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Makala Yangu Kuhusu Hemingway na Afrika

Jana, niliandika makala fupi kuhusu juhudi zangu za kumwelewa Hemingway na kufundisha maandishi na habari zake. Jana hiyo hiyo, niliona kuwa makala yangu kuhusu kozi niliyofundisha Tanzania mwaka huu juu ya Hemingway inachapishwa na African Global Roots. Nategemea kuwa yeyote anayejiuliza kwa nini nahangaika sana na mwandishi huyu atanielewa, angalau kidogo.

Studying Hemingway in East Africa–Upcoming Africana Magazine Article

09 Sunday Jun 2013

Posted by AFRICAN GLOBAL ROOTS in AGR Magazine

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by Joseph L. Mbele
For the whole month of January, 2013, I was in Tanzania, with 29 students from St. Olaf College. We were studying the African writings of Ernest Hemingway while visiting some of the places he visited and wrote about.


Hemingway is a famous writer, world traveler, big game hunter, and fan of bull fighting and boxing. About ten years ago, I discovered that he also greatly loved Africa. I embarked on exploring this aspect in earnest.

Born in Oak Park, Illinois, in 1899, Hemingway learned about Africa from his earliest years as his father took him to the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago, where, among the exhibits, there were stuffed animals from Africa, including the celebrated lions of Tsavo.

In 1909, retired president Teddy Roosevelt was on safari in Kenya for many months, writing accounts of his safari in the U.S. media. The American public, including the young Hemingway, followed the adventure with great interest.

As time went, Hemingway’s interest in Africa grew. In 1922, while living in Paris, he reviewed a famous novel, Batouala, written by Rene Maran of Martinique, who worked as an official in the French colony that is today the Central African Republic. The novel was set there, and Hemingway liked the way it depicted the life of the villagers. This novel helped shape Hemingway’s own writing style.

Finally, Hemingway visited East Africa in 1933-34. From that experience, he wrote the book Green Hills of Africa, and two famous short stories: “The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber,” and “The Snows of Kilimanjaro.” He also wrote journalistic pieces and letters. He visited East Africa again in 1953-54. From this experience he wrote a major manuscript, which his son Patrick edited and published as True at First Light. This was shorter than the original manuscript. The entire manuscript was published in 2005 as Under Kilimanjaro.


Hemingway’s love of Africa shines through these writings and the more I read them, the more I wondered why people were not paying much attention to this side of Hemingway. I decided to create a course, which would give students an opportunity to follow Hemingway’s footsteps in East Africa, while reading his writings about those places.

I created the course, ”Hemingway in East Africa,” in 2006, for Colorado College and took students to Tanzania in 2007 and 2008. This year, I traveled with St. Olaf College students.
Such trips work well if the students are given some orientation beforehand, especially on cultural issues. Fortunately, based on years of advising Americans going to Africa, I had written a book, Africans and Americans: Embracing Cultural Differences. As part of the orientation, the students read this book.

We traveled in various places in northern Tanzania: Arusha, Mto wa Mbu, Karatu, Babati, Moshi and Namanga. We did game drives in the game reserves where Hemingway had hunted: Serengeti, Ngorongoro, Lake Manyara, and Tarangire. Hemingway wrote about his experiences in those areas, describing, in particular, the wildlife and the landscape. Being in those areas, observing the animals, and reading Hemingway’s descriptions you are mesmerized by how his words capture the reality.
In all the places we visited, from markets to hotels and bars, the students interacted with Tanzanians of all walks of life: children, youths, adults, men, women, people of different faiths. They talked and shared stories with the Tanzanians, danced together, and even played soccer.

They learned about Tanzanian culture, encountering the kinds of situations I describe in my book, Africans and Americans: Embracing Cultural Differences. For example, a group of the students asked someone in one town where the ATM was. Instead of just giving them directions, that person led them through the streets to the ATM.

The students ate Tanzanian food, especially ugali. On one occasion, to introduce them to local transportation, I had them travel in a dala dala, a minibus tightly packed with passengers.
They learned Swahili words and phrases, especially greetings. This was not just to facilitate interactions with local people, but also to foster appreciation of Hemingway’s habit of using words and phrases from languages other than English. I see this in the broader context of Hemingway’s desire to embrace other cultures.

We explored not only Hemingway’s fictional works, but also his theories about literature, writing, and hunting. Hemingway saw writing and hunting as related, to be pursued with the same seriousness and perseverance. He described true hunting as an artistic pursuit, distinguishing it from what he calls shootism, the tradition of shooting the animal from the safety of a vehicle, by people who might not even be good shots. He advocated facing the animal on foot, and firing only one shot, which should kill the animal.

