A Grain of Wheat Quotes

“Our fathers fought bravely. But do you know the biggest weapon unleashed by the enemy against them? It was not the Maxim gun. It was division among them. Why? Because a people united in faith are stronger than the bomb”
― Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o, A Grain of Wheat

“In any case how many took the oath and are now licking the toes of the whiteman?No, you take an oath to confirm a choice already made. The decision to lay or not lay your life for the people lies in the heart. The oath is the water sprinkled on a man's head at baptism”
― Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o, A Grain of Wheat

“The Whiteman told of another country beyond the sea where a powerful woman sat on a throne while men and women danced under the shadow of her authority and benevolence. She was ready to spread the shadow to cover the Agikuyu. They laughed at this eccentric man whose skin had been so scalded that the black outside had peeled off. The hot water must have gone into his head.

Nevertheless, his words about a woman on the throne echoed something in the heart, deep down in their history. It was many, many years ago. Then women ruled the land of the Agikuyu. Men had no property, they were only there to serve the whims and needs of the women. Those were hard years. So they waited for women to go to war, they plotted a revolt, taking an oath of secrecy to keep them bound each to each in the common pursuit of freedom. They would sleep with all the women at once, for didn't they know the heroines would return hungry for love and relaxation? Fate did the rest; women were pregnant; the takeover met with little resistance.”
― Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o, A Grain of Wheat

“El blanco habló de otro país más allá del mar donde una mujer poderosa se sentaba en el trono, mientras los hombres y las mujeres bailaban a la sombra de su autoridad y benevolencia. Ella estaba dispuesta a extender su sombra para cubrir a los agikuyu. Se rieron de este hombre excéntrico, cuya piel estaba tan escaldada que el negro de fuera se había pelado. El agua caliente le debía de haber afectado a la cabeza [...] Más tarde, o eso decían, Waiyaki había sido enterrado vivo en Kibwezi con la cabeza apuntando al centro de la tierra, un aviso viviente para quienes, en años venideros, osaran desafiar la autoridad de la mujer cristiana cuya sombra protectora dominaba ahora tierra y mar.
Entonces nadie se dio cuenta: pero mirando hacia atrás pudimos ver que la sangre de Waiyaki contenía una semilla, un grano, que dio origen a un movimiento cuya mayor fortaleza, desde ese día, nacía del vínculo con la tierra.”
― Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o, A Grain of Wheat