William E. Mkufya and his flowers: An intellectual bio-graphy

Abstract

This study reconsiders the role of biographies as a privileged entry point for literary and philosophical analysis to sift epistemologies and ethical pillars through fictional texts. Indeed, this research is devoted to a Tanzanian intellectual, William Eliezer Mkufya, a writer, but also a translator and an editor, and to his novels i.e. The Wicked Walk (1977); Kizazi Hiki (‘This Generation,’ 1980); The Dilemma (1982); Ziraili na Zirani (‘Azrael and Zirani,’ 1999); Ua La Faraja (‘The Flower of Consolation,’ 2004) and Kuwa Kwa Maua (‘The Existence of Flowers,’ 2019).

The empirical research has been conducted through a methodology that can be framed into the project of philosophical sagacity and that includes both ethnographic fieldwork and in-depth textual analysis. The textual analysis on the novels will illustrate not only how themes and styles of the texts developed tightly interlaced to author’s life and thoughts, but also how these texts illustrate the shaping of Mkufya’s interpretation of utu, humanity.

The analysis of Mkufya’s fiction demonstrates that Swahili novels are a privileged genre to produce knowledge and philosophy with a particular focus on ethics and community development.