Browsing by Author "Emmanuel, Lema"

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    Fictional reconstruction of history of Kilwa in M.G Vassanji's The Magic of Saida
    (Tanzania Zamani: A Journal of Historical Research and Writing, 2019) Emmanuel, Emmanuel; Emmanuel, Lema
    This paper explores M.G Vassanji’s novel, The Magic of Saida (2012). It draws on the idea of reconstruction of history used in anthropology and utilizes it as an approach in carrying out textual analysis of the novel and exploring how the novel reconstructs the history of Kilwa. Additionally, it employs Stephen Greeblatt idea of New Historicism, whereby, appreciation of the text history and textuality of history is done on the assumption that the novel is a closely-knit fabric composed of both historical and literary threads. The paper argues that Kamal Punja’s story about his return to Kilwa to look for his childhood lover, Saida is well intertwined with accounts and varying versions of stories of old Kilwa, slavery and slave trade in Kilwa, German intervention in Kilwa and African resistances. It is further argued that Vassanji is not only writing Kamal’s story but also allowing Kamal to revisit his past and reconstruct the history and in that way through the novel fiction and history have been used by Vassanji to propose a view that there are differences between actual historical events, varying perceptions of the events and the histories about the events, thus Vassanji has provided readers with a room to question the process by which we represent ourselves and our world and to become aware of the means by which we make sense of and construct our history.
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    Sexism and misogyny in selected proverbs of the Chaga of Machame
    (UMMA: The Journal of Contemporary Literature and Creative Arts, 2021) Emmanuel, Lema
    This work employs a feminist perspective to examine how some proverbs of the Chaga of Machame portray a sexist ideology that supports patriarchal relations as well as social systems or environments in which women face cultural stereotyping. It discusses the impressions that some proverbs create and how such impressions set rules which govern how women are, should be treated and how they are expected to behave. It has been argued that some life-long gendered attitudes towards women are evident in the selected proverbs and that they take part in the creation of a social system which explains how women are seen, represented and how gender relations are organized, promoted, and shaped. The paper shows that proverbs constitute a powerful rhetorical device for the shaping of moral consciousness, opinions, and beliefs.