The Body as a Site for Marginalization and Violence in Ebrahim Hussein’s Kinjeketile (1969)

Abstract

Marginalization involves subjugating groups and relegating them to the position of the ‘Other.’ It is idealized and realized through the creation of the dominant group ‘self’ as being the centre and the subordinate group ‘the other’ as being in the margins. Groups are marginalized through the denial of economic, social and political resources. It is then actualized through acts such as violence which aim to place the ‘Other’ in a subordinate position while the ‘self’ acquires and maintains dominance. The article examines the play’s portrayal of violence that is performed on the bodies of the natives as an act of marginalization. This paper examines the forms of violence that are used on the natives to marginalize them. Kinjeketile presents situations in which violence is used as a form of marginalization, by the use of brutal force, corporal punishment and torture. Surveillance is also utilized to mould the natives into conformity. The fear of the punishment that will be meted on their bodies if they do not conform is meant to squash any notions of revolt they may harbour. The natives on the other hand use the body as a site for resistance and agency.