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ISSN 2278-9529
Galaxy: International Multidisciplinary Research Journal
www.galaxyimrj.com
www.the-criterion.com The Criterion: An International Journal In English ISSN: 0976-8165

M G Vassanji’s The Book of Secrets: A Study of Engendered Culture

of Colonized East Africa
Urmi Satyan
Faculty, School of Liberal Studies
Pandit Deendayal Petroleum University
Gandhinagar, Gujarat

The British imperial Rule subjugated colonies in all possible means and ways which
include polity, society and culture. The women of these colonized societies were further
oppressed by the customary patriarchy of the social set – up. It is generally observed that any
social framework has two typical divisions — public and private — presided over
respectively by men and women. This social set - up confined women to the private sphere
that excluded them from public platforms. It is an invisible but widespread role of power
politics governed by the hegemony. In this situation, issues of disparities get compounded
for women. The subjects of power dynamics and the double subjugation of women are
cleverly portrayed by M. G. Vassanji — an Asian – African - Canadian writer. Vassanji’s
multilayered texts present fine illustrations based on the conditions of the marginalized
communities in general and underprivileged situation of women in particular. These women
persistently work within the domestic boundaries, also help build the nation and are never
rewarded.

This paper is an attempt to study Vassanji’s novel The Book of Secrets that shows
how the fictitious people and places are caught by the intertwined role of gender and culture.
The text is located in the backdrop of the colonial East Africa where Indians were taken by
the British as indentured laborers who with the passing of the time created a cultural milieu.
With a view to make a comprehensive approach to the select subject of this paper, the term
‘diaspora’ is explained with a bird’s eye – view.

Diaspora is a constantly recurring historic phenomenon that takes its shape as per the
demand of time, situation and people. Since ages, human race, birds, animals have been
moving, either out of any (natural or man – made) force or self – will. This movement is not
only physical but also cultural and social. The migrant carries,

with [him] a socio-cultural baggage which among other things consists

of (a) predefined social identity, (b) a set of religious beliefs and
practices, (c) a framework of norms and values governing family and

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kinship organization, and food habits and (d) language. More

important, the migrants are not inevitably irrevocably cut off
completely from the land of their breed. They themselves may retain
physical and/or mental contact with their homeland often characterized
by what is called ‘the myth of return’1. (Jayaram, 2004:16)

This movement has been majorly observed in three phases — pre - colonial, colonial
and post - colonial. The first noticeable reference of the word diaspora is associated with the
enslavement of the Jews when Babylonians in Palestine conquered Judah. Jews were then
forced to leave their motherland and could never return to their original place. It is termed as
a forced migration during pre - colonial era.

Colonial period has also witnessed great dispersion during British imperialism when
mass exodus took place in Asian countries where the native population was displaced from its
homeland, either to make railways or to work on rubber or sugar plantations in the European
countries.

The nature of the post - colonial diaspora is different to that of the previous ones as it
emerges more as a self-willed migration where native population migrates to aspiring
countries. The major reasons for this migration are:

• Attraction towards the glaring lights of the prosperous countries

• Wish to live life more exuberantly
• The political unsteadiness on the motherland

Hence people struggled as settlers, migrants, transported convicts, slaves or laborers

during the first two historical timelines of migration, whereas post colonial diaspora is of the
people who have migrated to the prosperous countries of their choices. This migration was
also known as brain drain.

The salient features of pre and post colonial diaspora are different in terms of socio-
political reasons but the only unique and steady characteristic of diaspora is the umbilical
driving heartfelt wish to stay connected to the homeland; and thus to keep socio-cultural and
traditional values of the mother country alive. Carrying a rare identity of an Asian, African
and Canadian and despite being successful on his adopted lands; Vassanji strongly feels the
need to belong to the motherland. This urge is being reflected in his writings when he
portrays genuine and original characters that bring forth the issues of journeys, migrations

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and dislocations and show how an identity is shaped under the influence of the prevailing
social, cultural, political power hierarchies. The embedded roles of power and gender
influences sex, place and position that are being ruled and controlled by the one who is
powerful. As portrayed in The Book of Secrets, the female character of Mariamu, the British
Administrator Corbin and the fictitious town Kikono situated between the borderlands of
Kenya and Tanzania are caught by the prevalent hegemonic structure of polity and society.

The book covers a period of seventy five years of East Africa under the British rule. The
narrative of the book is developed on the basis of the diary written in 1913 by a British
colonial administrator and the same diary found in 1988 by a retired school teacher named
Pius Fernandes. The diary uncovers the history of East Africa under imperialism mingled
with a multi cultural milieu of migrants and natives who live together and share the
respective socio-cultural heritage. The pivotal character in the text seems to be of Mariamu
whose life saga reveals how her own conservative community and also the agent of
modernity and civility—the British utterly failed in honoring her individuality. With a view
to bring clarity, this paper is further divided into three parts: (a) Mariamu (b) Corbin and (c)
Kikono.

