Is it time for some of us to claim our Welsh heritage?

The vagaries of recent British football, including that heroic English “feat” of losing to Iceland in the Euro 2016, brought thoughts of those distant isles to my mind. But the main trigger was particularly when, even as we were reeling from Brexit, Wales happened. A pack of British, but not English, lads had stridden into the Euro 2016 semi-finals!

The appearance of Wales out there stirred up several of my memories and reflections about that part of the world and our relationship to them.

One of my most vivid memories of it was that, on my very first day in Cardiff, one of the major Welsh cities, I ran into Anne Kariuki, a former colleague at the Makerere Institute of Languages. Anne was one of the young Kenyan graduates that my sister, Prof Ruth Mukama, had attracted to Makerere to help us revive the Kiswahili degree programme.

I could not quite remember when she had left Makerere but, there she was, pushing a pram up one of the thoroughfares of Cardiff, when my teacher and friend Kitula King’ei chanced upon her. Apparently she had decided to make a home and raise a family in Wales as she continued her higher studies at the University of Cardiff. Prof King’ei and I were there for a few days to attend an international conference at another academic institution.

But Mwalimu Anne was only one of many East Africans who have, over the decades, lived and studied in Wales. You would probably have heard that the late Francis Imbuga, our iconic thespian, also studied at Cardiff. He had very good memories of Wales and among his treasured souvenirs was a silver beer mug which his Welsh colleagues gave him as a parting gift.

TONGUE TWISTERS

Recently I met the president of the Uganda Diabetes Association, Dr James Lumu, a consultant designated as a “diabetologist”.  Apparently it is a specialisation of growing importance as the unfortunate ailment of diabetes is believed to affect nearly one in every 10 people worldwide. Dr Lumu earned his qualifications at the University of Cardiff, another Welsh connection.

Back to the literary giants, Okot p’Bitek studied law in Wales before moving to Oxford in England to tackle anthropology. Okot’s Welsh university is Aberystwyth. Just try out that name on your tongue. It is quite a jaw-breaker or tongue-twister, but that should not be surprising.

Welsh names, whether of cities or of people, are often quite a challenge to the speakers of plain English. I will not ask you to tell me if you know how to say “Swansea”, famous for reasons into which we will not go. But what do you do with the double l’s in the typically Welsh family name “Llewellyn”?

The Welsh are a distinct ethnic entity with their own language, Welsh, which is of Celtic stock, distinct from English. Centuries of association with England have, of course, eroded the Welsh culture and language, but the Welshmen have in recent times been fighting back to reclaim their heritage. Welsh is now taught in their schools and signposts and other essential messages are displayed in both Welsh and English in most of their cities.

It is intriguing to think that the British, from whom we have borrowed quite a lot, are not one homogenous people but a collection of ethnicities, English, Cornish, Welsh, Irish, Scottish and a few others with varying degrees of prominence. But they do not refer to themselves as “tribes”, a term used by European anthropologists to describe such entities in Africa and elsewhere.

I would not go all the way with my friend and former colleague at Makerere, the late historian Samwiri Karugire, in claiming that 19th century European anthropology was specifically invented to justify and facilitate European colonisation. But there can be quite a lot in a name. I remember us in Nairobi in the 1970s and 80s telling our children to say “community” instead of “tribe”, and they responded appropriately by even asking questions like: “What language are you?”

Speaking of names, do you remember that uniquely fascinating Lady, Diana? I will not ask the silly question how this “English Rose” came to be Princess of Wales. Obviously, she was married to the Prince of Wales. The question is how Charles, the heir apparent to the English Throne, came to be Prince of Wales.

DISTANT ROYALS

Here we delve into the long and tortuous history of those islands. Wales became part of the British realm when a Welshman, Henry Tudor of Richmond, became the King of England. Tudor, who became Henry VII of England, is the one who overthrew Richard III of Gloucester, of whom we were talking the other day in connection with Leicester. Henry, anxious to hold influence in both England and Wales, made his eldest son and heir apparent Prince or ruler of Wales.

Since those days, the eldest son of the ruling monarch, the future King, is “invested” officially as Prince of Wales. But we are republicans and should not be bothered too much about the turns and twists of distant royalties.

Back to our own turf of language and literature, the Welsh are famous for their sonorous and refined English speech. Listen carefully when you hear international broadcasters with names like Bennett-Jones speaking. They are probably Welsh. We actually had a Chief Justice in East Africa with that very name.

In literature, Anglo-Welsh speech has been immortalised by the poet Dylan Thomas, the author of the lyrical play, Under Milkwood, and iconic poems like “Do not go, dear, into that dark night”. This latter piece was beloved by my teacher, David Rubadiri, and is quoted in my friend George Seremba’s play about his escape from Idi Amin’s killers. Dylan Thomas’s recorded several performances of his verse and they are a joy to listen to.

So, regardless of what happened when Wales met Portugal, the Welsh remain winners and close colleagues of ours.

There must be quite a handful of Welsh people in Kenya, and I would be glad to hear from them.