Struggle in The River Between

Struggle in The River Between

In the book "The River Between" we find traditional values of the tribe challenged by tribal members who had converted to Christianity. The novel focuses on the struggle between two conflicting interests: First there was the interest to convert Africans to Christianity, and the second was the tribe trying to keep their traditional values in the midst of Christianity. The most contrasting characters in the story were Waiyaki and Joshua.

Waiyaki was a strong influence on the people of the land, and his father, Chege, was a man who had powerful visions of his son's future: "Salvation shall come from the hills ... Arise. Heed the prophecy" (Pg. 20). Waiyaki’s father put the burden of this prophecy on his son's shoulders. The realization of his role in this prophecy happened to Waiyaki in the end of the novel: " ... the journey with his father, the ancient prophecy and his bewilderment at its meaning" (Pg. 138). "Now he knew what he would preach if he ever got another chance: Education for unity. Unity for political freedom" (Pg. 143). Chege told Waiyaki to learn from the white people, but not to become involved in their vices: "Learn all the wisdom and all the secrets of the white man. But do not follow his vices" (Pg. 20). Waiyaki began to learn that knowledge and learning was important in order for his people to become victorious over the invasion of the white man. Waiyaki also understood that the traditions of the tribe is what kept their people together, it was their roots: "Circumcision was an important ritual to the tribe. It kept people together, bound the tribe ... End the custom and the spiritual basis of the tribes cohesion and integration would be no more" (Pg. 68). And even tho...

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...ormed, so the Western revolutions in both religion and government were gladly accepted by the Western cultures. But the Western invaders never realized how old these civilizations were that they were intruding upon, and they never realized that African, Chinese, or American Indian's cultures were thousands of years old.

Western cultures have impacted many countries, such as India, for when the ancient invaders came to the land, such as the Aryans, eastern Indians accepted some of their beliefs, and they were even integrated into Indian society. But when modern Western cultures came into contact with India, particularly the British, they eventually took over the government and made the Indians second rate citizens. And until the 20th century India was under their control. So Western cultures have definitely had an influencing impact on other cultures.