AUGMENTED REALITIES: POWER, IDENTITY, AND REVOLUTION IN THE POST-COLONY

Authors

  • Akua Agyeiwaa Manieson Department of English University of Nebraska, Lincoln, USA

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.46827/ejls.v6i1.601

Keywords:

postcolonialism, body augmentation, identity, power dynamics, resistance

Abstract

This paper explores the intersection of body augmentation, power, identity, and resistance within postcolonial contexts, focusing on African societies. It delves into how bodily modifications, from traditional practices like scarification, circumcision, and elongation to contemporary technological enhancements, serve as expressions of self-empowerment and cultural identity. The paper draws on key theoretical frameworks from postcolonial studies and the work of scholars like Victoria Pitts, the study examines the symbolic and literal significance of the body as a battleground for race, identity, and power dynamics. Using Ngugi wa Thiong’o’s Wizard of the Crow as a primary text, the paper investigates the role of bodily augmentation in the post-colony, particularly among people of African descent. It highlights how characters in the novel undergo various forms of physical and spiritual transformations to navigate and resist oppressive regimes. This literary analysis is juxtaposed with historical and contemporary practices of body modification, such as the use of tribal marks for identity, circumcision for cultural rites of passage, and the oppressive use of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) and limb shortening during conflicts like the Liberian civil war. The paper argues that bodily augmentations in African cultures, whether for traditional, aesthetic, or oppressive purposes, reflect deeper societal values, power structures, and the ongoing impact of colonial legacies. It posits that these practices, while rooted in cultural traditions, are also sites of resistance and negotiation, challenging dominant narratives imposed by colonial powers and contributing to the discourse on postcolonial identity and agency. Through this exploration, the study aims to illuminate the complexities of body politics in postcolonial Africa and the diverse ways individuals and communities reclaim agency and assert their cultural identity.

 

Article visualizations:

Hit counter

Author Biography

  • Akua Agyeiwaa Manieson, Department of English University of Nebraska, Lincoln, USA
    Akua Agyeiwaa Denkyi-Manieson is a PhD candidate in the Department of English at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. Originally from Ghana, West Africa, her research focuses on African literature from the colonial era. She is a 2024 Digital Humanities Fellow with a specialization in the digitization of African cultural and material resources. Akua is a member of the African Literature Association, the African Oral Literature Association, and the Canadian Association of African Studies.

References

Alan Rice & Johanna C. Kardux. Confronting the ghostly legacies of slavery: the politics of black bodies, embodied memories and memorial landscapes, Atlantic Studies, 9:3, 245-272. 2012. https://doi.org/10.1080/14788810.2012.702524.

Ashcroft, Bill; Griffiths, Gareth; Tiffin, Helen. Post-Colonial Studies: The Key Concepts. New York: Routledge. 2000. Pp. 168-173. Retrieved from https://www.fldm.usmba.ac.ma/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/AN425-G2-BAKKALI-postcolonialstudiesthekeyconceptsroutledgekeyguides.pdf

Arora KS, Jacobs AJ. Female Genital Alteration: A Compromise Solution Journal of Medical Ethics; 42:148-154. 2016. Female genital alteration: a compromise solution (bmj.com). Accessed on 5/15/2024. Retrieved from https://jme.bmj.com/content/medethics/42/3/148.full.pdf

Dalleo Raphael. Ngugi wa Thiong’o’s Wizard of the Crow and Post Pedagogy. Research in African Literature. 2016. Vol. 43, No. pp. 138-154. Indiana University. Retrieved from https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.2979/reseafrilite.43.2.138.

Gerszten, Peter C. M.D.; Gerszten, Enrique M.D. Intentional Cranial Deformation a Disappearing Form of Self-mutilation. 1995. Neurosurgery 37(3):p 374-382, September. Retrieved from https://journals.lww.com/neurosurgery/toc/1995/09000

Marck, Jeff. “Aspects of Male Circumcision in Subequatorial African Culture History.” Health Transition Review, vol. 7, 1997, pp. 337–60. JSTOR, Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/40652312. Accessed 13 May 2024.

Mpofu Elias, Peltzer Karl, and Bojuwoye Olaniyi. Counseling People of African Ancestry. 2011. Cambridge University Press.

Ndigirigi, Gichingiri. The Crisis of Representation in Ngugi Wa Thiong’O’s Wizard of the Crow. Journal of the African Literature Association. 2008 2:2, 34-57, https://doi.org/10.1080/21674736.2007.11690047

Lyth, R. E. “The Suri Tribe.” Sudan Notes and Records. 1947. vol. 28, pp. 106–14. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/41716510. Accessed 13 May 2024.

Ngugi wa Thiong’ O. Wizard of the Crow. Pantheon. 2006. Retrieved from https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/392303/wizard-of-the-crow-by-ngugi-wa-thiongo/9781784873356

Ofor, Marian Onomerhievurhoyen, Ofole, Ndidi Mercy. Female Genital mutilation: the Place of Culture and the Debilitating Effects on the Dignity of the Female Gender. European Scientific Journal. 2015. vol. 11, No.14. 1857- 7431. Retrieved from https://eujournal.org/index.php/esj/article/view/5678

Osezua, O.C., Edobor, A.E. Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting in Africa: Patriarchy and Policy. In: Yacob-Haliso, O., Falola, T. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of African Women's Studies. (2021). Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-28099-4_157

Pitt, Victoria. Bodies of Power: New Body Art Technologies:.1-22. In the Flesh: The Cultural Politics of Body Modification. Springer. 2003. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/387676740_Victoria_Pitts_In_the_Flesh_The_Cultural_Politics_of_Body_Modification_New_York_Palgrave_Macmillan_Press_2003_239_pp/fulltext/6777c0f6c1b01354650b8c7c/Victoria-Pitts-In-the-Flesh-The-Cultural-Politics-of-Body-Modification-New-York-Palgrave-Macmillan-Press-2003-239-pp.pdf

Irving, Alyssa. An Ancient Practice: Scarification and Tribal Marking in Ghana. School of International Training. Pp.8, 15-20, 23-28, 31. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/254663560_An_Ancient_Practice_Scarification_and_Tribal_Marking_in_Ghana

Rankin-Rajan, Sweta. Race, embodiment and Later Life: Re-animating aging Bodies of Color. Journal of Aging Studies. 2018. Vol. 45, pp. 32-38. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaging.2018.01.005. Accessed May 13, 2024.

Peltzer, Karl., & Mlambo, Motlatso. Prevalence and Acceptability of Male Circumcision among Young Men in South Africa. Studies on Ethno-Medicine, 6(3), 179–186. 2012. https://doi.org/10.1080/09735070.2012.11886437

Williams, Patrick & Laura Chrisman. Colonial Discourse and Post-Colonial Theory. A Reader. Routledge. London. 1994. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315656496

Downloads

Published

2025-05-09

Issue

Vol. 6 No. 1 (2025)

Section

Articles

License

Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:

Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.

Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.

Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).