Land as Story and the Place o f The Story: A Contemporary Kenyan Illustration of Landscape as Text
Loading...
Date
2012
Authors
Wainaina, Michael
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Abstract
The discussion of this paper seeks to contribute to the growing body of wide ranging stud
ies which seek to analyse
the diffusion of the core concepts regarding ‘places’ and ‘landscape’ as texts of social, anthropological and
cultural analysis. These concepts according to Wilson and David (2002) are centered on experience through
which social a
nd personal expressions of place
-
marking signal a cultural presence and give the land social and
cultural significance. This approach recognizes that the products of people’s engagement with landscapes are
meaningfully constructed social texts involving sp
atial and bodily experience. These texts are constructed as
people, landscapes and things are constantly involved in the process of inscribing place. It is therefore necessary
to study the social cultural and political contexts that provide geographical la
ndscapes their textual/narrative
significance. This paper explores landscape texts by discussing issues that surround the Gikuyu cultural heritage
site at Mukurwe Wa Nyagathanga. The paper seeks to discuss this landscape in regard to Gikuyu identity and th
e
tensioned
-
narratives emerging from the need to preserve the old but also to inscribe a new contemporary con
-
text
of a globalizing Kenya
Description
Journal article
Keywords
Citation
nternational Journal of Humanities and Social Science Vol. 2 No. 23; December 2012