The more I read Hemingway, the more I realize the extent of his preoccupation with Africa. In addition to the fictional works I have mentioned, which dwell on his African experiences, he wrote essays and letters, such as “The Christmas Gift,” and ”Three Tanganyika Letters” which also deal with those experiences. Furthermore, in novels such as The Garden of Eden and Islands in the Stream, he refers to Africa.

Hemingway loved Africa, and he expressed those feelings again and again. He wrote: “I never knew of a morning in Africa when I woke up that I was not happy.” He also wrote this intriguing statement: “All I wanted to do was get back to Africa. We had not left it, yet, but when I would wake in the night I would lie, listening, homesick for it already.”
A world traveler, Hemingway encouraged others to travel. He encouraged members of his family to go to Africa, and some did go. His son, Patrick, spent many years in Tanzania, where he ran a tour company and taught at the Mweka Wildlife College.
In view of all this, as I have said, I found it strange, if not disturbing, that scholars and critics have generally ignored this pervasive African influence on Hemingway. I have realized that some of these people are not comfortable with the way Hemingway glorifies Africa, contrary to the prevailing tradition of depicting Africa as the dark continent, a dangerous place, not worth paying attention to.

Hemingway died in 1961. There are some things about him that we will never know, because he liked to fabricate stories, even about himself, passing them off as true. He describes, for example, his relationship with Debba, a Kamba girl in Kenya, calling her his fiancée. It is impossible to know whether, or to what extent, the tales he tells about their good times together are true or false.
One thing, however, is certain, and my students learned it well: Africa was very important in Hemingway’s life and career. He not only truly loved Africa, but he wanted to live there. He wrote: “I would come back to Africa but not to make a living from it. I could do that with two pencils and a few hundred sheets of the cheapest paper. But I would come back to where it pleased me to live; to really live. Not just let my life pass.”

Joseph L. Mbele, a Tanzanian, is a professor in the English Department at St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota. He is a cultural consultant, helping Americans and Africans navigate their cultural differences. He is the author the popular book, Africans and Americans: Embracing Cultural Differences.
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Nimetoka Mbali na Kozi ya Hemingway

Kila siku, nawazia habari za mwandishi Ernest Hemingway. Kila siku nawawazia pia waandishi wengine, kutoka sehemu mbali mbali za dunia.

Hakuna siku inayopita nisisome angalau kurasa kadhaa za maandishi yao, au uchambuzi wa maandishi hayo. Kwa hilo, naweza kusema Hemingway ndiye anayetawala mawazo yangu kila siku.

Nilifanya utafiti na tafakari ya miaka kama sita hivi, kabla sijaunda kozi ya "Hemingway in East Africa." Kozi hii imeniwezesha kuzifahamu sehemu nyingi za Tanzania kaskazini, na  kufahamiana na watu wengi katika sehemu hizo.

Cha zaidi ni kuwa nimefahamiana na wanafunzi wengi wa ki-Marekani, waliokuja Tanzania kwenye kozi hiyo. Katika picha hapa kushoto, ambayo ilipigwa na Profesa Bill Davis wa chuo cha Colorado, ninaonekana nikitoa mhadhara juu ya Hemingway. Wanafunzi walikuwa kutoka chuo hicho. Huo ulikuwa ni mwaka 2008. Mara ya kwanza kufundisha kozi hiyo ilikuwa ni mwaka 2007, na wanafunzi walitoka chuo hicho hicho. Hapo ni katika viwanja vya chuo cha MSTCDC kilichopo eneo la Usa River, Arusha.

Sikujua Mwandishi Legson Kayira Alifariki

Leo katika kupitapita mtandaoni, nimeona taarifa kuwa mwandishi Legson Kayira alifariki mwaka jana, tarehe 14 Oktoba. Sikuwa nimepata taarifa hii ya kifo chake.

Kilichonifanya nikatafuta habari za Kayira ni kuwa siku chache zilizopita, niliongea na mzee mmoja m-Marekani na katika maongezi na mzee mmoja m-Marekani, mzee huyu alikumbushia kuhusu mwandishi fulani, na kutokana na maelezo yake, nikahisi anamwazia Legson Kayira. Nilipomtajia, pamoja na jina la kitabu chake maarufu cha I Will Try, mzee huyu alikubali kuwa ni yeye aliyekuwa anamwazia.

Basi leo, katika kuangalia mtandaoni, nimesoma kuwa kumbe mwandishi huyu alifariki mwaka jana, akiwa na miaka 70. Taarifa hii imenikumbusha miaka ya ujana wetu, tulipokuwa sekondari. Tulikipenda sana kitabu cha I Will Try.

