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Read the excerpt below and answer the questions that follow. The boy's name was Waiyaki, the only son of Chege. He was quite young; not...

Read the excerpt below and answer the questions that follow.

The boy's name was Waiyaki, the only son of Chege. He was quite young; not of Kamau or Kinuthia's age. He had not even gone through his second birth, Waiyaki was however, already tall for his age. He had a well-built athletic body. His hair was tough and dry with kinks that finished in a clear outline on the forehead. Just above the left eye was a slightly curved scar. He had got it from
a wild goat. The goat had run after one of the herds boys. Seeing this, Waiyaki had taken a stick and run after the goat shouting. The goat had turned on him and jabbed him with its horns, tearing the flesh to the bone. His father arrived in time to save him. That was along while ago. The wound had healed leaving him a hero among the boys although he had run after the goat for sheer fun and enjoyment of the scene. That, however, was not the sole reason why the other boys, young and old promptly followed him.
Chege, his father, was a well known elder in Kameno. He had now only one wife, who had borne him many daughters but only one son. The other two wives had died during the great famine, without any children. The famine had been preceded by a very rich harvest. Then locusts and worms and a blond drought came to bring death to many. Chege had barely survived. His daughters were now well married, apart from one, who had died early. The other elders feared and respected him. For he knew more than any other person, the ways of the land and the hidden things of the tribe. He knew the meaning of every ritual and every signs. So, he was at the head of every important ceremony.
Many stories ran around him. Some people said that he had the gift of magic. Others said that he was a seer and Murungu often spoke to him. And so they said that he could see visions of the future like Mugo wa Kibiro, who along time back prophesied the invasion of the Gikuyu country by the white man. Some even said that Chege was actually related to Mugo. Nobody knew this for sure Chege himself claimed nothing. Ever since he had warned people against Siriana Missionary Centre and they had refused to hear his voice, he had talked little, keeping all thought to himself. Chege had told the people of the ridges what had happened to the people of Murang'a, Nyeri, and Kiambu. He told them of Tumutumu, Gikuyu, Limuru and Kijabe. They doubted his voice saying:

How do you know?
“See them the butterflies.
“Butterflies? You have never left the ridges!
They are there, beyond the ridges, putting up many houses and some taking the land.
How could you have seen the light beyond?
Fools, fools, he muttered to himself in despair.

Nairobi was already flourishing and the railway was moving across the country in the land beyond where not many from the ridges had been. And they lowered their voices and whispered together:
“The white man cannot speak the language of the hills.And knows not the ways of the land.
But the white man had come to Siriana and Joshua and Kabonyi had been converted. They had abandoned the ways of the ridges and followed the new faith. Still, people shrugged their shoulders and went on with their work, whispering:
Who from the outside can make his way into hills?
However, he remembered something in his old age, a light shone in his eyes, a flicker of hope. He would guard it and divulge the knowledge to none but the right one.

(a) What happens just before this excerpt?


(b) What circumstances cause the ordeal above?



(c)Who are butterflies? Illustrate.


(d)Describe the peoples attitude towards Chege


(e)What is the irony in Chege's warning about Siriana Missionary Centre.

(f) How could you have seen the light beyond?(Rewrite in reported speech)


(g)Discuss the role of Waiyaki as evident in this excerpt.

h) Discuss one major theme in this extract.


(i) Who is right one' and what knowledge will Chege divulge to him?

Answers

a) Waiyaki intervenes in a fight between Kamau and Kinuthia .kamau feels humiliated and hates himself for submitting to Waiyaki.Waiyaki regrets at having commanded Kamau.

b)Kinuthia and Kamau have exchanged insults . Kinuthia calls Kamau a cow whereas Kamau calls Kinuthia hyena . Kinuthia chides/mocks Kamau's father for being a white man's convert/white man's slave Kamau refers to Kinuthia as a beggar.


c)The white man. Mugo wa Kabiro had prophesied the invasion of the Gikuyu country by the white man .
d)Respectful/awful/fearful ~ The other elders feared and respected him(1


e) Though Chege is the one who warns the people against Siriana Mission Centre, he later sends his son, Waiyaki to the mission to acquire the whites man's education and learn his ways

f)The people/ the elders/They wondered how Chege /he could have seen the light beyond.


g)Saviour ~ He rescues the herdsboy from the wild goat and takes the jab on his behalf.


h)The theme - Famine/Pestilence/suffering. Chege has lost two wives and a daughter to the famine which he barely survives himself

-Christianity /colonialism.
Chege had warned the people against Siriana Missionary Center/Invasion of the Gikuyu land by the white man./Joshua and Kabonyi had been converted


j) -The right one is Waiyaki.
-The knowledge of the ancient prophecy that a saviour would arise from the hills. (1

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johnson mwenjera answered the question on February 16, 2018 at 12:00

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