Today on bookflash Wednesday, Arts Lounge is spotlighting Mission to Kala by Mongo Beti. The novel was published in 1957 in French with the title, Mission terminée, and translated to English by Peter Green in 1958 with the title Mission to Kala. It examines the conflict between Western education and African traditional values. The novel was selected by Heinemann as part of the African Writers Series.
Written in the first POV, Mongo satirizes the folly of Western education among Africans through the main character, nicknamed Medza (or Medzaro), who returns after failing his examination. In chapter one, Mongo narrates how Medza had his white clothes muddled in dust, thereby symbolizing the folly of westernisation in African setting.
After his return, he is sent on a mission to Kala village to persuade a runaway wife to return to her husband. What begins as a simple assignment becomes an eye-opening journey of self-discovery. During his stay in Kala, Medza experiences the warmth, humour, customs, and communal life of the villagers. He gradually realies that the traditional African society he once looked down upon possesses wisdom, dignity, and values that formal colonial education failed to teach him. By the end of the novel, Medza returns home transformed, questioning both colonial education and his own identity.
Through the eye of Jean-Marie Medza, the protagonist of the novel, Mongo examines the effect of colonialism on the elites such as their immediate perception of the African society as backward and primitive. This was a problem common in the 1950s and 60s, especially with the independence of some African countries. There was a direct substitution of foreign cultures for home cultures. Mongo sets us, the readers, in a setting of where book knowledge profits those who know it and age-old intelligence to those who believe it. Who in Kala cares about geography?
The theme of family, hospitality, and community is treated through the reception Jean-Marie received when he arrived at Kala. Despite the change of times and seasons and the nature of his mission to Kala, Mongo seems to be telling us that African hospitality is without limits. Just like they did to Medza, Africans once opened their arms and welcomed the colonists.
Lastly, coming-of-age theme is also visible in the text. Medza starts out young, naïve and a newbie in the world he hopes to conquer. However, he himself receives schooling and transformation. From his cousins, he get to do what boys do, such as sex and hunting. By the time he returns, he is completely changed and transformed.
Mission to Kala is still available for sale both on soft copies and hard copies.
Mongo Beti (1932–2001) was one of Cameroon’s most influential writers and political critics. Born in Akométam, Cameroon, he studied in France at the Sorbonne, where he later worked as a teacher. His novels explore colonialism, African identity, cultural conflict, and the hypocrisy of European rule in Africa. Through humor, satire, and realism, Beti challenged colonial ideologies while celebrating African traditions and resilience. His major works include The Poor Christ of Bomba, Mission to Kala, and Perpetua and the Habit of Unhappiness.
