Afterlives

“Khalifa knew that the merchant was making him a gift of her, and that the young woman was not going to have much to say in the matter […] Khalifa agreed to the arrangement because he did not think he could refuse and because he desired it […] They did not meet before the wedding or even at the wedding. The ceremony was a simple affair […] After the ceremony coffee was served and then Khalifa was accompanied by the merchant himself to her house and introduced to his new wife. The house was the property Asha Fuadi inherited, only she did not inherit it.”

This passage reflects The Subordination of Women in the novel, as Asha’s plight embodies many of the legal and social disadvantages faced by Tanzanian women. Asha lacks agency and is treated as property, with her uncle “making a gift of her” to a man he has chosen as her spouse without seeking or needing Asha’s consent to the match. To further emphasize Asha’s powerlessness over her own fate, she is not even present at her own wedding. The concluding line of the passage alludes to the fact that Asha has been cheated out of her rightful inheritance by her uncle, leaving her all the more at his mercy.

“She did not even know she had a real brother. She could not believe he was here, that he had just walked in off the road and was waiting to take her away. He was so clean and beautiful, and he laughed so easily […] He gave them some money as a gift for their kindness but he did not need to, because she was in filthy rags when he found her as if she was their slave.”

In this passage, 10-year-old Afiya has just discovered her older brother Ilyas, who comes to rescue her from her abusive situation with her aunt and uncle. This is the beginning of her “afterlife,” as she escapes her uncle’s home for the first time. Ilyas’s charming appearance and easy-going demeanor contrasts with the harshness and cruelty of her aunt and uncle. Afiya’s attire in “filthy rags […] as if she was their slave” reflects the abuse she has endured and reflects The Subordination of Women: Afiya has been abused by her uncle and her only hope of escape is through the help of another man—in this case, Ilyas.

“‘Are you mad? What has this to do with you?’ His friend asked. ‘This is between two violent and vicious invaders, one among us and the other to the north. They are fighting over who should swallow us whole.”

Khalifa is stunned when Ilyas—who remains grateful for the treatment he received from the Germans as a youth—decides to join the schutztruppe as a mercenary. The northern invaders Khalifa describes are the British and the conflict causing the military action is World War I. Khalifa’s characterization of both the Germans and the British as “vicious invaders” reveals his belief that all colonial powers are cruel and unjust, while his assertion, “They are fighting over who should swallow us whole” reflects The Oppression of Colonized People: Tanzania’s interests will never be taken seriously by either power, who will merely “swallow” Tanzania in the midst of achieving their own ends.

“For a long time Afiya did not like to go anywhere in case they came looking for her. She was afraid of everyone except for her brother’s friend who had come for her and whom she now called Baba [father] Khalifa, and Bi [Mrs.] Asha […] whom she now called Bimkubwa [mother]. She was sure that if her Baba had not come, her uncle would have killed her sooner or later, or if not him then his son. But Baba Khalifa came.”

This is a second rebirth for Afiya, who returned to her uncle’s house when her brother joined the askari. Upon receiving a surreptitious note from Afiya, Khalifa makes good on his promise to rescue her. His wife, Asha, has no children and has sympathy for Afiya since she also endured hardship and the loss of loved ones as a child. Afiya’s fear that her aunt and uncle may come “looking for her” and her belief that her uncle or cousin “would have killed her sooner or later” reflects her state of trauma and her ongoing vulnerability as a woman in Tanzanian society. Due to The Subordination of Women, Afiya must once again seek the protection of a man—now, Khalifa—to escape the violent domination of another.

“Hamza found out later that day that he had been assigned as the officer’s personal servant, his batman, and was required to report to his residence first thing in the morning to be instructed in his duties by the outgoing batman […] He was not told why. Komba led the mockery when the assignment became known.

‘You are a shoga [gay servant],’ he said, ‘that’s why he picked you. He wants someone sweet and pretty to massage his back and serve his dinner for him.’”

Like Ilyas, Hamza ran away and seeks only to blend in, yet is singled out by a German officer for special treatment. Like Ilyas, the officer also makes certain that Hamza receives an education denied to virtually all other mercenaries, which will lead to Hamza’s advancement after the war. Here, Hamza fears that the officer’s intentions are sexual, suggesting that Hamza may face yet another form of exploitation at the hands of his colonizers. However, in reality, Hamza reminds the lieutenant of his younger brother, who had died in battle. This misunderstanding and subsequent missed opportunity for camaraderie reflects the theme Understanding and Misunderstanding in Human Connection.

“A new bed with a mosquito net frame was delivered from Nassor Biashara’s [businessman’s] workshop as a gift to Afiya from the merchant. For the first time in her life, at the age of twelve, Afiya had the unexpected luxury of a room of her own.”

