Intertextuality of Themes in the Plays of Kinjeketile and MAJIRA YA UTASA

Abstract

This study examines the intertextuality in the plays of Kinjeketile (1969) by Ibrahim Hussein and Majira ya Utasa (2015) by Timothy Arege. Although the two plays have a great difference in the historical periods of their writings, they depict similarity in the creation of themes and to a greater extent the echo of Hussein’s work is seen in Arege’s play. Hussein is a great East African play writer whose works have been read in Tanzania and East Africa at large. Most East African literature focus on protests against colonialism and neo-colonialism and advocate for education and how best they can fight vices such as tribalism and corruption. Intertextuality is the concept of interdependence of texts. The common themes in both plays are examined with a view to explaining the cultural, economic, historical and social factors that give rise to the situations inherent in both plays. Further, and attempt is made to explain the relevance of the contemporary themes in Arege’s Majira ya Utasa to the historical environment that obtains in Hussein’s Kinjeketile. All texts are intertexts because they refer to, recycle and draw from the pre-existing texts. According to Kristeva (1986) any work of art is an intertext which interacts with other texts, rewrites, transforms or parodies them. This article explores some of the themes in the two plays guided by the theory of intertextuality. Keywords: co-operation, freedom, intertextuality, leadership, oppression