Literature Review
The Perfect Nine is an epic poem about Gĩkũyũ, Mũmbi, their daughters and the ninety nine suitors. Gĩkũyũ and Mũmbi are traditionally believed to be the first man and woman. The daughters are referred to in this book as the Perfect Nine (Wanjirũ, Wambũi, Njeri, Wanjikũ, Mwithaga, Wairimũ, Waithĩra, Wangarĩ, Wangũi and Warigia). They are the matriarchs of the House of Mũmbi, founders of their nine clans, progenitors of a nation. Written in free verse, the tale is divided into twenty four chapters (including the prologue and the epilogue). Ngũgĩ first wrote this epic fiction in Gĩkũyũ bearing the title ‘Kenda Muiyuru‘ in 2018 and then two years later this English translation work was published. I thought the poem would be heavy and daunting (because of what they say about epic poems) but this was a light and quick read. There are some valuable lessons in the poem about persistence, love, communion, facing the hurdles and vices of life, sisterhood and unity. I would like to believe that the ogres mentioned along the journey to the top of Mount Kenya are the vices that we face as people during our journeys in life or towards achieving certain goals. These vices include greed/corruption, jealousy, injustice, doubt and selfishness. Ngũgĩ manages to show how these obstacles can be overcome and even after overcoming them, how life is unpredictable and may not always work out as planned( Warigia’s story).
According to Rutledge (2012), African epics have earned a place in the canon of global literature due to their compelling storytelling and the universal resonance of their themes. He specifically highlights the Sundiata and Mwindo epics. The Sundiata Epic claims its canonical status on the strength of its captivating narrative, humanistic aspirations, timeless vision, and universal message. It emphasizes a deterministic view of human life, in which individuals must follow a predestined path to fulfill their destinies. As Djeli Kouyate declares, “If it is foretold that your destiny should be fulfilled in such and such a land, men can do nothing about it” (Niane, 1965). Traits such as nobility of character, honesty, hard work, courage, moral integrity, and solidarity with one’s kin are essential to success. The Sundiata Epic straddles both history and literature, embodying the enduring tension between the two.
As historical narrative, it venerates historically verifiable figures and their significant contributions to society, often grounded in real dates, places, and events. For example, historical evidence indicates that Sundiata lived from 1190 to 1255, returning from exile to establish a prosperous empire in Mali. As literature, however, the epic creatively reinterprets historical facts through artistic improvisation and imaginative embellishment by griots during performances. These include the use of formulaic structures that create a sense of urgency and repetition, as well as the deployment of figurative language rich in proverbs, aphorisms, witticisms, chants, and hyperbole.
In both prophesies, the African belief system functions as the voice that predicts and instructs the group members on the direction of their lives. These voices and utterances, (Mtshali, 2009) believes, are entrenched deeply in African traditional religion. He thinks that when an emerging image has chosen its purpose in the traditional religion, an oracle or divine messenger announces this being’s destiny. That was the case in Emperor Shaka (1981) and Sundiata (1965). This is what is replicated in Two Thousand Seasons (1973) when it takes the priests and priestesses to announce the life purpose of the people of Anoa, the announcement of which was done in seven voices. The first three spoke of a “time impending, a time heavy with courage, fire and fire, blood hissing out of its life” (pp.12).
The remaining four spoke of “fantastic journeys to overland, on long, incredible traversing of a place neither land nor water…” Mtshali also believed that the African belief system puts the priests and priestesses as agents or media through which communication with God almighty and humans is facilitated. Homer’s invocation of the Muse is a key element in both the Iliad and Odyssey serving as a plea for divine assistance in telling a story worthy of the subject matter.