Mariamu:

Mariamu is the niece of the mukhi of the local Samshi community and the founder of
Kikono. One of the entries in the diary by the British colonial administrator describes her as
“poor wretch, impetuous, silent, proud, quiet, shy” and “good”. (pg. no. 78-79) Her husband
Noor Mohammad Pipa finds her as “a celestial being”, “perfectly beautiful” not having the
“round features of the shopkeepers’ wives”. This self willed character of Mariamu is
described by mukhi as “wild”. He also says “she is inclined to go away by herself”(pg. 50)
Thus Mariamu, a distinguished female character, is capable enough to cross the socio cultural
borders drawn by the community but her family constrains her behavior. Her step father
Rashid keeps an eye on her when she was working as a maid at British Administrator
Corbin’s house. Rashid’s stereotype thinking forces mukhi Jamali to marry off Mariamu to
Pipa, an unsuccessful merchant. Pipa does not carry good image. The mukhi says: “He, too,
has problems, but inshallah, God willing, they can give happiness to each other” and thus
poor Mariamu is caught in the trap of the gendered role of the Shamsi community. Her
problems heighten when Pipa publically blames and humiliates her for having illegal
relations with Corbin and also doubts her virginity. The suspicion provokes Pipa to call her

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as a “whore”, a “prostitute”. This is the pathetic situation in Mariamu’s life when she wants
her kins to come to save her of the unproven allegation but nobody comes to her rescue; “not
her mother, nor her uncle, the mukhi; and her step father had actually confirmed the
accusation”. (106). Thus the key female figure of the text; “the daughter of the community” is
victimized by her own community people and the British as well. It is through Mariamu’s
character that the gender hierarchies prevalent in the society are expressed. The gender
stereotypes consider women as secondary in status which is the result of the “socially
constructed roles of men and women as active-passive, strong-weak and critical-nurturing”2
so on and so forth. It would not be wrong to say that these distinguishing features are further
boosted, as it is seen in the text, by racism, colonialism and patriarchy. The character study of
the British Administrator Corbin will make the point more clear.

Corbin:

Corbin is a disciplined and noble officer deputed as an ADC in Kikono, the fictitious
town located in East Africa. Corbin has been informed that the East Africans are
unsophisticated savages and deserve brutal treatment from their rulers, the British. Being
forced to execute power upon the weak is a “white man’s burden” to Corbin. Contrary to him
is Frank Maynard, a suspended British military captain who easily accepts the gendered role
of British and inflicts his power on the east Africans violently and atrociously. Maynard’s
power oriented masculinity contrasts with that of Corbin’s disciplined humanitarian
masculinity. Being a British ruler, Corbin understands his power over his province. He takes
pride in identifying his region as “my caravan” and his people as “my Indians”. These
expressions show Corbin’s attachment as well as his ownership over them.

One more gendered role of masculinity is performed by an ADC Woodward from a

government station in Voi, who orients Corbin for his colonial service. His advice:
“Whenever you find things getting a bit too much for you, go on safari” “And women…..its
easier on safari. But don’t bring them back. Concubinage is not tolerated any longer”. This
advice clearly shows how women, and more particularly the slave women, are humiliated by
the Europeans. These women are doubly wronged by the gendered role of the British Rulers
as well as the frame work of their own society.

The closer study of the text makes us feel that Mariamu is the central female character in
The Book of Secrets. This promising female character remains silent throughout her life
though she hails from a powerful familial background as her uncle is the Mukhi of the town.

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Her silence begins straight from her meek acceptance to the marriage proposal from Noor
Mohammad, an average merchant whom her father selects as her life partner. Mariamu
silently accepts this proposal and with the same passivity, hides her infatuation for Corbin.
Mariamu’s silence disturbs readers when she firmly reserves her feelings when her
womanhood is challenged by her husband who accuses her of having illegal relations with
Corbin and for bearing Corbin’s child in her womb. Mariamu’s perpetual, meaningful and
intentional silence bewilders the reader to understand her character. This is the same
Mariamu who though illiterate, had been lively, having good logical sense, curious in
knowing Corbin’s purpose of visiting “this dark land”, excited to know his area of interest—
the characteristics that once impressed Corbin to admire her as the “Eastern queen” and later
develop physical relations with her. When her husband doubts her virginity and insults her
publically by calling her whore, she remains passive. Hearing the hullabaloo created by Noor
regarding his doubts on Mariamu and Corbin, the later visits the place but “walks away, back
up the hills to his house. (88) Mariamu’s step father Rashid solidifies Noor’s doubt that adds
insult to injury. Mariamu’s humiliation is doubled when Corbin also remains silent even after
his knowledge of himself being the suspected culprit. The prospective reasons for Mariamu’s
perpetual silence may be considered as