Habari ya kijana fukara Legson Kayira kuamua kutembea kwa mguu kutoka kijijini kwake Malawi ili akafike Marekani kusoma, ilikuwa ni habari ya kusisimua, iliyotutia hamasa ya kuwa wakakamavu katika kufuatilia malengo bora ya maisha. Kwa kweli nashukuru tulielimishwa kwa namna ile, ya kuthamini juhudi na ustahimilivu, sio mambo ya mkato.

Miaka yetu ile tulikuwa tunapenda kusoma vitabu. Tulisoma vitabu vilivyohitajika kwa masomo darasani, lakini tulisoma pia vitabu nje ya mahitaji ya darasani. Kayira alikuwa mmojawapo wa waandishi waliotuvutia. Binafsi, pamoja na kusoma I Will Try, nilisoma pia kitabu chake kilichofuatia, kiitwacho Jingala. Sina hakika, lakini huenda nilisoma pia The Looming Shadow.Le3o nimeona pia taarifa kuwa kitabu cha I Will Try sasa kinapatikana kama kitabu pepe mtandaoni.

Sambamba na Kayira, waandishi wengine kutoka Malawi waliokuwa wakisifika walikuwa Aubrey Kachingwe na David Rubadiri. Hao wote ni kama makamanda waliojenga misingi ya uandishi wa ki-Kingereza Malawi. Leo Malawi iko mbali sana katika uwanja huo. Na kwa jinsi wa-Tanzania tunavyoendekeza uzembe na visingizio elfu, hatutawafikia.

Tunaanza Kusoma "Midnight's Children, Kitabu cha Salman Rushdie

Wiki kadhaa zilizopita, niliezea katika blogu hii azma yangu ya kufundisha kitabu cha Salman Rushdie kiitwacho Midnight's Children.

Sasa wakati wa kufanya hivyo umefika. Leo ni siku ya kwanza ya muhula wa kipindi cha joto. Ni siku ya kwanza ya somo langu la Post-colonial Literature. Leo nimejitambulisha kwa wanafunzi na kuitambulisha kozi.

Nimeongelea maana ya Post-olonial literature na utata uliopo katika dhana hiyo, malumbano yanayoligubika dhana hiyo.

Nimetoa utangulizi kuhusu India, historia ya utamaduni wake na fasihi yake, nikianzia na tungo za kale za Mahabharata na Ramayana, nikalipitisha darasa hadi kwenye uandishi wa watu kama Kalidasa, Tagore, Raja Rao, Mulk Raj Anand, na R.K. Narayan. Niliwaelezea jinsi, kwenye miaka ya sitini hadi leo, wanawake wamejitokeza katika uandishi wa India na wanatoa mchango mkubwa.

Hayo yote yalikuwa ni sehemu ya  matayarisho ya kusoma na kujadili Midnight's Children. Nimewaelezea kiasi habari za mwandishi Salman Rushdie, maandishi yake, na zogo lililozuka duniani baada ya yeye kuchapisha kitabu cha Satanic Verses.

Hayo niliyowaeleza leo yatakuwa yanajitokeza tena na tena wakati wa kujadili kazi za fasihi. Nimefurahi kuwajulisha wanafunzi majina ya waandishi mbali mbali. Tutakaphotimisha majadiliano kuhusu Midnight's Children, tutasoma The Guide, riwaya ya R. K. Narayan, ambaye nimemtaja leo.

Baada ya hizo kazi za fasihi ya India, tutasoma kazi kadhaa za fasihi ya Afrika, ambazo ni Half of a Yellow Sun kilichoandikwa na Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie wa Nigeria na Unconfessed kilichoandikwa na Yvette Christianse wa Afrika Kusini.

Nimewaambia wanafunzi kuwa ni kawaida yangu kuweka katika kozi yangu baadhi ya vitabu ambavyo sijawahi kuvisoma. Ninapenda changamoto ya kuvisoma sambamba na wanafunzi.

Nimehudhuria Ibada ya Ki-Swahili, Minneapolis

 Leo, baada ya kukosekana kwa miezi mingi, nilienda kuhudhuria ibada ya ki-Swahili Minneapolis. Ni ibada ya madhehebu ya ki-Luteri, ambayo hufanyika katika kanisa la Holy Trinity Lutheran Church.

Ibada iliendeshwa na mchungaji Dr. Mwalilino. Kwaya iliendeshwa na ndugu Smart Baitani, mwanzilishi na mkurugenzi wa COSAD. Nilipopata fursa ya kuongea na Baitani, ambaye tumefahamiana kwa zaidi ya miaka ishirini, nilimtania kuwa sikutegemea kumwona Minneapolis wakati huu, kwani nilidhani yuko Muleba (Bukoba).