At the start of both epics, Homer addresses a muse, typically Calliope, asking for inspiration, memory and the ability to narrate the epic tale with skill and artistry. In The Iliad, Homer begins by saying: “Sing, goddess, the anger of Peleus’ son Achilles,” (Line.1) He is directly addressing a Muse which is often referred to as Calliope and requesting the ability to recount the wrath of Achilles. In the Odyssey, the invocation is similar, with Homer asking the Muse to: “Sing to me of the man of twists and turns…” (Book 1, pp.1-3)
Here, he is asking for the Muse’s guidance in telling the story of Odysseus’s long and ardours journey home. The Muse is also asking Homer to remember the details of Odysseus’s travels and the trials he faced. The invocation highlights the epic scope and the divine inspiration behind the poem. From the above argument, it is evident that the invocation of the muse is a traditional element of the epic poetry marking the beginning of the story and setting the tone. It also acknowledges the divine source of the tale and establishes the epics’ grand scale. The invocation also serves as a prayer for the ability to craft a compelling and memorable narrative. Just like Homer’s invocation of the muse, Ngu͂gi͂in The Perfect Nine (2020) uses the muse in a broader sense. This is the inspiration and source of creativity and beauty that Ngu͂gi ͂draws upon to creation of the epic poem
The story of the perfect nine, while based on the oral tradition and myths of the Gikuyu people, is presented as a revelation, a vision that inspires Ngu͂gi ͂ to write and share the story of Gikuyu and Mumbi and their ten daughters. The perfect nine (nine daughters) is also considered a muse, representing the potential for beauty, strength and wisdom that Ngugi explores. Ngu͂gi ͂uses the narrative structure of a traditional epic poem which often includes an invocation to a muse-like figure for inspiration. This structure and the poem’s subject matter which is the retelling of the Gikuyu creation myth, suggest an invocation of the power of myth and story as a source of inspiration and understanding derived from the Giver Supreme: We receive this with all our hearts, O Giver Supreme,” they set in unison. Thank you Owner of the Ostrich Whiteness, for this land, which you have given us, our children and our children’s children. (pp.7) As an inspiration from the muse, Ngu͂gi ͂recounts of receiving a deep revelation whose feeling and sense serves as a base upon which the source of beauty is anchored: I use the quest for the beautiful, as an ideal of living, as the motif force behind migrations of African peoples.
The epic came to me one night as a revelation of ideals of quest, courage, perseverance, unity, family and the sense of the divine, in human struggles with nature and nurture”( Wa Thiong’o, 2020 pp.x) This suggests that the story in The Perfect Nine was not just a mere narration but a deeply inspired creation. Such declarations by Ngugi and especially as a verse narrative form is a clear reflection of the author’s engagement with the creative muse.
The daughters of Gikuyu and Mumbi are described as beautiful and for this reason seen as a source of admiration attracting many suitors from diverse backgrounds: Young men lost sleep in dreams of the beautiful ones, and each would secretly leave in pursuit of the image in his dreams, each following whatever river he first came across. (pp.37) This beauty and attraction in a deep sense makes them a source of unity, strength and love. The suitors together with the perfect nine journeyed amid challenges and trials in the land of Gikuyu people. Their ability to choose their own paths, their resilience in the face of adversity and their unity of purpose attests to the inner beauty which is perceived to be a source of strength, the female assertiveness, the spirit to overcome which Ngu͂gi ͂ celebrates by empowering the female spirit. The myth as portrayed by Ngugi is seen as a source of wisdom and cultural understanding. This makes the story in The Perfect Nine a cosmogenic myth of the Gikuyu people providing a framework for understanding their origin, values and traditions. Ngu͂gi ͂, by retelling this myth not only discusses a cultural heritage but also serves as a modern interpretation of the myth’s significance.
By so doing, Ngu͂gi ͂explores themes of family, community and the human experience from a multi-angled perspective. He offers a deep understanding of the Gikuyu peoples’ worldview and the place they hold in the world space. As evident in The Perfect Nine, Ngugi’s use of muse serves as a guiding force, a source of inspiration that drives him to write and a means of exploring and preserving the rich cultural heritage of the Gikuyu people. The Muse is not just an external entity but an
Proponents of the epic journey often employ the physical and spiritual approaches within the hero. The Odyssey, for instance, can be seen as a Homeric metaphor reflecting on the uncertainties in the course of journeying for life. The Iliad focuses on war while addressing fate, honour and leadership within the Greek societal and cultural contexts. The journey may not just be seen as a means of moving from one place to another but rather overcoming new obstacles, introducing new challenges, conflicts and more settings within one or varied contexts. Just like Homer’s set journey in the Odyssey and The Iliad, Ngu͂gi ͂in The Perfect Nine (2020), applies the journey motif which exposes and brings about the heroic adventure of the females in their face of adversity.