In this passage, Asha prepares an empty room in their small home as a bedroom for Afiya, who slept on a mat in Asha and Khalifa’s bedroom for two years. Nassor, who favors Afiya, delivers a mosquito-proof bed when Afiya moves into her new room. Afiya’s improved conditions reflect the development of her “afterlife” in the home of Khalifa and Asha.

“That’s why I’m here—to take possession of what rightfully belongs to us because we are stronger. We are dealing with backward and savage people and the only way to rule them is to strike terror into them and their vain Liliputmajestät [majestically tiny] sultans, and pummel all of them into obedience.”

With war about to descend upon Tanzania, the moody lieutenant rages at his servant, Hamza, who must listen in silence. The lieutenant’s racist speech reflects The Oppression of Colonized People, emphasizing the beliefs about racial and cultural superiority underpinning the colonial system. The lieutenant claims that Tanzania “rightfully belongs to us [the Germans]” because he regards the Germans as superior to the “backward and savage people” to whom Tanzania actually belongs—the Tanzanians themselves. The lieutenant’s angry speech is one of many examples of the racist treatment Hamza experiences while serving with the Germans.

“More askari died from blackwater fever than from any other cause. Carriers were seized by crocodiles as they crossed the swamps. Hyenas dug up the dead. It was a nightmare […] They did not always know where they were, even with their maps, and they were forced to capture and question local people […] No one needed to order the askari to do violence and brutality to the people. They knew what was needed and required no instruction.”

This passage relates the hardships undergone by the askari, whose sacrifices on behalf of the German colonizers is never once adequately acknowledged, appreciated, or rewarded. The askari face a “nightmare” due to the colonial war they are caught up in, suffering from disorientation (“They did not always know where they were”) and committing violence against their fellow Tanzanians (“they were forced to capture and question local people”). The “violence and brutality” the askari inflict upon the people they encounter reflect the brutality and senselessness of the war in which they are forced to fight, emphasizing the effects of the dehumanization they have experienced.

“The merchant knew without knowing the precise details that Rashid Maulidi was part of the dubious network of traders his father had patronized. He said no, it was too dangerous […] Khalifa said that the merchant was a nervy young man who needed persuading. He suggested that Rashid Maulidi should get a small consignment on credit, just to demonstrate that the scheme was viable, then they would speak to the merchant again.”

While Khalifa and Nassor dislike and distrust one another, they find a way to enhance their shared enterprise by resorting to illegal trading, just as Nassor’s father had during the German occupation. While Nassor is originally cautious and skeptical, believing it to be “too dangerous,” Khalifa understands that he just needs some “persuading” and uses his intelligence to both initiate the blockade-running and convince Nassor of its viability.

“Afiya was no longer a girl but a kinjana, maiden, and beginning to understand the endless resentments that were part of the sequestered lives of women. She did not call on Khalida as often as she used to, because Bi Asha said she was not to. They were scoundrels in that family, she said, and the empty-headed women friends Khalida associated with liked nothing so much as to gossip and to tear people to shreds, shame on them. Afiya knew that Bi Asha’s prevailing topic of conversation was her neighbors, whose shortcomings she relished and repeatedly described.”

Afiya, now a young woman, begins to recognize some of the hypocrisies and daily rivalries that surround her. Asha, who finds fault with pretty much everyone she knows or knows something about, is critical of Khalida, the wife of her cousin Nassor, for loving “gossip” and “tear[ing] people to shreds.” Afiya notes that “Asha’s prevailing topic of conversation was her neighbours” and that Asha is therefore just as petty and judgmental as Khalida. Afiya’s recognition of the “endless resentments” that simmer in “the sequestered lives of women” once more draws attention to The Subordination of Women, suggesting that the mundane power struggles between women like Asha and Khalida are the result of having no real power or agency in society at large.

“They woke to discover that most of the remaining carriers had deserted during the night. It was not so unexpected to Hamza or to anyone who understood what they had been muttering incessantly for days. They were porters for hire but they had not been paid […] Casualties were high among them. They were poorly fed and badly equipped, most of them barefoot and dressed in whatever rags they could loot or steal […] The Oberleutnant was furious and the other Germans joined him in rage at the indiscipline of the carriers, as if they really believed that the ragged troop they beat and despised and overworked owed them loyalty.”

This passage is another key representation of The Oppression of Colonized People. The Tanzanian carriers have deserted the Germans after experiencing relentless mistreatment and exploitation at their hands, and yet the Germans respond with “rage at the indiscipline of the carriers” whom they believe owed them “loyalty” regardless of how poorly they were treated. The Germans’ refusal to accept the carriers’ desertion as just and unsurprising reinforces the wide divide and constant racial discrimination of the colonizers and their system.

