Papers by Anish O Cornel
Onanism, derived from the name Onan, is a term that has been cleverly manipulated to punctuate an... more Onanism, derived from the name Onan, is a term that has been cleverly manipulated to punctuate an ostensible act of sexual misdemeanour, which,aetiologically, was committed by onan, through the conscious spilling of his semen. Onan, in this regard, was, however, given a condign retribution of death, pursuant to such a transgressive cause.
Broach: To open in order to begin to use 2. Milk sop: A dish of bread soaked in warm milk, given ... more Broach: To open in order to begin to use 2. Milk sop: A dish of bread soaked in warm milk, given especially to infants and invalids (figuratively symbolizes richness). 3. A milk sop stomach: a stomach that is filled with such a richness. 4. The gulf of transition: The stomach (the circulatory system/digestive organs) that breakdown food substances, extruding the good parts and discharging the unwanted into dungs.
Onanism, derived from the name Onan, is a term that has been cleverly manipulated to punctuate an... more Onanism, derived from the name Onan, is a term that has been cleverly manipulated to punctuate an ostensible act of sexual misdemeanour, which, aetiologically, was committed by onan, through the conscious spilling of his semen. Onan, in this regard, was, however, given a condign retribution of death, pursuant to such a transgressive cause.
The play Kinjeketile opens in the village of Ngarambe, in the Rufiri region of Sounthern Tanganyi... more The play Kinjeketile opens in the village of Ngarambe, in the Rufiri region of Sounthern Tanganyika. Chausika, the daughter of Kitunda, Bibi Kitunda, her mother and wife to Kitunda and Bibi Kinjeketile who happens to be the wife of Kinjeketile, are seen walking a path leading to a river. On their way, they hold several discussions one of which is the plantation owned by Bwana Kainoo. ' ( citizens) take to this plantation in order to sustain their standard of living. Ab ovo, they're being cut out from every source of their own livelihood, compelled to rely on the plantation as the only means of survival. As it happens, there seems to have been famine all over the land; a kind of pestilence that has affected all the populace. The famine ensues from a hideous source, eating up the wealth of the people except Bwana kainoo's (his plantation). The people's only option is to rely-symbiotically-on the plantation. In the play, we are able to understand that, though the plantation happens to be the only life line of the people, those who work therein are treated with contempt. They are made to work indefatigably. 'All the men are spending their time cultivating for Bwana Kainoo and not for themselves. And in the end, they are being rewarded with a meagre wage'. As they continue walking, a plume of smoke is sported from a distance drifting out of the thatch roof of Kinjeketile's hut. And very quickly, Chausiku is sent to see if it is really the cooking of food on the logs of wood that produces the smoke or something else. From this, we are able to sense what their present plight as they poor-mouth for want of food, within the stringency-stricken Tanganyika. Soon, the play shifts to the plantation. Therein, we find Kitunda-a member of the Wamatumbi-being whipped by the overseer. Thereafter, there is a secrete synod amidst the workers to have a meeting in the night. In the next scene (i.e. scene 2), we come across the following characters, Ngulumbalyo, Mngindo, Kitunda, an old man, Mkichi-in an open field, somewhat locus likened to a 'catacomb'-discussing on whether to set up a brawl against their German overlords(the new owners of the plantation) or not. It is in this scene that we come to know who Kainoo represents and what is, palpably, the fountain head of such a state of vassalage as well as ' famine' which has been infused to siege the people. Here, Kainoo is depicted as a German as well as the owner of plantation. Having established a despotically Teutonic authority over the people, he, together with the rest Germans, further, set up several instruments of coercion such as the Askari (the police force) which compels and also belabours the people to work subserviently for the Germans. Doubt soon hits this caucus of Tanganyikan coup plotters when Kitunda's visit to Kilwa (a German watch dog) is checked, although he denies to have visited him. Soon, we get to know that there is betrayal amongst the Tanganyikans as some could be 'parrots' or scouts to the Germans, employed to eavesdrop on any form of machination perpetuated by the Tanganyikans. 'Mngindo: people say that if one goes to Kilwa with the right kind of news, one is rewarded. The white white man pays well to get valuabe information. Kitunda: Are you trying to say that I am selling you and my people to the white man? Mkichi: There are people doing that. There are people who are paid to stop as uniting. (Kinjeketile 5)'
The play is set in the fictional thorp of 'Koroju', 'A land where merit is thrown to the winds…an... more The play is set in the fictional thorp of 'Koroju', 'A land where merit is thrown to the winds…an entity controlled by non-entities…abode of religious hypocrites and political sycophants…(a land) where intelligence means nothing and the academically brilliant is a potential pauper…a land where truth has been hindered and falsehood exalted'{Rogbodiyan 7}.
The novel, 'the palm wine drinkard and his dead palm wine tapster in dead's town' is a textual co... more The novel, 'the palm wine drinkard and his dead palm wine tapster in dead's town' is a textual compass by which one of the oraloric genetics of culture-as found within the shores of African artistic aesthetics-is dissected. In this view, African culture is seen as a creative mechanism found/birthed through the explorative adventurisms of presocratic sages, saws who-at the beginning of the ages-were moulded from the dark fires of the black hills. Gods became men. Men became gods. There were legends, whose mindscrafted from fresh steels of wisdom-would hanker, soft and hard, to read the paradigmatic recipes which form the incredible realities of the Nature that we see. The powers in men's tongue were wielded, for death and life. They sang, shouted, wailed and praised. They discovered propriety, beauty and life in what they spoke. They learnt the mysteries of the gods locked within their hands and legs. And at last, the songs they sang could be tendered by their hand, either in accompaniment/in interpretations. These were the things that their god-like nature produced. Legends became kings, chiefs and warriors. And with such powers as discovered, a society wreathed with an incomparable je ne sais quoi of art and craft is borne. When these great men died, they left for the mountains. Though they were not seen, they never were too far away. Never were they too deeply out, from beyond the firmaments. But they lurked in some places where only men powerful as they could foot. Some so much loved their homes that they still preferred to hide/live in trees, clouds, seas, rocks, stones, animals, wind, air etc. But as for the ways of ordinary men, they led to a dome meant for the ordinary 'The land of the dead', while, the path of the gods was to the depthless and bottomless.
Book Reviews by Anish O Cornel
This essay reconsiders Paulo Freire’s Pedagogy of the Oppressed by interrogating his claim that t... more This essay reconsiders Paulo Freire’s Pedagogy of the Oppressed by interrogating his claim that the oppressed alone hold the potential for human liberation. Freire’s insight that the oppressed internalize the consciousness of their oppressors highlights the danger of reproducing cycles of domination, yet his framework neglects the corrupting influence of power and the possibility of transformation among oppressors themselves. Drawing on philosophical perspectives from Plato and Aristotle, sociological insights from Durkheim, and historical examples of social collapse such as Calhoun’s “Rat Utopia,” the essay critiques the assumption that suffering alone equips the oppressed for leadership. It argues instead for a universal pedagogy that emphasizes ethical transformation, self-mastery, and dialogue beyond binaries of oppressor and oppressed. Ultimately, the essay contends that liberation in education must move beyond structural change to cultivate moral character, reclaiming the shared humanity of all participants in the struggle for justice.
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Papers by Anish O Cornel
Book Reviews by Anish O Cornel