He reimagines the Gikuyu creation myth, incorporating elements of the epic journey to explore themes of female empowerment, cultural identity and the pursuit of knowledge. The journey takes centre stage as suitors seek the hands of Gikuyu and Mumbi’s daughters, each facing trials and tribulations that test their worthiness. Gĩkũyũ and Mũmbi want the groups to embark on a journey to the mountain of the moon, to walk the path they had walked and drink the water they had drunk.
The daughters and their respective groups are given a mission: to find Mwengeca, the king of human-eating ogres, who is said to have hair that grows in the very middle of his tongue. Gĩkũyũ tells them the following words: I will give you one more mission… We went to the holy shrine around the fig tree to sacrifice and ask for a cure. I was told the cure lies with Mwengeca the King of human-eating ogres… The hair grows in the middle of his tongue. I have looked for him but have encountered only his shadow. I want you to wrestle him to the ground, capture his tongue, and pull out the hair. The hair that cures all will restore full power to Warigia’s legs. (Wa Thiong’o, 2020 pp.90). The journey to the mountain of the moon sees the ninety-nine leaving home as “an immature lot,” and after a period spanning an untold number of weeks or seasons, those who have made their way back home are “a mature lot,” only nineteen in number (pp.171).
The ninety-nine have to face a plethora of challenges along the path to the mountain of the moon, from the minor irritation of mosquitoes, red ants, and tsetse flies, to crocodiles and other humans, who pose the greatest danger of all with their machetes, spears, clubs, and arrows. Most aspirants embodiment of the collective memory, traditions and values of the Gikuyu community. Through the muse, Ngu͂gi ͂re-imagines the Gikuyu creation myth, infusing it with contemporary themes and narratives while simultaneously honouring the oral tradition from which it originates.
are eliminated by these dangerous ogres that represent human frailties and shortcomings that are either not good enough or perhaps that the perfect nine reject, (Adiguzel, 2025). This is an epic journey taken as a test. The suitor’ migrations across the continent to win the daughters’ hands in marriage is a central element of the epic journey. These journeys are not mere geographical movements; they are a symbolic representation of the suitor’s struggle to prove their worthiness through the challenges like encountering crocodiles, snakes and ogres as well as facing hunger and despair, (Waita, 2020). Through the epic journey, Ngu͂gi ͂brings out the daughters of Gikuyu and Mumbi as active agents. The author retells the traditional epic where the perfect ten are not passive recipients of the suitor’s quests but active participants and judges. They are depicted as fearless, wise, and independent, making their own decisions about the partners.
While embarking on the journey toward the mountain of the moon, they stayed together, young blood and their hearts beating with hope, hoping that maybe one day they would unite, because all people, born of humans who know themselves as human off springs, are their siblings, members of the human clan (pp.61). This understanding brought the females to a journey of unity, embracing humanity in readiness to undertake an expedition with the suitors despite having been born only females.
They understood that the thing in humans is the thing in all things, the thing in human is the thing in place, the thing in time: the thing in itself. The journey was an exposure to resilience, struggles, the need for unity and coexisting, hard work and struggle and desire to overcome. They had to overcome creatures bigger than they ever imagined instilling a different world view and opinion. “A human is human because of other humans. All people are people because of other people” (pp.67).
They embraced the need to work together since people make the world, not just the soil. This epic journey is infused with feminist perspective highlighting the strength and agency of the female characters. Ngugi’s epic narration includes a tenth daughter, Warigia, who is crippled but is still skilled at hunting, further emphasizing on inclusivity. Consequently, the journey of the perfect nine not only preserves the Gikuyu cultural traditions and origin myth but also offers a modern interpretation of the epic genre.
The author’s use of the epic form allows him to explore themes of creation, family and the pursuit of a better future. In addition, the suitors’ journey also represents a quest for knowledge and understanding as they must learn from their experiences and overcome obstacles to prove their value. This quest is intertwined with the daughters’ own journey of self-discovery and finding their place in the world.