“It is a place of no significance whatsoever in the history of human achievement or endeavor. You could tear this page out of human history and it would not make a difference to anything. You can understand why people can live contentedly in such a place […] It was like that until we came and brought them words of discontent like progress and sin and salvation. […] That’s why it is necessary to repeat instructions and to supervise. Just imagine, if we left here tomorrow they will return like bush to their old ways.”

These are the words of the German missionary and physician who treats the wounded Hamza. The minister’s words reflect The Oppression of Colonized People from another angle: evangelization and cultural oppression. The minister dismisses Tanzania as “a place of no significance whatsoever” and claims that even if it ceased to exist, its absence “would not make a difference to anything.” His words reflect the common colonial belief that non-Western nations could not possibly have a valid civilization of their own. His reference to “words of discontent like progress and sin and salvation” alludes to the forceful imposition of the colonial culture upon its colonial subjects.

“He was fortunate to have the prospect of work so soon after arriving in the town although he should remain cautious, not count his blessings before he was sure of the job. It had been many months of wandering, many years, and now he was making yet another start in the company of a spectral host of accusers […] When he fled it seemed like an undoing of life but for now it has ended with the futility of him returning to where he had been before, older, half broken, empty handed.”

Hamza arrives back in Tanga, a town where he was an indentured servant as a child. He feels lucky to have found work but believes himself to be rather unfortunate otherwise. Hamza initially experiences this return as “futility” and is “half broken” by the trauma he has endured, yet this return is actually the start of an “afterlife” that will eventually lead Hamza to personal fulfillment and prosperity.

“He swept the cobwebs and the floor, turned the mirror to the wall and rearranged the furniture to create a sleeping space. Then he sat down in the chair and leaned back against the shaving headrest, joyful at his good fortune. […] He shut the door and sat for a long time, for hours, without moving, relishing the feeling of safety he felt in the darkening cell.”

Just as he did for Afiya, so Khalifa creates a bedroom for his new employee Hamza, giving him access to the former barbershop at the front of Asha’s house. This is a delightful surprise to Hamza, who starts to realize he may have misjudged Khalifa, reflecting the theme of Understanding and Misunderstanding in Human Connection. His turning the mirror to the wall is a symbolic statement that Hamza is not yet ready to fully examine himself. The “feeling of safety” he experiences in his new abode signals the beginning of a new start for Hamza and foreshadows the emotional healing he will soon undergo.

“As he walked away he dwelled on the look of concern in the woman’s eyes and wondered at the surprise and mild agitation that caused him […] It made him feel sorry for himself in a way he did not understand, made him feel sad for the loveless years of his own life, and for the episodes of gentleness in it that had been so brief […] Hamza walked the streets for an hour or more, and in that time upbraided himself for his naive sentiment and nostalgia.”

This passage follows a moment of revelation both for Hamza and for Afiya, who for the first time stand face-to-face and exchange words. Hamza immediately finds himself filled with the awareness of what has been missing in his life and begins to long to see Afiya again. Hamza’s reflections on the “loveless years of his own life” and the sadness that he now feels in recognizing his long-term loneliness reveal that he is starting to face the trauma he has experienced. His newfound love for Afiya represents a way forward: Now he has the chance to heal through connection and emotional vulnerability.

“She held her kanga loosely so that he saw something of her upper body and her waist. After a moment she pulled her kanga together and adjusted it on her head. It was a familiar gesture of modesty but he wondered if she had relaxed the covering for a moment for his benefit. They exchanged smiles as he thanked her and left, but he thought she knew how he felt about her. It excited him […] By his reckoning, which was not extensive in such matters, the situation had all the makings of a courtship.”

Afiya and Hamza’s attraction continues to blossom and deepen in this passage. Afiya’s sly handling of her kanga—the garment that is supposed to help protect her “modesty” and which reflects the purity culture at the heart of The Subordination of Women—is something she now holds “loosely” to expose herself slightly to Hamza. This flirtatious gesture reflects Afiya’s growing confidence and willingness to defy patriarchal norms, foreshadowing the bolder steps she will soon take in consummating her love with Hamza and confessing her feelings for him.

“‘You like her.’

When he turned to look at him, Hamza nodded.

‘She is a good woman,’ Khalifa said once again looking away and speaking softly. […] She has lived with us for many years and Bi Asha and I have watched over her like our own. I need to know your intentions. I have a responsibility.’”

Hamza, who is soft-spoken and reluctant to ask for the things he wants, finds himself confronted—though gently—by Khalifa about his romance with Afiya. This prefaces a breakthrough moment for both men as Khalifa coaches Hamza through the engagement process, finding the information he will need to successfully facilitate the couple’s marriage. The moment reflects Understanding and Misunderstanding in Human Connection, with both Hamza and Khalifa drawing closer through this moment of shared confidences and emotional vulnerability.

