The Human Problem

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The Kenyan Experiment : Episode 3

The Human Problem

Will This Be A Problem Presents Episode 3:

Forms of Protest III : The Serpent God of Lake Victoria

In this episode, we will look at the religion of Mumbo, a serpent god who was believed to reside in Lake Victoria and in the sun. This religion would spread among the Luo and the Kisii and challenge the colonial structures and religion.

You can listen to it here, or on your favorite Podcast app.

The new episode of The Kenyan Experiment Podcast.

Available now on  most major podcast apps.

*if it's not populated on search on the apps below you can use one of the links under thus to open it in the app and subscribe:

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3. Forms of Protest III : The Serpent God of Lake Victoria

The Human Problem

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In this episode, we will look at the religion of Mumbo, a serpent god who was believed to reside in Lake Victoria and in the sun. This religion would spread among the Luo and the Kisii and challenge the colonial structures and religion.

Sources

  1. Hackett, Rosalind I. J. “Millennial and Apocalyptic Movements in Africa.” Oxford Handbooks Online, 2011. Crossref, https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780195301052.003.0020.
  2. Maxon, R. M. “The Thorny Road From Primary to Secondary Source: The Cult of Mumbo and the 1914 Sack of Kisii.” History in Africa, vol. 13, 1986, pp. 261–68. Crossref, https://doi.org/10.2307/3171545.
  3. Ogot, Bethwell A. “British Administration in The Central Nyanza District of Kenya, 1900–60.” The Journal of African History, vol. 4, no. 2, 1963, pp. 249–73. Crossref, https://doi.org/10.1017/s0021853700004059.
  4. Ranger, T. O. “Connexions between ‘Primary Resistance’ Movements and Modern Mass Nationalism in East and Central Africa: II.” The Journal of African History, vol. 9, no. 4, 1968, pp. 631–41. Crossref, https://doi.org/10.1017/s0021853700009087.
  5. Shadle, Brett L. “Patronage, Millennialism and the Serpent God Mumbo in South-West Kenya, 1912–34.” Africa, vol. 72, no. 1, 2002, pp. 29–54. Crossref, https://doi.org/10.3366/afr.2002.72.1.29.
  6. Maxon, R. M. “Gusii Oral Texts and the Gusii Experience under British Rule.” The International Journal of African Historical Studies, vol. 9, no. 1, Boston University African Studies Center, 1976, pp. 74–80, https://doi.org/10.2307/217392.
  7. Wangila, Mary Nyangweso. “The Cult of Mumbo in Central and South Kavirondo.” Journal of the East African and Uganda Natural History Society (Nairobi), no. 38–39, 1930, pp. 13–17, www.biodiversitylibrary.org/content/part/EANHS/Nos.%2038-39_13_1930_Nyangweso.pdf.

The Kenyan Experiment : Episode 2

The Human Problem

Will This Be A Problem Presents Episode 2:

Forms of Protest II : Oaths & Stories

In this episode we contrast the Kikuyu and the Giriama, and how they both use the power of oaths as their weapon against the British empire. We will see how narratives and stories  are the foundation upon which the colonial project was built upon and sustained by.  In our second episode, The Kenyan Oath comes head to head, with the English fairy tale.

You can listen to it here, or on your favorite Podcast app.

The new episode of The Kenyan Experiment Podcast.

Available now on  most major podcast apps.

*if it's not populated on search on the apps below you can use one of the links under thus to open it in the app and subscribe:

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2. Forms of Protest II : Oaths & Stories

The Human Problem

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In this episode we contrast the Kikuyu and the Giriama, and how they both use the power of oaths as their weapon against the British empire. We will see how narratives and stories  are the foundation upon which the colonial project was built upon and sustained by.  In our second episode, The Kenyan Oath comes head to head, with the English fairy tale.

Sources

  1. Patterson, K. David. “The Giriama Risings of 1913-1914.” African Historical Studies, vol. 3, no. 1, 1970, p. 89, 10.2307/216482. 
  2. Green, Maia. “Mau Mau Oathing Rituals and Political Ideology in Kenya: A Re-Analysis.” Africa, vol. 60, no. 1, Jan. 1990, pp. 69–87, 10.2307/1160427. 
  3. TEMU, A. J. “THE GIRIAMA WAR, 1914-1915.” Journal of Eastern African Research & Development, vol. 1, no. 2, 1971, pp. 167–186, www.jstor.org/stable/43658221. 
  4. Carrier, N. CM, and C. Nyamweru. “Reinventing Africa's National Heroes: The Case of Mekatilili, a Kenyan Popular Heroine.” African Affairs, vol. 115, no. 461, Oxford University Press, 2016, pp. 599–620.
  5. Anderson, David. Histories of the Hanged : Britain’s Dirty War in Kenya and the End of Empire. London, Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2005.
  6. ‌Brantley, Cynthia. Giriama and Colonial Resistance in Kenya, 1800 -1920. 2018.
  7. Opolot Okia. Communal Labor in Colonial Kenya : The Legitimization of Coercion, 1912-1930. New York, Ny, Palgrave Macmillan, 2012.

