“According to the court traditionalists, our people knew days of great glory thousands of years ago, when there were kings of godlike power. They still dream of calling back those ancient days of so-called glory.” “What do the traditionalists here in Yarw have to say about the dream of ancient glory? I asked Astw.” “Sweet food for rotten spirits, she said, that’s what we call the glory of kings, the pride of nobles. The people at the court pretend they don’t see that to be a king you must have people under you. Some see it but don’t care, as long as they themselves are close to royalty. In this town we call such people the pyramid people.” “Why” “They look at the pyramid and admire it, seeing it as a symbol of power that at some time was ours. They ignore the real meaning of the pyramid: the huge injustice, the lack of balance. Balance is the main measure by which we in this town judge what we do. Pyramids are part of our history, but in Yarw we’re not people of the pyramid. We remember something better, a symbol holding greater hope.” “A better symbol than the pyramid?” “The sphere, the circle. The static symmetry of the pyramid oppresses the great world underneath. The sphere is a natural sign of balance. It moves, and no part of it is set up over any other part. It’s about balance, movement, change. Can’t you see the beauty of the sign?” Ayi Kwei Armah “KMT: in the house of life: an epistemic [Knowledge, understanding] novel” Page 148
Posted on: Tue, 10 Sep 2013 17:57:12 +0000
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