In the novel The River Between, Ngugi provides a good account of the effects that colonialism had on the Kikuyu people. Ngugi goes on to demonstrate how the ideas of modern Christian European customs conflict with those of the traditional Kikuyu people and how for the Kikuyu, maintaining these traditions means more than simply following the path of their ancestors, but also maintaining their own traditions. identity as a people. Ngugi shows the complications and obstacles that arise when people on both sides fail to unite for a common cause and are unable to adapt and evolve their way of thinking to form a new way that benefits everyone. Ngugi portrays the Kikuyu as a people divided between two worlds. On the one hand they feel obliged to remain faithful to their traditions, customs and lifestyle. On the other hand, they have missionaries imposing a new belief on them, a belief that contradicts almost everything they held dear. This leads to a mixed reaction to colonialism, where one group embraces change and the other faces it with fear and contempt. Ngugi sets the landscape of his story to reflect this, the Kameno and Makuyu ridges are separated by the Hanoi River. The river itself is a metaphor for the issues that divide the Kikuyu people. The two tribes are as different as day and night, the Christians living in Makuyu follow their leader Joshua who is a person with a very limited view of Christianity. Ngugi describes Joshua as a “rootless man” (Ngugi 141). Joshua represents Kikuyus who have converted to Christianity; they are described as people who appear to be suffering from an identity crisis. This is evident when Joshua's daughter Muthoni decides to get circumcised against her father's wishes. Muthoni is a Christ... middle of paper... colonialism in Africa aimed to eradicate the identity of the African and replace it with a more European one. This would make the African people easier to control and subjugate. This is harmful to the African's identity because it takes away the very foundation on which his idea of ​​himself is created and replaces it with something foreign and unfamiliar. Their foundation ranges from strong to soft and weak, which causes them to not know who they belong to. Ngugi's work shows that in order for the Kikuyu to survive and take back what is theirs, they cannot simply cling to the old ways, but should not fully adopt and embrace the methods of the colonial powers. Instead, they must learn from the white man and adapt it to their own culture. They must create a new hybrid system that combines the best of both worlds and empowers them.