Dreams in a Time of War

Thiong’o is Ngũgĩ’s father. He has four wives and twenty-four children. While a man of few words, he is charming and knows the ways of urban life, as he worked in Nairobi as a young man. From this experience, he considers himself modern, especially vis-à-vis his older brother, Baba Mũkũrũ. Thiong’o purchases land through an oral agreement that he later relinquishes to Lord Kahahu, who has a formal title deed designating him as the rightful owner. This unexpected change in ownership means that Thiong’o is a tenant on Lord Kahahu’s land and does not have grazing or cultivating rights to it. His fortunes also suffer when his livestock die. He transitions from a respected patriarch to an abuser and directs much of his anger against Ngũgĩ’s mother. When she leaves the homestead, Thiong’o banishes Ngũgĩ and his siblings from it as well. Thereafter, Ngũgĩ has a strained relationship with his father and does not see him again until he is about to attend high school. During this visit, they reconcile, and Ngũgĩ feels free from anger and resentment.

Wanjikũ is Ngũgĩ’s mother and an influential, stabilizing figure in his life. She is Thiong’o’s third wife and agrees to marry him because he is a hard worker and has cooperative wives. Ngũgĩ is the fifth child of Wanjikũ’s six children. During his early childhood years, Ngũgĩ is very attached to his mother. Wanjikũ recognizes Ngũgĩ’s precociousness and arranges for him to attend school by paying for it with her agricultural earnings. She makes a pact with him that he must always try his best, and Ngũgĩ takes this seriously, exceling in his studies. Wanjikũ defies stereotypes about submissive African wives, leaving her husband when he begins to abuse her. She arranges to build a new home on her father’s land and raises her children as a single mother. She teaches Ngũgĩ the importance of respect, especially towards his elders, while also encouraging him to stand up for himself and solve his own problems.

Good Wallace is Ngũgĩ’s older brother. He encourages Ngũgĩ to attend school and discourages him from engaging in other pursuits, like working in his carpentry workshop. Good Wallace introduces Ngũgĩ to many of his older friends, who help shape his political outlook. Ngũgĩ views Good Wallace as a cultural hero, especially after he joins the Mau Mau resistance movement, risking his life as a guerilla fighter to end British colonial rule.

Njinjũ is the younger brother of Ngũgĩ and named after their uncle. When Njinjũ is born, Ngũgĩ is jealous of him, but this changes when his mother explains that she had Njinjũ to be Ngũgĩ’s friend. The boys become very close and have many adventures together. Njinjũ also helps Ngũgĩ realize that he should not be concerned about what other people think of him and that he should value his own sense of self-worth.

Ngandi is a teacher and intellectual who befriends Ngũgĩ. Ngũgĩ learns a lot about Kenyan politics and history from Ngandi who helps him develop a critical awareness of colonial rule. As a writer, Ngũgĩ models a character in his first novel, Weep, Not a Child (1964), on Ngandi, trying to convey the substance and tone of his masterful storytelling.

Baba Mũkũrũ is Thiongo’s older brother and the uncle of Ngũgĩ. He personifies traditionalism, as he closely follows the rituals and practices of his ancestors and runs his homestead according to these principles. Ngũgĩ incorporates many of these values in his later literary writings and attributes his appreciation for cultural traditions to his uncle.