The journey is a collective and individual challenge for endurance, courage and a test of inner strength for social survival. It represents the struggles of life, becoming a journey of self-awareness and self-awakening for those who will form the Kikuyu nation. Ten of the suitors and all the nine daughters make it, bring back their gourds of the water from the ‘pool of God’ and the melted ice from the top of Mount Kirinyaga to be born again into the future Kikuyu clans consisting of the perfect nine.
Adventures and Battles as an Aesthetic of the African Epic Epic poems frequently include large-scale battles or conflicts that have far-reaching consequences. These battles showcase the hero’s prowess and courage, as well as the clash between opposing forces. This is the universal experience of the human being on his journey through life. It is due to adversity
that the hero is able to confront and understand his own limits, overcome them and acquire a new awareness, of himself and everything around him; ultimately “what all the myths have to deal with is transformation of consciousness of one kind or another” (Campbell, 2012). The exploits of the hero begin with the call to adventure, followed by phases that are paradigmatic of all heroic tales.
When the adventure begins, the valiant hero abandons his everyday existence in favour of discovering a different world, in which he undertakes battles and overcomes obstacles, so he can then go back to his ordinary life. He returns once he has acquired a new awareness and, consequently, undergone a personal transformation. His conquests are then shared with his community, with which he reconnects; thus the hero is able to make a new beginning, for him and for other
In The Perfect Nine (2020), the narrative revolves around the nine beautiful daughters of Gikuyu and Mumbi and their journey to find partners which include a perilous expedition filled with battles against ogres and various trials. The narrative blends folklore, mythology and adventure highlighting the strength and resilience of the daughters as they navigate challenges and ultimately choose their path. The group has to face a number of challenges along the path to the mountain of the moon from minor irritation of mosquitoes to crocodiles and other humans who pose the greatest danger of all with their machetes, spears and arrows.
Climbing the mountain and withstanding the cold is yet another challenge, but they remain hopeful throughout their endeavour for “there is no power stronger than the power of hope” (pp.109). This journey up Mount Kenya presents further challenges testing the endurance and perseverance of the daughters and their suitors. The group encounter a bodiless Ogre with a magical tongue who faces off against Wanjiru and her own strong, arrogant and defiant tongue (pp.117).
When his long, wide tongue wraps itself around the tree, Wanjiru shouts to alert the others to act and arrows pin the ogre’s tongue to the tree. The daughters pierce his eyes and pluck his magical hair but do not hurt his body as they cannot see it. It is Kihara that jumps on his magical tongue and pulls out the hair, prompting Mwengeca to “let out a blood-curdling scream” (pp.118). Kihara has indeed done this for Warigia. This is confirmed later in the text that this pulling out of the hair in the middle of Mwengeca’s tongue is the one that restores the use of the beautiful legs of the last born Warigia who had stayed home from the journey.
The daughter’s quest for a cure for their paralysed sister Warigia leads them on a perilous expedition that requires of them to overcome obstacles and tests of strength and character. Another battle that the group faces is an encounter with a creature with three legs and three arms who breathes smoke and fire from his mouths and nose incinerating all the plants around him (pp.132). Mwithaga is asked as the price for letting them go, but instead, she suggests that her sisters climb a fig tree, a mythical tree in Gikuyu culture and also assuming a position where the flames cannot reach her.
Mwithaga starts to mock the creature by singing a rain song, she then chants incantations to induce rain and it starts raining. Ngu͂gi ͂’s epic describes the beautiful scene of “leaves amplifying the sound of rain” this sound is rendered as cococococo, with the entire verse reading as follows: Rain rain down I will give you The ugly one With three legs And three arms Dry like stones. It can’t run. It can’t lift It can’t drink Rain pours down. (Wa Thiong’o, 2020 pp.134) This facing of ogres along their journey represents various challenges and trials. These battles test their courage and quick thinking. This powerful evocative sound combined with the rain makes the Ogre of Fire and Fury to run away. Sadly, this also cost the group with some losses. While the nine manage to run at a fair pace, some of the men are not able
o run as swiftly, and hence die when the flames reach them. Their mourning reaches its apex in the line “our pain was deepened by our knowing that we could not stop to help them (pp.133). In the groups’ encounter with these Ogres, they defeat them using the opposing forces that shape and support mankind, demonstrating that individuals will ultimately overcome their difficulties if they exhibit tenacity and creative responses to harmful pressures. The Gikuyu country has been significantly shaped by these adventures and conflicts. Clans are formed and customs and values are established as a result of the voyage and the difficulties that the daughters and suitors encounter.