“‘And as I listen to you, I also think of Ilyas. He is older than you. […] I imagine what it must have been like for him in the war and if he is well somewhere, talking to someone like you are talking to me.’

‘We can find out. We can try,’ Hamza said, correcting himself. ‘There are records. The Germans are good with records. Then you’ll know what happened to him.’”

This exchange between the two young lovers, Afiya and Hamza, as they share their history in the silence of Hamza’s room, sets the stage for the resolution of the final unresolved storyline: What happened to Afiya’s brother? While Hamza assures Afiya that the Germans are “good with records,” the actuality is that they did not keep records of their mercenaries—a further reflection of The Oppression of Colonized People. In sharing her longing for her brother, Afiya’s confidences reveal the deep connection she and Hamza now share.

“Inside the cupboard there was a small locked box painted in green and red diagonal stripes. She opened it for him and showed him its treasures: the notebook she had used when her brother taught her to read, the marbled Ledger that Baba gave her, a gold bracelet Ilyas bought for her during Idd during the one year they lived together, now too small for her to wear, a picture postcard of the mountain overlooking the town where he had worked on the German’s farm and then gone to school, and the tiny scrap of the Schiller poem Hamza had translated for her.”

This passage reveals the complete, tender intimacy expressed by Afiya toward her new groom, Hamza. Afiya shows Hamza inside the “cupboard” that is filled with her “treasures.” Afiya has only a few tokens that are priceless to her, reflecting her modest economic and social standing, but the nature of her treasures reveals that what she values most in life are the things that remind her of her loved ones. Their marriage is characterized by a full willingness to share, which contrasts with the arranged and emotionally-distant marital beginnings of Khalifa and Asha.

“Khalida came to the house for the first time that afternoon. She kissed Bi Asha’s hand as she lay in her bed and sat on the stool beside her, making the kind of conversation people did by a sick bed. It was a low-key reconciliation, and neither Khalida nor Bi Asha made any drama out of it. Bi Asha heaved a great sigh of relief after she left, as if at the end of an ordeal.”

As Asha lies in bed, dying of cancer, Afiya summons Khalida, the wife of Nassor, to visit her. Near the end of a pregnancy, the visit is physically difficult for Khalida. The greater difficulty is overcoming the awkwardness of it, since the two women spent decades viciously gossiping about each other. The finality of death overwhelms the pettiness of their feud, drawing them together in a mutual, final sacrificial moment of understated togetherness, reflecting Understanding and Misunderstanding in Human Connection.

“‘You’re turning into a conniving little manipulator! First you charm that old grumbler so that he takes you into his house, then you seduce his daughter and bamboozle the old carpenter with your German translations, and now you’re trying to blackmail me,’ Nassor Biashara said. ‘I told you, I’ll think about it.’”

Hamza’s growing confidence and wisdom mirror the developing maturity and insight of Afiya. Nassor’s humorous characterization of Hamza as a “conniving little manipulator” who has charmed Khalifa, Afiya, and the master carpenter in turn reflects the deep ties Hamza has now formed in his community. Hamza’s extortion of Nassor to rent the house to him will allow Hamza to repay Khalifa for his kindness toward him—he will ensure Khalifa can continue to live in the house. This new dynamic reflects how the younger generation is now stepping into the roles of the old.

“The spirit has mounted him. Do you understand what I’m talking about? It is a woman and that makes me hopeful. Women visitors talk, the males sometimes just blunder about angrily […] I don’t think the visitor means to harm him but we have to find out what she wants and what will placate her and then provide that if it is possible.”

This quote comes from a shekhiya, a faith healer, who arrives at the home of Afiya and Hamza to remove the evil spirit who plagues their son, the younger Ilyas. The shekhiya will soon declare that the woman inside Ilyas—who sounds exactly like the deceased Asha—continually asks about the location of the older, still-missing uncle Ilyas. This revelation foreshadows how the truth of the older Ilyas’s fate will be revealed at the novel’s end.

“‘I have not received a letter from anyone in my whole life,’ Hamza replied in Kiswahili, understanding now why the police officer was interested in his letter. ‘We’ve been waiting for news of my brother for many years. He was an askari. I know a little German so in the end wrote to the Frau to ask for her help. Does it say his name in that letter?’”

This passage takes place when Hamza and the British police officers discuss a letter from Germany that has arrived for Hamza. The letter is from the German pastor’s wife, who writes to provide information about the missing Ilyas. The British are suspicious about anything coming out of Germany, even a seemingly innocuous letter, because another war looms. The moment reinforces how the colonial powers interfere with the destinies of ordinary citizens, reflecting The Oppression of Colonized People.