Petals of Blood is a 1977 novel by Ngugi wa Thiong'o set in post-independence Kenya; its title derives from

a line in Derek Walcott’s poem, “The Swamp.” The story centers on four characters whose lives are
drastically changed as a result of the rebellion, as they learn how to adapt and survive in a rapidly
Westernizing environment.
Petals of Blood Summary
At the beginning of the novel, Munira, Karega, Abdulla, and Wanja are questioned about the triple murder of
three notable Kenyan businessmen, Kimeria, Mzigo, and Chui. As they answer the authorities’ questions, the
novel is told primarily in flashbacks going back twelve years to when these four characters first came to the
village of Ilmorog (it is set in the post-independence period [1963-], though some of the characters’ memories
and stories go back further).
Munira arrived at Ilmorog to teach schoolchildren. While he came from a wealthy Christian family, he chafed
under his father’s strictness and wanted to strike out on his own. Abdulla and his adopted son, Joseph, came
to Ilmorog for a new start, and Abdulla opened a bar and shop. Wanja came to the village to stay near her
grandmother Nyakinyua, a respected older woman, and began working for Abdulla as a barmaid. She pushed
for Joseph to start school, as she had had to leave school before finishing. Karega sought a new opportunity
as well, hoping to connect with Munira as the two had a shared past.
The four new arrivals became friends and settle into the village. Munira and Wanja made love one night and
he became obsessed with her, though she wanted to remain platonic. Munira and Karega explored part of
their shared past, their attending the elite school of Siriana, and how both were expelled due to participation
in strikes. They both knew of a man named Chui, who’d been a popular student during Munira’s time but
was headmaster during Karega’s time and proved himself to be a tool of the foreigners. Wanja also spoke of
her past as a prostitute and how she’d once had a child by Kimeria, a businessman who seduced her, but it
was no longer with her. She desperately wanted to be a mother again but did not know if it was possible. Over
time, Abdulla also revealed that had been a member of the Mau Mau freedom fighters.

Life in the village became increasingly difficult as the rains refused to come and the harvest withered. The
local holy man could do nothing for them, so Karega suggested some of them travel to Nairobi to meet with
their MP, Nderi wa Riera. The community agreed this would be the only way to get help, and all of them
decided to go.

The journey was difficult but there was a profound sense of togetherness and purpose. Abdulla was a veritable
hero along the way, telling them stories of his days in the forest. Nyakinyua also spoke of the history of
Ilmorog. Listening to her, Karega became more convinced that attention had to be paid to Kenya’s, and
Africa’s, glorious past before the colonizers came.

Unfortunately, when the weary travelers reached Nairobi, they encountered several less-than-helpful
individuals, including the MP, and began to despair that anything would change. Munira, Abdulla, and Karega
were detained for disturbing the peace and brought to trial, and were only saved by the persuasive defense
offered by a lawyer whom Wanja knew. Ironically, the media attention brought to these “courageous Good
Samaritans” resulted in numerous donations, free travel back to the village, and Nderi’s growing interest in
developing the village for tourism (but only to retain his own reputation).

Back in Ilmorog, the outside help coupled with strong rains meant a banner season for the harvest. Wanja
grew in beauty as she became immersed in cultivating the land. She and Karega became lovers after a
powerful gathering at Nyakinyua’s where the old woman showed Wanja, Karega, Munira, and Abdulla how
to brew the potent drink Theng’eta. That night was full of confessions and ruminations about the past.

Listening to Nyakinyua and meeting with the lawyer spurred on Karega’s increasing radicalization. He
learned his brother was a Mau Mau companion of Abdulla’s but had been betrayed and hanged. He took a
position teaching school with Munira but felt that the boys were not learning about the things that really
mattered.

Munira had Karega dismissed due to his jealousy over Wanja as well as Karega’s revelation that he had been
involved with Munira’s sister years back and their love was the reason for her suicide. Karega left the village.

Over time, the village modernized and changed due to the neo-colonial forces of investment, loans,
infrastructure, and collusion between foreigners, African politicians, and businessmen. It expanded and
became a tourist destination for its Theng’eta. Abdulla and Wanja started a successful bar. Munira became
more of an outsider, staying in his teaching job but lusting after Wanja.

Eventually, Karega returned after a year of traveling, looking for work, and refining his communist views.
He learned Nyakinyua had died a few days after hearing her land would be sold off since she could not pay
the loans she was bamboozled into taking out. Wanja and Abdulla sold their rights to the bar to Mzigo, an
education official and businessman, so she could buy her grandmother’s land; Mzigo promptly kicked them
out. Wanja then started a whorehouse, the Sunshine Lodge, which attracted elite clientele like Mzigo, Chui,
and Kimeria, all of whom were African directors of the new Theng’eta brewery.

Munira was restless and unhappy, and turned to Christian fanaticism. He was convinced he needed to save
Karega from Wanja and from his dangerous ideals. Abdulla languished after the bar closed and Wanja started
her whorehouse. His only joy was that Joseph was doing well in school. Soon, he and Wanja became lovers,
and she finally conceived a child.

