DOI: 10.36347/sjahss.2017.v05i03.005

Pages: 172-181

Proverbs are wise sayings that touch on the nerve centre of society in any given context truthfully, objectively or subjectively. In Africa, particularly in the Kenyan culture, and more specifically among Agikuyu, proverbs are considered as the reliable vehicles for conveying messages effectively to their designated destinations. This paper seeks to investigate the usage of proverbial wisdom in Ngũgĩ Wa Thiong’o’s Devil on the Cross. This postcolonial novel has an imaginary geographical setting: Ilmorog. The novel sets out Ngũgĩ’s revolutionary tone of disillusionment with the Kenya postcolonial rulers. In the novel, Ngũgĩ underscores the plight of the Ilmorog workers and the peasants. This is perpetrated through connivance between the ruling African elite and the international capitalists from the business world to thwart any attempt of bringing meaningful change. In the text, Ngũgĩ panders the reader to various proverbs which are artistically chosen to explain the general feelings of discontent towards dictatorship and culture of impunity which characterize postcolonial Kenya. The study takes a qualitative approach and will be informed by poststructuralist theory. Although the text employs the proverbial wisdom of Agikuyu, the situations Ngũgĩ highlights can serve as a microcosm of other African postcolonial states. Data from the text are broken into quotations, analogies, metaphors and images to assist in the analysis. The findings of the study will contribute in the comprehension and appreciation of the role played by writers in creating awareness and highlighting the issues that affect society. Consequently, society will be motivated towards a positive reading culture. The results will also help researchers who may want to carry out similar or related scholarship in this or related disciplines.