children always maneuver their way around the adults so as to pursue their own interests. This they do through being noncommittal, giving excuses and vague responses as in the case of Kariuki, the protagonist.
International Journal of Scientific and Research Publications (IJSRP), 2018
The image of youth characters portrayed in South African literature has traditionally focused on ... more The image of youth characters portrayed in South African literature has traditionally focused on their manifest responses to the political issues of the different moments of the country's history, with little attention on the interiority of the concerned individuals' being. Unlike their counterparts in the apartheid regime, the post-apartheid generation of youth has lived in a supposedly freer environment, yet some have continually exhibited errant behaviour. Guided by the theory of psychoanalysis, this study investigated other possible psychological drives behind such behavior against the background of the prevailing post-apartheid environment of the selected novels. Through their coping mechanisms, dreams and stream of consciousness, we are able to access the characters' unconscious mind. Findings revealed that individuals' actions and behavior exhibited are mainly unconscious expressions of psychic emotions of disappointment, anguish, guilt, regret, and suppressed unpleasant experiences suffered in childhood.
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Papers by Elizabeth Odhiambo