Thank u, Austin Bukenya for this long ‘memoir’ - Ivan D. Pereira Dum Spiro Spera - when I breathe, I hope.
On Sat, Aug 28, 2021 at 21:07 Goanet Reader <[email protected]> wrote: > How Goan Peter Nazareth tried to literalise Amin and Elvis Presley > > Saturday, August 28, 2021 > > PHOTO: American Rock and Roll singer and actor, Elvis Presley. > Photo credit: File | Nation Media Group > > By Austin Bukenya > > What you need to know: > > * Nazareth showed that the lyrics of pop songs and other events > of popular culture could be profitably read and interpreted > as creative texts. > > * Nazareth is best-known in East Africa for his critical > writings and his novels, especially In a Brown Mantle and > The General Is Up. > > * Peter Nazareth is now an octogenarian. That puts him in > the same venerable rika of literary elders as his friend > and Makerere contemporary, Ngugi wa Thiong'o. > > Nazareth, the Goan-Ugandan-American literary maestro, is > best-known for dragging the rock-n-roll idol, Elvis Presley, > into the lecture rooms of American universities. His > trail-blazing experiment introduced the teaching of the pop > song into (English) literary studies. > > Nazareth showed that the lyrics of pop songs and other events > of popular culture could be profitably read and interpreted > as creative texts. He was probably prophetic of folksinger > Bob Dylan's Nobel Prize for Literature. We in Makerere knew > or assumed that he had borrowed a leaf from our orature > efforts. > > Nazareth is best-known in East Africa for his critical > writings and his novels, especially In a Brown Mantle and The > General Is Up. > > I remember attending a function, in 1972, at a friend’s house > just across the road from the Makerere main campus, where we > interacted with Nazareth and listened to readings from 'In a > Brown Mantle'. The novel, then just published by the East > African Literature Bureau, had attracted a lot of attention > for its striking allusions to Pio Gama Pinto. One of Kenya's > Independence struggle heroes, he had been mysteriously > murdered at his Westlands Nairobi home in 1965. > > Nazareth's narrative, however, was a broad and subtle > exploration of the palpable rise of anti-Asian racism in the > early years of East African independence. The topic was > handled variously by several other writers of the time, like > Bahadur Tejani in 'Day After Tomorrow', Jagjit Singh in his > angry and outspoken poem, "Portrait of the Asian as an East > African", and Laban Erapu in one of his radio plays. > > I, too, wrote in one of my narratives of the time that if the > rabid racism continued unabated, the affected citizens "would > be demonstrating down the streets of Nimela" (a disguised > name for one of the East African capitals). > > Idi Amin terror > > Well, the racism continued, and in Uganda, it did not even > allow for any protests or demonstrations. A few days after > our 1972 Makerere function, Idi Amin decreed the expulsion of > all Asians from Uganda within a period of three months. > > Indeed, Idi Amin, and his disenfranchisement and deportation > of nearly all of his "brown" (Asian) compatriots, is the > subject matter of The General Is Up, Nazareth's gut-wrenching > second novel. > > Nazareth based his novel on his first-hand encounters and > experiences of the frantic activities leading up to the > perilous departure of the expelled Ugandans, most of whom had > never been out of the country. > > His narrative captures with unforgettable power the traumatic > ordeal of life under the Idi Amin terror. I analysed 'The > General Is Up' in detail in my Makerere dissertation on > terror and violence in the Ugandan novel. I believe I > mentioned to you my intention to publish my study under the > title 'An Idiom of Blood'. > > As part of my study, I did an interview with Peter Nazareth. > My questions were put to him live and recorded in Iowa, US, > by my friend and literary colleague, Okiya Omtatah-Okoiti. > Yes, the fiery and famous mtetezi wa umma (people's advocate) > was in the US in 1993, pursuing his literary interests in > residence at the world-renowned International Writing Program > of the University of Iowa. > > Peter Nazareth, a long time professor at the University, was > closely associated with the Program, and he was instrumental > in getting promising East African writers, like > Omtatah-Okoiti, to participate in and benefit from it. > > Nazareth is, however, a man of many parts. A chance > encounter, online, with a recent interview in which he > recalls his experiences in Uganda and elsewhere brought back > to me several of my own memories that, somehow, interweave > with his. I will share with you only one here, about my Goan > Ugandan friends and the identity dilemmas they faced. > > Moments of crisis > > The Goans' European heritage facilitated their connection to > the British colonisers, while their Catholic Christianity > linked them easily to the African converts. I had several > Goan close friends among my schoolmates at the elite > church-sponsored high school I attended. Among these were > the brothers Carasco, Ben and Joseph, who eventually joined > me as colleagues at Makerere in the early 1970s. > > They had to leave Uganda amid the Idi Amin fiasco, but Joseph > came back almost immediately after the first "liberation" in > 1979. Already of professorial rank, Joseph Carasco led the > first industrial action at Makerere, demanding "liveable" > conditions in those difficult times. Unfortunately, Joseph > died in a plane crash as he was returning to Uganda from a > scholarly conference in West Africa. > > That was a Ugandan of the mettle of Pio Gama Pinto, and > others, who did not hesitate to wade into the fight for > fairness and justice, when the demand arose. You probably > know that Kenya's second Vice-President, Joseph Zuzarte > Murumbi, was of Goan descent, though with a Maasai mother. > > Nazareth, too, tried to get a job at Makerere, when he > returned from graduate studies in Leeds in the early 1970s. > But, as he says in his recent interview, he was hired instead > at Uganda's Ministry of Finance, for reasons he did not > understand. Anyone familiar with Ugandan stereotypes would > have told him, with a chuckle, that Finance was the place for > him "because Goans do not steal". > > It was perhaps such stereotyping that hindered effective > integration of Goans into the community to which they were > evidently passionately committed. Nazareth suggests as much > in 'The General Is Up', in a memorable scene of confrontation > between D'Costa, the leading character, and his best African > friend. Under political and other pressures, most East > Africans were not able to stand by their compatriots in > moments of crisis. > > That, indeed, is the gist of the recent book, 'Twilight of > the Exiles', by Cyprian Fernandes. Reviewed in the Nation by > one of our colleagues, it is an analytical and > well-researched exploration of Goans and their role in the > building of modern East Africa. > > It would be a very good introduction to the creative work of > Peter Nazareth. > > Prof Bukenya is a leading East African scholar of English and > literature. [email protected] > > Nation. Empower Africa. > > > https://nation.africa/kenya/life-and-style/weekend/how-goan-peter-nazareth-tried-to-literalise-amin-and-elvis-presley-3528426 > > *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*- > Join a discussion on Goa-related > issues by posting your comments > on this or other issues via email > to [email protected] > See archives at > http://lists.goanet.org/pipermail/goanet-goanet.org/ > *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*- -- "Life is not measured by the breaths we take, but the moments that take our breath away" - Anonymous
