Stolen Rivers
By Phillippa Yaa de Villiers
for Chiwoniso Maraire
We Africans came to Berlin to sing
and recite poetry. We had an agenda:
remembering our anthems of loss,
galloping, consuming,
the pillage, the cries
like forest fires, like haunted children,
how can we, how can we even
begin to redress?
Enraged, we wanted revenge
and then, Chiwoniso, you stepped on the stage and
you opened your mouth and
every stolen river of platinum and gold
poured out of your mouth in song;
your voice etched us out of the night
and doubled the light in each of us.
You restored all the treasure-houses
from Benin to Zimbabwe, Mapungubwe to Cairo;
Africa moved its golden bones,
shook off its heavy chains
and danced again.
That night I thought
if only
love could purchase bread,
Africans would not be hungry.
Summary of Stolen Rivers
- Popularity of “Stolen Rivers”: A eulogy “Stolen Rivers” by Phillippa Yaa de Villiers, a South African writer and poet, is not only a unique but also a matchless poetic piece. The poem first appeared in 2006 in her book, Centre for the Book. The poetic uniqueness of this eulogy rests on the tribute that she pays to the Zimbabwean singer, Chiwoniso Maraire, for her courageous anti-racial songs sung in Berlin that she mentions in this poem.
- “Stolen Rivers” As a Representative of Anti-Race: Phillipa Yaa de Villiers starts the poem with a bang, saying “We Africans came to Berlin to sing” to reinforce her argument that they have not come just to present their poems and songs but to seek revenge against the brutalities of racial discrimination and colonialism of the past. Interestingly, she calls it “anthems of loss” instead of a requiem or something else. Paying tribute to the popular singer of Zimbabwe, she says that Chiwoniso does not just sing, she pours out gold and platinum as if it is not just wealth but also reinforcement for them to take up the courage and tell their oppressors that they do not want it anymore and that they have not come there to get or earn money. Rather, entire Africa has come out to protest against racial discrimination saying “Africans would not be hungry.”
- Major Themes in “Stolen Rivers”: Racial discrimination, power of singing, and rage against colonialism are three major thematic strands of the poem. The poem opens with the unity that the poet expresses when paying tribute to Chiwoniso Maraire, a singer from Zimbabwe. She says that they want to redress the wrongs done to them and when Chiwoniso sings, it seems that she is pouring out all gold and treasures that she has in her heart and even the places do not matter. This is the power of her songs that she brings riches to every city she sings. It is not only she, it is the whole African continent that is showing its true culture, obliquely referring to anti-colonial and anti-racial stance.
Analysis of Poetic Devices Used in “Stolen Rivers”
literary devices are poetic and writing elements. They beautify poetic outputs. The analysis of these devices in the poem “Stolen Rivers” as given below shows this fact.
- Assonance: Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds in the same line such as the sound of /i/ in “We Africans came to Berlin to sing”, /a/ in “how can we, how can we even” and the sound of /e/ in “Enraged, we wanted revenge.”
- Alliteration: It is the use of successive consonant sounds in the initials of the successive words such as /w/ in “we wanted.”
- Anaphora: The poem shows the use of anaphora as the repetition of “how can we…” in the seventh verse as “how can we, how can we even.”
- Consonance: Consonance is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line such as the sound of /m/ in “remembering our anthems of loss”, /k/ and /w/ in “how can we, how can we even” and the sound of /t/ and /s/ in “You restored all the treasure-houses.”
- Enjambment: It is defined as a thought in verse that does not come to an end at a line break; rather, it rolls over to the next line. For example;
That night I thought
if only
love could purchase bread,
Africans would not be hungry.
- Imagery: Imagery is used to make readers perceive things involving their five senses. The poem shows the use of imagery such as “every stolen river of platinum and gold”, “your voice etched us out of the night” and “You restored all the treasure-houses.”
- Metaphor: It is a figure of speech in which an implied comparison is made between the objects that are different. The poem shows the metaphor of Africa as having a chained past.
- Personification: The poet has shown the use of Africa showing it a personification as if it has life and emotions of its own.
- Symbolism: Symbolism is using symbols to signify ideas and qualities, giving them symbolic meanings that are different from literal meanings. The poem shows the use of the symbols of chains, songs, platinum, and gold.
- Simile: The poem shows the use of similes such as, ‘Like forest fires’ and ‘Like haunted children’.
Analysis of Poetic Devices Used in “Stolen Rivers”
Poetic and literary devices are the same, but a few are used only in poetry. Here is the analysis of some of the poetic devices used in this poem.
- Free Verse: The poem does not follow any rhyme scheme. Therefore, it is a free verse poem.
- Repetition: The poem shows the use of repetition such as “how can we” in its seventh verse.
Quotes to be Used
These lines from “Stolen Rivers” are relevant to use when teaching African history and freedom from colonial rule.
Africa moved its golden bones,
shook off its heavy chains
and danced again.
That night I thought
if only
love could purchase bread,
Africans would not be hungry.
