MINI DEVILS by WILSON KAIGARULA
SUMMARY
Kyaro is a peaceful village in Tanzania. Saulo is a boy who lives in Kyaro. One day, Saulo shoots an old man named Kushindwa in the eye with a slingshot. Kushindwa does not see Saulo, and the entire village is punished as a consequence of Saulo's behavior. Mugurusi, Saulo's grandfather, is stoned for defending Saulo to the village, and Saulo is ashamed of himself because Saulo respects Mugurusi and Mugurusi has suffered because of Saulo's mischief.
Believing that an evil wind has blown into Kyaro, local mosque preacher, and christian preacher, each bless the village, attempting to cleanse the village of evil spirits. Mugurusi threatens to kill Kushindwa. Villagers call the police, and Mugurusi flees to an unknown location.
Saulo meets a girl named Frida whom Saulo proposes marriage to within a letter. Frida initially ignores Saulo. Saulo and his friend Kaleju set a trap for a local boy named Mizano together. Kaleju and Saulo begin stealing many items from the private school both boys attend. Eventually, Saulo and Kaleju are expelled from school. Kaleju changes his name to Kidevu.
Saulo and Kidevu are taken in by a friendly shop owner whom the boys rob for 23 shillings, and Saulo and Kidevu hitchhike to Bukoba, TZ. Saulo and Kidevu board a train where Saulo robs an old woman's purse for 120,000 shillings. Saulo gives Kidevu 60,000 shillings. Saulo and Kidevu arrive in Mwanza, TZ, and decide to lodge in a suburb of Mwanza, Kirumba. Kidevu and Saulo get jobs as taxi drivers and form a musical group in Kirumba entitled 'Hot Boys', with Kidevu providing percussion, and Saulo adding vocals. Saulo proposes to Kidevu that Saulo and Kidevu fast and attend church in order to augment their spirituality. A jealous husband named Mike believes that Saulo and Kidevu are trying to make sexual advances on Mike's wife, named Rose, and Mike threatens to kill Saulo and Kidevu, so Saulo and Kidevu leave their rental home in Kirumba, but remain in Mwanza.
A man named Suedi insults Saulo and Kidevu kills Suedi for the offense. Kidevu and Saulo decide to leave Mwanza, and inform their boss, Mbele, that they are travelling to Bukoba for a funeral. Saulo and Kidevu buy train tickets for Dar es Salaam. Saulo and Kidevu befriend a group of Christians during the train rider, and rob the Christians during the middle of the night. The Christians become aware of the robbery, and the Christians retrieve the stolen items from Saulo and Kidevu's luggage while Saulo and Kidevu are sleeping. The Christians leave a note for Saulo and Kidevu expressing knowledge of the theft and announcing that Saulo's best pants have been ripped as retribution.
Saulo begins dating a woman named Naomi in Dar es Salaam. Naomi accuses Saulo of sexual assault, and Saulo is saved from stoning by a woman named Mama Sauda. Mama Sauda is a woman named Sauda's mother. Sauda and Tamira, Sauda's sister, have devised a plot with a set of Arabic twins named Kassim and Issa to manipulate Saulo and Kidevu into supporting Sauda, Tamira, and the women's respective boyfriends. Sauda converts to Christianity to please Saulo and changes her name to Sarah. Tamira pressures Kidevu into marriage by claiming to be pregnant with Kidevu's child when Tamira is actually pregnant with an Arabic man's child. Initially, Kidevu resists, but Saulo convinces Kidevu to proceed with the marriage.
Saulo and Kidevu have a joint ceremony as Saulo marries Sarah at the same time that Kidevu marries Tamira. During the wedding, Naomi approaches Saulo and pours water over Saulo, and then Naomi leaves the wedding.
After the wedding, Tamira gives birth to her child while Saulo and Kidevu wait in the lounge. The doctor tells Kidevu that Kidevu is not the child's father. Later, Saulo finds that Sarah is missing and he finds a note from Sarah who is also Sauda, informing Saulo of the plot between the Arabic twins Kassim and Issa and Sauda and Tamira.
Kidevu and Saulo leap to the conclusion that they are both infertile, and decide to kill themselves. Saulo convinces Kidevu that Saulo and Kidevu should relocate to another town before committing suicide in order to give life another chance. Saulo and Kidevu have their sperm tested and find that both of them are, in fact, infertile. Saulo and Kidevu travel to Sinza, TZ, to apologize to Mike. After Saulo and Kidevu visit a church and decide to devote themselves to spirituality, they plan a final gig under their current band name Nyembe Kali, which means, The Razor Blades. A woman named Eliza confronts Saulo and Kidevu with the knowledge that Saulo and Kidevu's wives were stolen by Issa and Kassim. Saulo and Kidevu draw pen knives and murder Eliza.
