The River Between

All of the buildings in Makuyu are traditional thatched huts except for Joshua’s house, which is tin-roofed and rectangular, a symbol of the outside world’s encroachment into the ridges. Joshua carries on Livingstone’s work in the ridges, evangelizing to the Gikuyu people. When he first went to the missionaries, Joshua feared that his fellow tribesmen would attack him for his betrayal. But the more time he spent with the white people, the more he realized the backwardness of his own culture. The missionaries declare that Murungu, the Gikuyu God, is the “prince of darkness.”

Though Joshua once feared hell, now, because Christ made him a “new creature,” he does not fear hell,  Chege, or any of the vengeful tribesmen. When he returned to Makuyu to spread Christianity, many people initially converted. However, they soon went back to drinking, tribal dancing, and circumcision. Now, Joshua’s preaching grows more wrathful by the day, and he “observes the word to the letter” in his own home, seeing himself as a Christian example for all Makuyu’s people to look up to.

Since the year had an unusually good harvest, the tribespeople sacrifice to Murungu. Joshua’s followers prepare for Christmas while everyone else prepares for the initiation rites and circumcision ceremonies. Joshua views female circumcision as the “unforgivable sin” and laments that his own wife, Miriamu was circumcised before they were married. He often beats her for it, believing that he is “punishing a sin” and “executing God’s justice.”

Kameno’s people are restless and blame Joshua for the white people’s intrusion into their hills. There is rumor that the white people will build an outpost near Makuyu and establish their own government, forcing the villages to pay taxes. However, most villagers do not understand what government or taxes are, so they ignore the rumors. Joshua understands what this means, having learned from the missionaries, but he welcomes it. He believes the country’s ills are due to the “blindness of the people” and asks God to rain down judgment on them in the form of fire or a flood. Sometimes he thinks about beating the people into submission with a stick, forcing them to their knees. He decides to be patient and pray instead.