Karega had planned a massive strike and Mzigo, Chui, and Kimeria met to consider the demands. They then
went to Wanja’s whorehouse, where she installed them each in different rooms. She killed Kimeria with a
weapon, but no one knew since Munira decided to set the whorehouse on fire that night. Abdulla was also
there, planning to seek revenge on the men who had wronged him and Wanja; he got there in time only to
save someone from the burning building.

At the end of the novel, the Inspector conducting the interviews discovers it is Munira, and he is set for a trial.
Karega is still detained but hopeful that the strikes and resistance against the forces keeping regular Kenyans
down will endure. Wanja is also filled with hope because she can feel Abdulla’s child in her womb.

Petals of Blood Themes

Neocolonialism
During the age of imperialism, European powers conquered African lands and ruled them as colonies. As
African nations began to throw off their colonial rule and become independent in the mid-20th century, they
began to form their own governments and seek to establish control over their economies. However, most of
them became almost immediately privy to neocolonialism, which is where foreign investors and local ruling
elites partner to "invest" in the country, but instead return said country to an almost colonial type of
relationship. They are now subject to market forces, loans, transportation changes, and local corruption.
Ngugi chronicles Ilmorog's experience with neocolonialism, showing that all of the new modern
developments merely hid the fact that the people were losing any power of their own.
Love and Passion
Love and passion are not always one and the same in this novel, nor are they always sustaining, fulfilling, or
healthy. Munira, for example, is obsessed with Wanja, but this passionate obsession destroys him. Kimeria's
obsession with her leads to a myriad of problems. Karega actually loves her, but the two of them cannot
sustain their love due to his need to develop his workingman's consciousness. Only Abdulla has both love
and passion for Wanja, which is reciprocated; it is telling that he is the father of her unborn child.
The Value of Human Life
When the villagers arrive in the towns that surround their nation's capital, they are turned away by a priest
who could have helped them. The holy man doesn't even react when they say they have a sick child with them
who might be in serious peril. Then when they get to town, there is a domineering man (Kimeria) who
harasses them and rapes Wanja. These are meaningful examples of the disregard of human life that people in
power display. Additionally, they are only there to request better treatment from a government that currently
offers them no support, and it only offers that support when it is advantageous to do so.
Community and Brotherhood
The novel suggests that while the individual has value, it is the community that truly matters. Ilmorog is
comprised of numerous individuals and only their collective work can make the village survive, only their
collective endeavor can make the journey to Nairobi possible. Their understanding of their past and how they
are part of a wider African and Third World community also matters; strikes and protests only work when
there are many bodies, rituals are more meaningful when a wide array of people take place. Ngugi suggests
that the people must come together to wrest their land and their culture and their future back from predatory
outsiders.
Christianity
Christianity preceded the colonizers in Africa and then established itself as a powerful way in which the
colonizers justified their actions and maintained power over the local population. In Petals, Christianity is
depicted as a religion dominated by fanatics and colonial and neocolonial collaborators; it is foreign and out
of touch. Those who embrace it, such as Rev. Jerrod and Ezekieli, have no sympathy for the people and can
offer no real aid. They are full of "prayer" and advice, but not the food, medicine, or sympathy people really
need. Munira's embrace of evangelical Christianity further exacerbates his proclivity toward obsession,
selfishness, and cravenness.

Petals of Blood Symbols, Allegory and Motifs

Symbol: Wanja
Wanja is often viewed as a symbol of the New Kenya, or even a new Africa. She works the land, but she
becomes a whore. She survives and in some cases thrives, but at what cost? She is, Sumaiya Tasnim suggests,
"not only the representation of women who struggle their way through a difficult economic situation rather
she is the representation of the new and old Kenya as it adapts to the changes and exists throughout all
struggles with taking a stand for herself." Bonnie Roos looks specifically at Wanja's experiences with
pregnancy, writing, "Wanja's desire to be a mother can also be read as both a generalization of the situation
in Africa and as a specific allusion to women's history. The death of Wanja's first child as a symbol for the
death of Kenya's children clear. And the child's death at the hands of its mother is a distinct reference to the
burgeoning Independent Kenya, which is quashed by those very heroes who once struggled to create and
nurture...Wanja, Kenya and Africa have a history of 'murdering' their children. Wanja's second pregnancy
and her epiphany after Karega's rejection signal new hope for new Kenya, a second chance."
Allegory: Ilmorog: The events in Petals of Blood are set in Ilmorog, a place that represents the events
happening on a larger scale—that is, the events happening at a national level. Ilmorog is thus used
allegorically to represent the country (Kenya) since, at the time of the novel, the country was undergoing a
transitional process. The struggles of the villagers to carve out a place in a rapidly modernizing country, the
confusion navigating the new political and economic system, and a sense of discombobulation and
fragmentation in society are visible in Ilmorog and the country as a whole.
Symbol: The Trans-Africa Road: A road connects, bridges, bifurcates, and opens up territory. It often
represents progress and modernity, allowing people and goods to travel in a much more efficient manner over
much further distances. The Trans-Africa Road does and is all of these things, but it is not entirely positive.
Investors and foreigners helped fund it, and it spurred on neo-colonial development. In the text, its coming is
linked with the rise of New Ilmorog and all of its vices, so it functions as a symbol of corruption.