JAMBULA TREE ASSIGMENT

The Jambula tree is a representation of between the love between Anyango and Sanyu. Their
love is strong and tall as the jambula tree which stands proud with its unreachable fruit. Their
love is deeply rooted and solid like the tree roots. This can be seen from the fact that even
though Sanyu and Anyango were admitted to different secondary schools they still made the
effort to meet each other under the jambula tree and even though Sanyu is in London she
wrote to Anyango and though they have not seen each for 5 years Anyango still reminisces
fondly about the memories she has,of the moments she and Sanyu spent together. The fact
that Anyango and sanyu’s first sexual imitate experience - ‘’Mine was a cold unsure hand
placed over your right breast. Yours was a cold scared hand, which held my waist and
pressed it closer to you, under the jambula tree’’, suggests that their homosexual love, though
frowned upon in society, is natural. The naturality is symbolised in the image of the Jambula
tree. The jambula tree is also a symbol for the complex nature of sexuality. The fact that the
tree has been there, with its unreachable fruit even before the Nakawa housing estate was
constructed represents the prohibition of homosexuality in communities. For decades same
sex relationships were frowned upon in communities. In some communities the ‘offence’ was
punishable by death. The unreachable fruit symbolises the love and acceptance homosexual
people desperately want to reach. The fruit of the jambula tree is also a reference to breast’s
this can be seen in - ‘’Your jambulas and mines’’. Anyango probably uses the word jambulas
as a metaphor for breast’s because most of her imitate experiences with Sanyu took place
under the jambula tree, with the jambula fruits over their heads and surrounded by the purple
blanket of the fruit remains on the ground. The fruit is also a symbolisation of the forbidden
fruit, which Eve consumed and gave Adam in the Garden of Eden. That is the reason
Anyango thinks in her head two plus two jambulas equals four jambulas, while confessing in
church after Mama Atim caught Anyango and Sanyu naked together. Sanyu was aware that
lesbianism is forbidden in their community, but she still engaged in it with Anyango, ignoring
the normal social custom. Anyayo and Sanyu didn’t care about the consequences of their
actions and as a result Sanyu was ‘banished’ , sent to London by her parents just like how
Eve and Adam were banished from the Garden of Eden.

2a) The first way the relationship between Anyango and Sanyos differs from the
dominant representations of sexuality is their romantic feelings for each other. As far
as the story of the jambula tree goes, there is no other people in their community who
are homosexual. The norm of their community is heterosexually.This can be seen
broadly in ‘’Sanyu, those women know every love charm by heart and every ju-ju
man’s shrine because they need them to conjure up their husbands love and penises
from drinking places with smoking pipes filled with dried hens throat artery’’ the
woman of their community are obsessed with men. So much that they consult the
sprites about their husband’s fidelity. Sanyu and Anyango were very different and
fought against becoming like those woman as they walked to school hand in hand.
Sanyu always came to Anyango’s aid like how a protective boyfriend would. This can
be seen in the incident were Sanyu beat up Juma because he pushed Sanyu while she
was waiting in line for water and her tooth fall out. Other girls in their community
would not dare to do what Sanyu did. Sanyu came to Anyangos’s rescue even though
she did not witness the entire situation because their relationship was not normal.
Their relationship is special. They are in close promixty even when they are not
physically near each other.

b) The rule that was broken was the no fighting rule at their school. As seen in ‘’ You
pushed your way through the crowd and before the teachers could hear the
commotion going on, you had your legs coiled around Juma’’, and ‘’Juma, passed
out? ‘’ . The other rule that was broken was the unspoken rule of ‘You aren’t allowed
to have a sexually intimate relationship with someone of the same gender as you’.
Homosexually is extremely frowned upon and disapproved of in many communities.
It is seen as taboo and ungodly.