Kenyans have a peculiar way of giving meaning to symbols
Kenyatta Market in Nairobi. PHOTO | WILLIAM OERI | NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
- Those who teach culture tell us that human beings use symbols and signs that they have learnt from the depository within their culture in order to communicate their views about life.
- While different Kenyan communities have specific cultural expressions, there are certain aspects of our Kenyan social experience that may be viewed to have become part of a national culture that has evolved over time.
Semiotics is the science of how people use signs and symbols to generate meaning. Those who teach culture tell us that human beings use symbols and signs that they have learnt from the depository within their culture in order to communicate their views about life. While different Kenyan communities have specific cultural expressions, there are certain aspects of our Kenyan social experience that may be viewed to have become part of a national culture that has evolved over time. We have even constructed certain symbolic forms through which we express these experiences.
Some two weeks back there was a symbolism that was pronounced by the president and which was interpreted by many Kenyans according to the meaning available to them given their Kenyan experience. It was something to do with some people eating meat and others having to salivate. It may not have seemed anything big at the time but it did generate quite some excitement among Kenyans. Probably after seeing a bit of the excitement, the president decided to make good the meat eating and went to Kenyatta market. The rest of us were left salivating.
CONTINUE SALIVATING
When the president told the opposition that they will continue salivating while those in power keep eating the meat, I understood it as a symbolic way of distinguishing those in power from those that are dying to get into power. Quite obviously many other Kenyans understood it in the Kenyan way which I have argued about in this column on several occasions. It is clear that for most Kenyans, being in government means controlling a cake that must be eaten in the here and now. It is understood as being about eating.
The basis of all the corruption cases that have been talked about – since we have not seen much action – is this mentality of what being in government means. As a matter of fact, even the violence about elections that we witness is founded on this same mentality. Many people want to get into government for the wrong reason of “eating” and those who are mentioned as having flouted regulations in order to “eat” never seem to be punished in any significant way.
Talking about punishment, the minister for Internal Security did say something interesting the other day. He said that they would discuss with the IEBC to keep an eye on politicians so that those who are identified as spreading hatred and negative tribal sentiment be barred from running in the next elections. If implemented, this would be a great step forward. The trouble is that in Kenya we are used to such threats that are never executed. Is it a wonder we have all those corruption and careless-talk cases?
Fr Dominic Wamugunda is dean of students, University of Nairobi.