The Kenyan Experiment : Episode 1

The Human Problem

Will This Be A Problem Presents Episode 1:

Forms of Protest I : The Two Prophets

In this episode we explore the Maasai and the Nandi, the prophets who shaped their journey through the colonial march in Kenya and the varied and fascinating forms of protest the people adopted.

You can listen to it here, or on your favorite Podcast app.

It’s finally here. The debut episode of The Kenyan Experiment Podcast.

Available now on  most major podcast apps.

*if it's not populated on search on the apps below you can use one of the links under thus to open it in the app and subscribe:

1. Forms of Protest I : The Two Prophets

The Human Problem

In this episode of The Kenyan Experiment we explore the Maasai and the Nandi, the prophets who shaped their journey through the colonial march in Kenya and the varied and fascinating forms of protest the people adopted.

Sources

  1. Greenstein, Lewis J. “The Impact of Military Service in World War I on Africans: The Nandi of Kenya.” The Journal of Modern African Studies, vol. 16, no. 3, 1978, pp. 495–507. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/160040.
  2. Anderson, David. “Stock Theft and Moral Economy in Colonial Kenya.” Africa: Journal of the International African Institute, vol. 56, no. 4, 1986, pp. 399–416. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/1159997
  3. Tignor, Robert L. “The Maasai Warriors: Pattern Maintenance and Violence in Colonial Kenya.” The Journal of African History, vol. 13, no. 2, 1972, pp. 271–290. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/180856. 
  4. Anderson, David M. “Black Mischief: Crime, Protest and Resistance in Colonial Kenya.” The Historical Journal, vol. 36, no. 4, 1993, pp. 851–877. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/2640035. Accessed 3 Aug. 2021.
  5. Githuku, Nicholas. “‘Collaborators’ or ‘Resistors,’ ‘Loyalists’ versus ‘Rebels’: Problematizing Colonial Binary Nomenclatures through the Prism of Dedan Kimathi's Career.” Groundings: Development, Pan-Africanism and Critical Theory, vol. 3, no. 1, 2018, pp. 50–67. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/10.13169/groudevepanacrit.3.1.0050.
  6. Mungeam, G. H. “Masai and Kikuyu Responses to the Establishment of British Administration in the East Africa Protectorate.” The Journal of African History, vol. 11, no. 1, 1970, pp. 127–143., doi:10.1017/s0021853700037476.
  7. Waller, Richard. “The Maasai and the British 1895–1905 the Origins of an Alliance.” The Journal of African History, vol. 17, no. 4, 1976, pp. 529–553., doi:10.1017/s002185370001505x.
  8. Eby, Carl. “‘In the Year of the Maji Maji’: Settler Colonialism, the Nandi Resistance, and Race in The Garden of Eden.” The Hemingway Review, vol. 39, no. 1, 2019, pp. 9–39., doi:10.1353/hem.2019.0015.
  9. Meinertzhagen, Richard. Kenya Diary, 1902-1906. 1957.
  10. Matson, A. T. Nandi Resistance to British Rule, 1890-1906. East African Publishing House, 1972.
  11. Bishop, Dennis. Warriors in the Heart of Darkness: The Nandi Resistance 1850-1897. Geocities, 2000

The Kenyan Experiment

The Human Problem

The last two years have been an unpredictable and difficult period all around the world. Everyone has had to adjust and acclimatize to a new paradigm, and many are still finding their footing. We’ve been doing the same thing. 

Over the last year, Will This Be A Problem has been largely silent — but not dormant. We started this site what seems like a lifetime ago (has it really been 7 years?), and we’ve been wondering where this project is going and what we would like it to be. We think we’ve finally figured it out. Throughout the rest of the year, starting today, we will be announcing our new initiatives. 

Our first project is our Podcast Initiative. We’ve been toying with this idea for some time and we finally pulled the trigger on it. A Will This Be A Problem family of podcasts covering a range of topics and genres. The very first of these is debuting this very October.

