The River Between

“Honia was the soul of Kameno and Makuyu. It joined them. And men, cattle, wild beasts and trees, were all united by this life-stream.”

This quote introduces the symbolic significance of the river Honia and sheds light on the relationship between the villages of Kameno and Makuyu. In precolonial Kenya, all living beings are physically and spiritually united by the river. This river’s life-giving nature enables the villages to prosper; thus, the river takes on great cultural significance. Any disconnection from the land results in a disconnection from their people’s own souls. However, the river is an insufficient symbol to unify the tribes against the threat of colonialism.

“The white man cannot speak the language of the hills.”

The people of the ridges do not take the threat of colonialism seriously because they believe that white people are incompatible with the land. They reason that because the white settlers have no connection with the land, they will be unable to take root and inflict hardships. This worldview is portrayed through the idea of speaking the “language” of the land itself. Uncharacteristically, the people do not listen to their own seers’ warnings about the white settlers, thus failing to listen to the elders’ language themselves.