Cultural Significance as an Aesthetic of the African Epic Epics often reflect and embody the values, beliefs, and cultural identity of the society from which they originate. They may serve as a means of preserving cultural heritage and conveying moral or ethical lessons. According to (Johnson, 1997), African heroic epics are among the most thorough examinations of African traditions and ideals and are focused on social and cultural roles. In addition to reflecting the diversity and complexity of African civilizations, these stories offer deep insight into their moral frameworks. Epics, as defined by (Rummell, 2002) are “cultural monuments” that commemorate and maintain cultural values and traditions. She continues by saying that the epics remind the audience of the importance of their culture, which helps to bring people together.
The beliefs of African people was rooted in their spirituality as a springboard to everything that they did. African people’s spirituality was nourished through their everyday practice and in particular the evocation of the Creator’s name, (Wane et al, 2007). For instance, Wane recalls while growing up in a rural area, her mother used to call on the name of the Creator, Mwene Nyaga, at dawn and later in the evening as the last frames burnt out and everyone was in their beds ready to sleep. According to Wane, the morning evocation was to give thanks to the Creator for having protected the family throughout the night and for having given every member of the family another day to witness the wonders of the world. In the evening, Wane states, her mother would give thanks for the day’s blessings. The chance to witness spiritual rituals is a unique phenomenon found throughout African ancient societies.
Ngu͂gi͂celebrates Gikuyu people’s origin while emphasizing on family, community and resilience as a means to shape culture and identity. He chooses the Homeric verse that allows for inclusivity and authenticity of the African approach to myth. Through the journey of the suitors and the daughters, he brings about identity, self discovery and communal contextualization amidst struggle for power survival in nature and against the powers of nature and a deep connection to ones land, divinities and human experiences. Ngu͂gi͂observes that beauty is a
celebrated culture which embodies human bravery showcased by the females and the finding of favour before divine benefactors or muses. He borrows from the mythology of Gikuyu and Mumbi who are the fore bearers of the Gikuyu community. The Giver Supreme is a unifying being, a being and nonbeing of distance and nearness, creator of the Moon White, sand, soil, wind and water who grants Gikuyu and Mumbi the perfect nine and a tenth daughter with disability who comes of age and triumphant.
Ngu͂gi͂paints a Gikuyu community’s cultural context that blends folklore, mythology, journey and images from the historical background. He presents daughters as resilient and self sufficient humans who build their huts, prepare their land, fight their battles and unite amid the face of adversity. In the Gikuyu culture as brought out by Ngu͂gi͂, people are cautioned against strangers, evil creatures like ogres and discord. Prayers are said to appease God as they scooped the Moon white in their hands, scatter it on the earth around them and say a peaceful glory to the Giver Supreme: And now all the beauty they had left behind Has reappeared tenfold for them to reap More gratitude to the Giver Supreme welled up inside, And they broke into hymns of praise, (Wa Thiong’o, 2020 pp.8). They chanted gratitude to the Giver Supreme for bringing them to Mukurweini.
They also believed in and saw God manifest in the trinity of Osiris, Isis and Horus. That is, God is Life, God is one, and Life is one. (pp.17) Ngu͂gi͂uses the pronouns “He, She, and It” to refer to God, who is perceived as the intrinsic nature of his creations rather than being distinct from them. He demonstrates an exceptionally inclusive and accepting attitude by encompassing the concept of God from various religions and cultures under the term “Giver Supreme.” When discussing God, he underlines that the corresponding figure in all religions represents the identical concept:
https://rsisinternational.org/journals/ijrias/DigitalLibrary/volume-10-issue-6/1851-1866.pdf