We present, The Kenyan Experiment. A Podcast covering Kenyan History. 

We’re really excited about this and we can’t wait for you to hear it and everything else we have in store. 

The Kenyan Experiment, Coming Soon. But for now, here’s a snippet you can listen to.

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Will This Be A Problem Anthology 4: Announcement

The Human Problem

Will This Be A Problem is proud to announce that issue 4 of the Will This Be A Problem Anthology will be released  in April 2020. Eight new stories from writers across the African continent. There will be singular dystopian worlds, chilling horror landscapes, sprawling urban fantasy and mind bending science fiction concepts.

We’ve put together some wonderful anthologies in the past but this one is certainly our finest and we can’t wait for you all to read it.

For now, we will be sharing the stunning cover art from Peter Marco and the table of contents — Including our winning story, Nonchalant by Cheryl S. Ntumy.

Nonchalant by  Cheryl S. Ntumy

The Sacrifice by Lauri Kubuitsile 

Counting Heads by James Kariuki

Nyembezi’s Funeral by Jerà

Where The Gods Go by  Kevin Rigathi

Asylum by  Olivia Kidula

Pieces of Wood by Peter Nena

Manes & Dandelions by Kevin Rigathi

Antholgy Call Out 2019

The Human Problem

The Will This Be A Problem Anthology is back this year and we are looking for works of speculative fiction, science fiction, fantasy and horror by authors from the African continent.

While we tend to gravitate toward the weirder and darker side of things, our aesthetic is always in flux. We value risks, surprises, rude shocks, and voices that haunt us long after the story is done. Be brave. Send us the stuff you never thought would get published anywhere else. Send us the thing you have to take a deep breath over before submitting or running by your critique group. We strongly encourage submissions from women, members of the LGBTQIA community, and members from other underrepresented and marginalized communities.

Here are the submission guidelines.

  1. Your story can be speculative fiction, science fiction, fantasy, horror or an unholy mash of any them.

  2. Our target length is between 2000-5000 words. However this is just a baseline, if the story is strong enough it can be longer or shorter.

  3. We are open to receiving stories around many themes, but we will immediately reject stories that feature any of the following:

  •  Graphic depictions of rape or sexual assault
  •  Needless brutalization of women and children
  • Depictions of brutalization or abuse of people with (physical and mental) disabilities
  • Graphic abuse of animals

  1.  Send your work to willthisbeaproblem@gmail.com in doc, docx, odt or rtf formats. Do not send it in the body of the email.

  2. Send a small bio about yourself, what country you’re from and what name you would like the work to be published under.

  3. We only consider unpublished work, and we do not consider reprints (work that has been published in another magazine or on your blog or other social media) or fan fiction.

  4. By submitting a story the author allows Will This Be A Problem to include it in the WTBAP Anthology should it be selected.

  5.  Submissions should primarily be in English though pieces of dialogue and the text may contain other languages.

  6. If your work is published somewhere else after the Anthology is released we request that you mention Will This Be A Problem as the first place of publication.

  7. Submissions close on the 22nd of November, 2019

The WTBAP anthology is provided for free. We do not make any money off it and thus we do not (as of yet) pay for submissions. However, this year, there will be prizes for our favourite story.

  1. If the winner is from Kenya, the prize will be:  Ksh 3,000

  2. If the winner is from any other country: 30$ paid via paypal or other viable money transfer platforms.

We look forward to seeing what you come up with.

Speculative Fiction: The Final List

The Human Problem

It’s about that time of the year where we here at Will This Be A Problem present our annual anthology. This year, we tried something a little different from the usual. For the 2016 anthology, we opted to incorporate an open call for submissions. The theme was Speculative Fiction and we received stories from across the continent.

And so, I present the stories our judges picked for the anthology.

“The Mortuary Man” by Mark Lekan Lalude (Nigeria)
“What Happens When It Rains” by Michelle Angwenyi (Kenya)
“Future Long Since Passed” by Lausdeus Otito Chiegboka (Nigeria)
“The World is Mine” by Kris Kabiru (Kenya)
“The Real Deal” by James Kariuki (Kenya)

A bonus story from WTBAP:

“The Last History” by Kevin Rigathi

And the prize winning story –

“Rise of the Akafula” by Andrew Charles Dakalira (Malawi)

The 3rd issue of our anthology will be released in the coming days. For now, see this beautiful cover art by Peter Marco, based on the winning story.

final-cover-small