Primitive energy: Why ethnic humor is deadly laughing gas

 Vihija mahakamani team performing, Inset: Erick omondi 'getting down' at the comedy night at Afrobeat in Klubhouse, Comedian Mshambaa in funny prop

Tribalism has been identified alongside corruption as being one of the major barriers separating Kenya from its long anticipated future of splendour, opportunity and plenty.

Many African leaders in the excitement that followed the liberation made supreme declarations to the effect that in less than five years, citizens in their respective nations would forget their ethnic identities which would supposedly be consumed by the flames of nationalism.

But did these great founders of African states fully understand the evolutionary origins and malignant nature of tribalism?

The origins of tribal instincts are deeply embedded in the process of evolution. Human evolution is a journey of survival. Surviving these savage elements imposed certain imperatives upon our ancestors that must have included the growth of tribal loyalty as a survival instinct. Political organisation around a common language and common culture was of unquestionable primacy.

The coming of western civilisation rendered tribal loyalty first irrelevant and later harmful as nationalism became a more valuable objective. However, time has proved that human instincts cannot be wiped away by a new cultural order.

In the eyes of a visitor, any novel culture would come across as strange even ridiculous, having odd customs and superstitions. This forms a perfect substrate for the development of humour following the initial culture shock.

In a country of more than 40 different cultures, it’s not very difficult for a whole comedy industry to emerge that draws its strength from the varied accents and predominant cultural practices. All it takes is a little over-generalisation and exaggeration and in those two stylistic devices, also lie the biggest weakness of the ethnic based humour.

Humour by itself is not only desirable, but essential for emotional and psychological well-being. English paediatrician and psychoanalyst Donald Winnicot, in his book, Playing and Reality, opines that playing is crucial for the development of authentic selfhood because when people play, they feel real, spontaneous and alive.

How does ethnic humour entrench a culture of tribal intolerance? Ethnic humour is based on mockery of the absurdities of cultures we consider alien to our own.

In the precolonial period, our ancestors had both peaceful and violent interactions with their neighbours. We have been told about trade, inter-marriage and the sharing of names. The peaceful forms of interaction are natural to man hence require no justification in the court of one’s conscience.

However, when it comes to war, the human spirit is often repulsed. The leaders of the old age were obliged to create an atmosphere that would lift the psychological burden of homicide from the shoulders of the warriors who often included all males within the community. One way of doing this was through reward to heroism and a complete denunciation of cowardice.

The second strategy was the denigration of the perceived enemies. The enemy was often described in derogatory terms such as dirty, stupid or the use of animal names. The withdrawal of humanity from one’s targets prepares the mind for the destruction of life. Interestingly, this is the same strategy used by religious fundamentalism in the process of radicalisation.

These old narcissistic tendencies have persisted over the years until lately they found a perfect home in our local comedy.

In earlier days, our humour was constructed out of no more than the strangeness of accents from different regions. This then grew to involve an assault on legitimate cultural practices and today, the construct is more about perceived practices.

The narrative revolves around old stereotypes which though varied, are choreographed to achieve a certain level of ridicule and not infrequently political mileage is an objective.

The image of one Kenyan community as stone throwers is both inaccurate and derogatory. This image was carved out of a behaviour by a few hooligans hiding behind football. These crooks will often resort to violence as a way of expressing frustration at their team’s poor performance. Most of the time, disturbance at the stadium would spiral into the stoning of motorists, violence against innocent pedestrians and thuggery.

Jokes have been created about stones being carried in briefcases. These forms of humour will often pass unnoticed as harmless when in fact, they echo old prejudices from the days of inter-clan wars. Humour crafted out of such narrow acts of disobedience has the potential of isolating and persecuting a whole community.

Women from a certain county near Nairobi have lately found themselves carrying the burdensome image of violence against their husbands. The high media sensitivity within the said region means that a story relating to domestic violence from the region is likely to have coverage compared to a similar story from elsewhere.

It is a known fact that domestic violence towards men is not found in just one region. However, when humour is employed, it cements the false image and we end up harming millions of young girls who must bear the brunt of blanket condemnation.