Kwenda kwangu leo kulitokana na mwaliko wa rafiki yangu, Mzee Paul Bolstad, anayeonekana wa pili kutoka kulia hapo pichani.

Aliniambia kuwa leo angekuwepo mchungaji mgeni, Herb Hafermann, ambaye anaonekana kushoto kabisa. Mchungaji huyu anaifahamu sana Tanzania, na ameishi kule miaka mingi. Mara yake ya kwanza kuja Tanzania ni mwaka 1963, na bado yuko kule. Alitoa mahubiri leo, kwa ki-Swahili. Anaongea ki-Swahili sawa na wa-Swahili, na michapo juu. Wakati huu mchungaji huyu yuko Lutheran Junior Seminary, Morogoro.

Nilimwambia kuwa nimewahi kufika katika chuo kile. Mzee Bolstad alimweleza kuhusu shughuli zangu za uandishi, na alitaja hasa kitabu cha Africans and Americans: Embracing Cultural Differences. Tulikubaliana kuwa niandae nakala nimpelekee mchungaji wakati akiwa bado hapa Marekani, ili ikawekwe katika maktaba ya Lutheran Junior Seminary. Mzee Bolstad ni mdau na mpiga debe mkubwa wa kitabu hicho, na pia mdau mkubwa wa blogu hii ya hapakwetu. Alizaliwa Tanganyika (Tanzania) na kukulia kule.

Nilikutana na watu wengi, wale tunaofahamiana na wengine tukafahamiana leo hii. Nilikutana na hata mdau wa blogu yangu, ambaye nilikuwa simjui. Aliniambia anaitwa Eric. Alinikosoa kwa kutoweka taarifa kila siku katika blogu, akatoa mfano wa namna taarifa yangu kuhusu safari ya Montana kumwona Mzee Patrick Hemingway ilikaa kwenye blogu siku nyingi, bila kuwekwa nyingine. Nami nilikubaliana naye kwamba huu ni udhaifu, nikaongezea kuwa Michuzi ndio anaiweza kazi hii, kwani anaweka taarifa nyingi kwenye blogu yake kila siku. Nilikiri wazi kuwa mtu kama mimi nababaisha tu kadiri ninavyoweza. Hata hivi, nilimwambia kuwa nimeguswa kumkuta mdau kama yeye, na kwamba itabidi nijitahidi kufuata ushauri wake, ili angalau iwe ni shukrani yangu kwa wadau wanaofuatilia blogu yangu.

Huyu mwenye Kaunda suti ni ndugu Charles Semakula, mratibu wa ibada ya ki-Kiswahili.

Mama wa Mwanafunzi wa Kozi ya Hemingway Kanitembelea

Leo nimepata bahati ya kuonana na mama wa mwanafunzi mojawapo wa kozi ya Hemingway, ambayo niliifundisha Tanzania mwezi Januari. Mama huyu, mtoto wake, na mimi tunaonekana pichani hapa kushoto.

Mama kaja kutoka kwao Connecticut kujumuika na wahitimu wenzake wa chuo cha St. Olaf. Ni utaratibu wanaouita "reunion." Wanakuwepo chuoni kwa siku mbili tatu, wakiongelea masuala mbali mbali, pamoja na kujikumbusha miaka waliyosoma hapa. Laiti tungekuwa na utamaduni huu Tanzania.

Mama huyu alikuwa ameleta taarifa kabla, kupitia kwa mtoto wake, kwamba atapenda tuonane. Alisema ana nakala za kitabu changu cha Africans and Americans: Embracing Cultural Differences, ambazo alitaka nizisaini. Ndivyo ilivyokuwa leo. Tulikutana, akanielezea jinsi mwanae alivyofaidi na kufurahia kozi ya Hemingway na fursa ya kuwepo Tanzania. Kisha ilisaini nakala zake tatu za hicho kitabu.

Kitabu hiki ni kati ya vile ambavyo wanafunzi walitakiwa kusoma kwa maandalizi ya safari ya Tanzania. Nimeshakutana na wazazi wengine ambao wamekisoma pia, na wanaponiona wanakizungumzia.

Mama huyu alishaniandikia barua kunishukuru kwa kufundisha kozi ya Hemingway, nami niliandika taarifa hii hapa. Maoni ya aina hii nimekuwa nikiyapata kutoka kwa wazazi wengine. Yananigusa sana na kunihamasisha nijibidishe zaidi katika kutekeleza wajibu wangu wa mwalimu na mlezi wa hao vijana. Mungu kanibariki kwa kunipa uwezo, nami nawajibika kutumia vipaji hivyo kwa faida ya walimwengu.