Saulo and Kidevu return to their home in Sinza and write a suicide note which confesses to the murder of Eliza. Saulo and Kidevu drink rat poison and pass out, only to wake up in the hospital with police nearby.
ANAYLSIS
Throughout the book, Saulo, who is the narrator, compares his struggle for survival to an Olympic athlete's struggles in succeeding at the Olympics. When he attempts suicide, Saulo announces that he has withdrawn from the game of life as a loser. This straightforward analogy compares life to a game, and life's struggles to fatigue, adverse conditions, or opponents within a game.
Another straightforward analogy of this novel is the comparison of Saulo and Kidevu to two devils who, despite their best intentions, cannot spread love and peace in the world. Apparently, the instinctive hatred which is present in Saulo and Kidevu's souls is so strong that neither man can resist his primal urge to commit sin. Saulo writes at the end of the novel that even mini-devils deserve human compassion. The solution to all the problems in this novel is a universal sense of compassion which involves no single man having an extraordinarily large burden of compassion placed on him. If nobody had ever wronged Saulo and Kidevu, beginning with the old man whom Saulo shot a slingshot at, Saulo's primal urge to retaliate would have never taken over, and he would have not been launched down a path of uncertainty where he was prone to be tempted to do wrong. In a world where everyone is nice all of the time, nobody would hurt others because nobody would have any cause to retaliate against others, and nobody would gain by hurting others. Humanity as a whole must take the blame for the wrongs of one person if we are to make a serious commitment to treating eachother with respect.
As a side note, the translation of this novel is off in many places, making the novel difficult to read at times.
SOURCE
Kaigarula, Wilson. Mini-devils. Dar Es Salaam: E & D, n.d. Print.
SUMMARY
Kyaro is a peaceful village in Tanzania. Saulo is a boy who lives in Kyaro. One day, Saulo shoots an old man named Kushindwa in the eye with a slingshot. Kushindwa does not see Saulo, and the entire village is punished as a consequence of Saulo's behavior. Mugurusi, Saulo's grandfather, is stoned for defending Saulo to the village, and Saulo is ashamed of himself because Saulo respects Mugurusi and Mugurusi has suffered because of Saulo's mischief.
Believing that an evil wind has blown into Kyaro, local mosque preacher, and christian preacher, each bless the village, attempting to cleanse the village of evil spirits. Mugurusi threatens to kill Kushindwa. Villagers call the police, and Mugurusi flees to an unknown location.
Saulo meets a girl named Frida whom Saulo proposes marriage to within a letter. Frida initially ignores Saulo. Saulo and his friend Kaleju set a trap for a local boy named Mizano together. Kaleju and Saulo begin stealing many items from the private school both boys attend. Eventually, Saulo and Kaleju are expelled from school. Kaleju changes his name to Kidevu.
Saulo and Kidevu are taken in by a friendly shop owner whom the boys rob for 23 shillings, and Saulo and Kidevu hitchhike to Bukoba, TZ. Saulo and Kidevu board a train where Saulo robs an old woman's purse for 120,000 shillings. Saulo gives Kidevu 60,000 shillings. Saulo and Kidevu arrive in Mwanza, TZ, and decide to lodge in a suburb of Mwanza, Kirumba. Kidevu and Saulo get jobs as taxi drivers and form a musical group in Kirumba entitled 'Hot Boys', with Kidevu providing percussion, and Saulo adding vocals. Saulo proposes to Kidevu that Saulo and Kidevu fast and attend church in order to augment their spirituality. A jealous husband named Mike believes that Saulo and Kidevu are trying to make sexual advances on Mike's wife, named Rose, and Mike threatens to kill Saulo and Kidevu, so Saulo and Kidevu leave their rental home in Kirumba, but remain in Mwanza.
A man named Suedi insults Saulo and Kidevu kills Suedi for the offense. Kidevu and Saulo decide to leave Mwanza, and inform their boss, Mbele, that they are travelling to Bukoba for a funeral. Saulo and Kidevu buy train tickets for Dar es Salaam. Saulo and Kidevu befriend a group of Christians during the train rider, and rob the Christians during the middle of the night. The Christians become aware of the robbery, and the Christians retrieve the stolen items from Saulo and Kidevu's luggage while Saulo and Kidevu are sleeping. The Christians leave a note for Saulo and Kidevu expressing knowledge of the theft and announcing that Saulo's best pants have been ripped as retribution.
