Botlhodi: The Abomination

T.J. Pheto

Description

Botlhodi – The Abomination is a powerful story about British colonialism and its aftermath in Molepolole, Botswana. It is a compelling juxtaposition between Traditional Setswana ways and Christianity. The protagonist, Modiko, finds himself conflicted when both his strict father, a pastor of Motlhaoetla church, and his grandfather, an unapologetic traditionalist, expect him to choose between Setswana tradition and Christianity. Torn between the two worlds, Modiko at the end makes an informed personal decision. The road is not smooth though, as he experiences persecution, bullying, abuse, witchcraft and nightmares along the way. Other characters in the novel engage in some serious conversations that allude to some important historical developments. In this work, T.J. Pheto presents to his readers a hilarious story pregnant with themes of identity, social change, discrimination, racism, colonialism, love and, ‘tradition’ versus ‘modernity’. This pioneering literary response to British colonialism in Botswana is an outstanding postcolonial fiction of resistance. Pheto’s humor makes the book all the more hard for a reader to put down.

Sujets

• Christianisme

Informations

• Publié par: Langaa RPCIG
• Date de parution: 25 mars 2019
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9789956551965
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

Publisher:
Langaa RPCIG
Langaa Research & Publishing Common Initiative Group P.O. Box 902 Mankon Bamenda North West Region Cameroon
[e-mail]
www.langaa-rpcig.net
Distributed in and outside N. America by African Books Collective [e-mail] www.africanbookcollective.com
ISBN-10:9956-550-55-8 ISBN-13: 978-9956-550-55-5
T.J. Pheto 2019
All rights reserved .
No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, mechanical or electronic, including photocopying and recording, or be stored in any information storage or retrieval system, without written permission
from the publisher
We went to their church. Mubia, in white robes, opened the Bible. He said: Let us kneel down to pray. We knelt down. Mubia said: Let us shut our eyes. We did. You know, his remained open so that he could read the word. When we opened our eyes, our land was gone and the sword of flames stood on guard. As for Mubia, he went on reading the word, beseeching us to lay our treasures in heaven where no moth would corrupt them. But he laid his on earth, our earth.
Ngugi wa Thiong o, A Grain of Wheat
I dedicate this work to the author of the Setswana novel T.J Pheto for being among the first writers to write this fiction of resistance that chronicles Botswana s anti-colonial crisis. I also thank him for granting me permission to translate this work into English.
This novel is a remarkable literary response to British colonial presence and its aftermath on Bakwena of Molepolole in Botswana. Also, to Prof. Ngugi wa Thiong o who did the same in East Africa.
Tiroentle Bafana Pheto
Table of Contents

Acknowledgements
Preface
Translator s Profile
Critical Introduction
The Abomination
Acknowledgements

I would like to give my sincere thanks to all those who made this work possible. First and foremost, I thank the author, Tiroentle Bafana Pheto, for giving me a very warm welcome during my unannounced visit to Molepolole and for granting me a permission to translate his novel into English. I acknowledge Pula Press for publishing this novel in Setswana in 1985. And to my friend Dr. Joel Magogwe who drove with me to Molepolole to Rre Pheto s house. Although he was not expecting us, he gave us his time. My family back home in Botswana who went through a long period of an absent sibling, father, and uncle. I say a special thank you to my beloved daughter Maya who had been born a few months before I left on my self-imposed academic exile. And to you Annah Diundu my love, thank you for taking care of my daughter and loving me unconditionally; I love you.
In a long list of mentors and friends, I start by thanking Professor Ghirmai Negash for offering direction and advice throughout; and his expertise and criticism which has always challenged me to the limits but also made me a better researcher and translator. I also thank him for helping me regain confidence in postcolonial African literatures. At the University of Botswana s African Languages & Literature, I thank Drs. R. Nhlekisana and P. Seloma for believing in me. I also thank the Government of Botswana and African Studies Program at Ohio University for sponsoring my studies. While I cannot thank and mention all individuals involved in the project by name, I would like also to thank Dr. Steve Howard, formerly the Director of Center for International Studies who directed the African Studies Program for almost three decades. And to Bose Maposa, the assistant director of African Studies Program as well as Mr. Master Baipidi of the Embassy of Botswana to the US in Washington D.C. I say thank you for your valuable advice and support. Pula! I also would like to thanks my colleagues at Ohio University, especially Lassane Ouedraogo, James Fisher and Spencer Cappelli.
I am grateful to David Lawrence for the cover design.
Preface

