Lost Beauty By JWANI MWAIKUSA Selected Poems by Tanzania Institute of Education
A Tanzanian writer and lawyer. He studied law at the University of Dar es salaam and in England. He was a lecturer in the Faculty of Law at the University of Dar es salaam.
Lost Beauty By JWANI MWAIKUSA
There are only white women around:
Awful fakes of white females Reflecting an awful mass of ugliness:
And I want a lady
To mount the rostrum with And declare to the world:
“Black is beautiful!”
Yes,
I want a black beauty queen With ebony thighs and huge hips With skin sweating blackness And a face dark as the night And bare breasts bouncing Vigour and energy.
But my eyes, oh my eyes! They don’t see anything black; It’s only white skins and masks Flashing past and slashing, Destroying my sight so
I can’t get what I want.
I cry and sing to them
The inbred tune of our people,
I shout to them in the black tongue But no black sister hears me;
Only white masks I see.
I turn and weep upon myself And then, only then I realise:
I am not black either.
GUIDING QUESTIONS:
Qn 1. What is the poem all about?
Answ: The poem is all about the influence of Western culture among the Africans. In this poem, an individual (a person) is shown complaining about his black sisters who seem to ignore their African culture due to the influence of the Western culture.
Qn 2. Who is the person speaking in this poem?
Answ: The person speaking in this poem is an African man who is proud of being an African that is why he wants to marry a black woman with whom they will declare that black is beautiful.
Qn 3. To whom does the persona talk to?
Answ: The persona talks to his black sisters who have lost their beauty (African origin) following the influence of the Western culture.
Qn 4. What is the tone of the poem?
Answ: The tone of the poem is sad, disappointed and mocking. The persona is very sad and disappointed to find that he cannot get what he wants (the lost African beauty). He fails to get a black beauty queen as most of them now turn to be the awful fakes (photocopy) of white females. There is a mocking tone when the poet calls the African women “the awful fakes of white females” or “white masks”.
Qn 5. What is the mood of the poem?
Answ: The mood of the poem is both depressing and disgusting. The mood makes us feel disgusted with the behaviour of some Africans to kow-tow to western culture such as dressing style, eating style and language to mention just a few.
Qn 6. What is the setting of the poem?
Answ: The setting of the poem can be any third world country particularly African countries like Tanzania in urban areas where majority Africans seem to be completely corrupted (affected) by the influence of the Western culture.
Qn 7. Comment on the use of figures of speech and musical devices. Answ: Musical devices.
(a) Alliteration– “…Black is beautiful!”
“I want a black beauty queen…”
(b) Reiteration—“ But my eyes, oh my eyes!..”
Figures of speech.
Simile- “…And a face dark as the night..”
Qn 8. What are the themes found in this poem?
Answ: The themes found in this poem are Patriotism, betrayal, ignorance, awareness, disappointment, position of women in the society as well as the influence of Western culture to the Africans.
(i) Patriotism.
Refers to the feelings of loving your country (continent) and willingness to defend it against an enemy. The poet in this poem stresses the need of Africans to preserve and defend their culture from other cultures. For example, the persona in this poem finds no reason as to why black women use cosmetics to change their natural black skin and become white. He wants a natural black woman as he says:
“Yes,
I want a black beauty queen With ebony thighs and huge hips
With skin sweating blackness”
(ii) Awareness.
This is another theme portrayed in this poem. The persona is shown having awareness that a person should be proud of his or her nationality no matter what colour you are. He wants to liberate his black sisters from cultural domination; he is also not ashamed of his black colour as he says:
“And I want a lady
To mount the rostrum with And declare to the world: “Black is beautiful!”
(iii) Betrayal.
Betrayal means lack of loyalty to somebody or something. In this poem, the poet shows that some African women have betrayed their culture as they no longer want to appear black; they use various cosmetics to change their skin colour and look the same as white. This is evidenced in the poem when the persona complains:
“But my eyes, oh my eyes! They don’t see anything black;
It’s only white skins and masks…..”
(iv) Ignorance.
This is also another theme discussed by the poet in this poem. Some of the African ladies (women) seem to ignore their culture (dignity) and start glorifying the Whiteman’s culture. They think that the Whiteman is superior to blacks that is why they abandon their culture and imitate the Whiteman’s culture. Consider the following verses from the fourth stanza of the poem:
“I shout to them in the black tongue But no black sister hears me;
Only white masks I see.”
(v) The influence of the Western culture to the Africans.
This is one of the most important themes found in this poem. It is due to this subject matter that the beauty of Africa has lost as most of the African women have now changed to white. The influence of the western culture also seems having effects on the persona, consider the last stanza of this poem when the persona says:
“I turn and weep upon myself And then, only then I realize: I am not black either.”