1. Mariamu’s being raised in a conservative family

2. Her uncle Mukhi Jamali’s naive decision to marry her off to a good-for-nothing kind
of man Noor Mahmmad
3. Her step father’s irresponsible behavior in authenticating the accusation
4. Her husband’s immaturity of publically blaming her
5. Her lover Corbin’s incompetency in saving her and accepting her.
Or
6. maybe the allegations carry truth

May the reason be any but the ultimate conclusion is that the dominance of patriarchy is
so strong that it suppresses her voice. And Mariamu being a woman of her own, feels to be
vulnerable in keeping silence. Caught in the web of patriarchy and being discouraged in all
her worldly relations, she develops the sense of withdrawal. Noor Mohammad realises his
thoughtless behavior of publically insulting her, decides to start afresh in a nearby town
Moshi where Mariamu gives birth to a boy who has fair complexion and grey eyes.(156)
These features revive Noor Mohammad’s doubts for Mariamu’s relations with Corbin.
During the war between Germans and British for the power over east Africa, Noor

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Mohammad is caught by the German Police for helping the British. Mariamu’s husband is
beaten severely and she is being “violated”(171) raped and murdered. Finding himself unable
to raise the child, Noor sends the child to Mukhi of Kikono and his wife khanoum who after
her being widow and being struck by poverty sends the child to Aku’s rich and humble
European father through two Indian women who were sent by Corbin himself who wanted
custody of the child. Vassanji withholds the identity of Aku’s father and thus he keeps the
mystery alive. Even as a spirit, Mariamu does not answer this question and remains decidedly
silent when asked to reveal the name of Aku’s biological father. This is the subject that
“Mariamu had never discussed, never acknowledged, never denied”. (204)

Engulfed by the power politics of social and political hierarchies, Mariamu is the
character who receives love devoid of dignity from her admirer Corbin, but both these
feelings are missing in her relation with her husband. The erstwhile boisterous character of
Mariamu is disrespected by her father, friend cum lover and also husband. Mariamu’s brutal
death questions the voicelessness of all the women who are trapped in the patriarchal system.
The saga of Mariamu is being replicated over the years. It would be paradoxical to say that
Mariamu is no more. She is an immortal character and pauses a train of questions to the
human race about a woman’s right to speak.

Kikono:

Kikono is also as helpless as Mariamu and also to some extent as the ADC Corbin.
Once used, all remain unattended. Poor Mariamu died a disrespectful death. So was the case
of Kikono. British and Germans fought for the power over East Africa. In the survival of the
fittest, the British won. Vassanji describes the post war situation in Kikono where everything
is forgotten. “No new ADC came to administer its affairs and those of the neighboring area.
Newspapers from Nairobi and Mombasa were slow to arrive, rumours came faster;
speculation grew – concerning booming business in the large centers, cheap properties to
hold on to in Tanga and Moshi and Dar as the Germans and their allies lost all. (189) The
Swahili proverb, “when two elephants fight it is the grass that suffers” (149) speaks about the
gendered socio-political thinking. People started moving from Kikono to more aspiring
cities. And thus the migration remains the constant phenomenon. In the course of the book
we see that Aku and her English girlfriend elope to London via Nairobi.

The gendered reading of the text draws attention of the reader also to the homosexual
relation of Pius Fernandes to a fellow teacher Richard Gregory. Vassanji cleverly interrogates

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gender-power relations by developing a relation between Fernandese—a Goan Indian and

Gregory—an exiled white British male. Fernandes says: “We (the people of Dar who are on
the brink of Independence) were intensely aware of our essential homelessness. Our world
was diminishing with the empire”. About his own relation with Gregory, Fernandes says that
it was a friendship “of two men thrown together by fate who were reasonably tolerant…and
who saw humanness in each other’. (274-275) Thus, homelessness, humanity and tolerant
nature bring them together. Vassanji very successfully balances the gender roles in the text
and provides us with two open platforms to understand the socio-political hierarchies in the
light of (1) emancipation and silencing of the less powerful and (2) open acceptance to the
relations that are based on sameness in nature, situation and sensibilities.

Works Cited:

Vassanji, M G The Book of Secrets Canada: McClelland & Stewart Inc. 1997.

Jayaram, N Ed. The Indian Diaspora Dynamics of Migration New Delhi: Sage Publication
2004.

www.utsa.edu

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