By drawing from the historical tradition and the imposition of Christianity in Botswana during British colonialism Botlhodi-The Abomination leaves readers with more questions than answers. These two aspects; tradition and religion combine to form a plethora of doubt within the social institutions known to have previously held Bakwena ethnic group in unison. As an ethnic group that was once held together by its social norms, values and a common way of life, the Bakwena find themselves divided by a foreign religion and a colonial government that disregards the bogosi institution. The new religion, pioneered by British missionaries parades with only one serious objective: to despise traditional ways of the Bakwena, the people whose totem is a crocodile. The claim that African tradition is nothing but a litany of barbaric deeds and witchcraft practiced by a people who require civilization is used by the colonial missionaries who strategically use religion as a weapon to divide and conquer. In addition, the colonial government does not recognize the system of Bogosi despite its significance to the people of Kweneng as a whole. The paramount chief of Bakwena gets converted to Christianity and because of this every villager is expected to be part of the church led by a white missionary, who plays the role of both a medical doctor and a pastor in the novel. However, this change comes with a price of cohesion and force, sometimes death from unbearable persecution for the villagers who refuse to comply and compromise their traditional principles. As a result, the Morafe of Bakwena is brutally divided, both socially and ideologically as the colonialists influence their traditional leadership to turn things upside down through indoctrination. The novelist uses dark images, symbols and metaphors to tie the entire narrative together in his questioning of colonialism.
Pheto questions the project of colonialism in Botswana and juxtaposes it with the challenges it poses: for example it causes religious assimilation in the sense that it expects the locals to abandon their beliefs for the colonizer s. Through this novel, Pheto transcends as one of the few writers of Setswana literature who writes back to the empire in his native Setswana, therefore compelling many people whose identity was attacked and compromised by the colonial predicament. Botlhodi-The Abomination therefore counts among the first remarkable literary responses to colonialism in Botswana. Pheto s work demonstrates how early Christianity during colonial time should be held responsible for racism, discrimination and prejudices that the Bakwena find themselves grappling with. When Bakwena combine Christianity with traditional beliefs as their preferred way of worship they are met with abject persecution. Clearly, their effort to interpret biblical doctrines against tradition is rejected and disqualified on racial grounds. The reason for this is very simple and obvious-there is a belief that there is no Church that can exist without a British White man as a pastor and Kgosi as a member.
Pheto meticulously adopts the use of humorous language to address issues of racism and racial profiling stereotypes brought by the colonizers to the traditional society. However, some of the humor may be lost, due to translation into another language that may likely compromise organic exoticness and quality of the Tswana humor. For example, we note that some characters in the novel are amused but at the same time perplexed and disgusted by examples of modernity, such as having a toilet in the same house where people live. Beer, although it is habitually consumed and loved is compared with human urine in a glass. Characters are depicted as experiencing a change for the first time, so in the process they get shocked and express this in their daily conversations. To the Bakwena people, this is tantamount to insanity! The novelist carefully constructs his characters in a way that allows for a juxtaposition between the themes of modernity versus tradition. Pheto s literary offering tells a story about the history of Bakwena in a fictitious style that pays attention to specific cultural details. By defying the mainstream style of writing that is based on the canons, the novel evokes a strong application of African fiction writing in the quality of its narratology. In the midst of persecution, Bakwena who have formed their own church and a few traditionalists who evidently resist the colonial rule have only tradition to use as their weapon hence they may appear weak yet they keep fighting. It is not an easy walk of life, but it is one of a kind that is marked by a sea of screams from the oppressed other, whether one is a king, a conscript, or a commoner.
Translator s Profile

Keith Robert Phetlhe, Ph.D Canditate, African Literature & Film Studies Interdisciplinary Arts, is a poet, teacher, writer and, cultural enthusiast from Botswana. He holds a BA in African Languages & Literature and English Studies from the University of Botswana. In addition, he holds a Postgraduate Diploma in Education from the same university, where he trained as teacher of Setswana language and English. Phetlhe has also received a Master of Arts in African Studies, with special focus on African Literature, where his research interests are Postcolonial Literature and Literary Translation at Ohio University in Athens. He was the instructor for Setswana at Ohio University in the African Studies Program. Currently, Keith Phetlhe is the recipient of the Comparative Arts Scholarship from College of Fine Arts in the School of Interdisciplinary Arts. He pursues a Ph.D in African Literature with a minor in Film Studies where he teaches an Introduction to the Arts: African Literature. Phetlhe s research interests are in literary arts in African languages, Translation Studies and Criticism, Postcolonial Studies and Comparative Literatur