Saulo begins dating a woman named Naomi in Dar es Salaam. Naomi accuses Saulo of sexual assault, and Saulo is saved from stoning by a woman named Mama Sauda. Mama Sauda is a woman named Sauda's mother. Sauda and Tamira, Sauda's sister, have devised a plot with a set of Arabic twins named Kassim and Issa to manipulate Saulo and Kidevu into supporting Sauda, Tamira, and the women's respective boyfriends. Sauda converts to Christianity to please Saulo and changes her name to Sarah. Tamira pressures Kidevu into marriage by claiming to be pregnant with Kidevu's child when Tamira is actually pregnant with an Arabic man's child. Initially, Kidevu resists, but Saulo convinces Kidevu to proceed with the marriage.
Saulo and Kidevu have a joint ceremony as Saulo marries Sarah at the same time that Kidevu marries Tamira. During the wedding, Naomi approaches Saulo and pours water over Saulo, and then Naomi leaves the wedding.
After the wedding, Tamira gives birth to her child while Saulo and Kidevu wait in the lounge. The doctor tells Kidevu that Kidevu is not the child's father. Later, Saulo finds that Sarah is missing and he finds a note from Sarah who is also Sauda, informing Saulo of the plot between the Arabic twins Kassim and Issa and Sauda and Tamira.
Kidevu and Saulo leap to the conclusion that they are both infertile, and decide to kill themselves. Saulo convinces Kidevu that Saulo and Kidevu should relocate to another town before committing suicide in order to give life another chance. Saulo and Kidevu have their sperm tested and find that both of them are, in fact, infertile. Saulo and Kidevu travel to Sinza, TZ, to apologize to Mike. After Saulo and Kidevu visit a church and decide to devote themselves to spirituality, they plan a final gig under their current band name Nyembe Kali, which means, The Razor Blades. A woman named Eliza confronts Saulo and Kidevu with the knowledge that Saulo and Kidevu's wives were stolen by Issa and Kassim. Saulo and Kidevu draw pen knives and murder Eliza.
Saulo and Kidevu return to their home in Sinza and write a suicide note which confesses to the murder of Eliza. Saulo and Kidevu drink rat poison and pass out, only to wake up in the hospital with police nearby.
ANAYLSIS
Throughout the book, Saulo, who is the narrator, compares his struggle for survival to an Olympic athlete's struggles in succeeding at the Olympics. When he attempts suicide, Saulo announces that he has withdrawn from the game of life as a loser. This straightforward analogy compares life to a game, and life's struggles to fatigue, adverse conditions, or opponents within a game.
Another straightforward analogy of this novel is the comparison of Saulo and Kidevu to two devils who, despite their best intentions, cannot spread love and peace in the world. Apparently, the instinctive hatred which is present in Saulo and Kidevu's souls is so strong that neither man can resist his primal urge to commit sin. Saulo writes at the end of the novel that even mini-devils deserve human compassion. The solution to all the problems in this novel is a universal sense of compassion which involves no single man having an extraordinarily large burden of compassion placed on him. If nobody had ever wronged Saulo and Kidevu, beginning with the old man whom Saulo shot a slingshot at, Saulo's primal urge to retaliate would have never taken over, and he would have not been launched down a path of uncertainty where he was prone to be tempted to do wrong. In a world where everyone is nice all of the time, nobody would hurt others because nobody would have any cause to retaliate against others, and nobody would gain by hurting others. Humanity as a whole must take the blame for the wrongs of one person if we are to make a serious commitment to treating eachother with respect.
As a side note, the translation of this novel is off in many places, making the novel difficult to read at times.
- 2 boys run away from their home village after one of them shoots an old man with a slingshot
- after roaming around Africa, and stealing from people as part of a two-man band, one of the main characters begins dating a woman whom he later breaks up with
- the two men start dating a pair of twins whom they become engaged to
- the twins reveal themselves to be part of a plot with a set of Arabic twins and ditch the two main characters
- the two men decide to kill themselves and, after a brief period of hope, continue with the plan, but are unsuccessful
SOURCE
Kaigarula, Wilson. Mini-devils. Dar Es Salaam: E & D, n.d. Print.
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