The Old Drift

by Namwali Serpell

muzungu! The word means white man, but it describes not the skin, but a tendency. A muzungu is one who will zunguluka – wander aimlessly – until they end up in circles.

Neither Oriental nor Occidental, but accidental is this nation.

She seemed both weak and imperious, helpless yet haughty. In a word: British.

‘history’ was the word the English used for the record of every time a white man encountered something he had never seen and promptly claimed it as his own, often renaming it for good measure. History, in short, was the annals of the bully on the playground.

Naturally, Daliso the DJ had an entourage of boys, who crowded around as soon as they saw what his net shirt had caught.

For the rest of the day, she wandered around with this new crew, which lost and regrew members like a lizard

If the product is free, you’re the product.’