Author/ Ethnographer Somjee reads a draft copy of the second Alama's Walk

 

Author/Ethnographer Sultan Somjee views a draft copy of the second book in the Alama’s Walk series. It is scheduled to be released in October 2022.

Alama’s Walk Healing the Earth is much larger, 150 pages compared to the first 90 page graphic novel. In this book Alama meets many new and interesting characters as he moves from his desert scrubland, to rich farmlands and villages. Along the way Alama hears more peace stories and meets both hospitable villagers and corrupt city officials. 

Alama’s Walk, The Oracle Speaks, the first graphic novel is now being used for training of peace and civic educators in the mitaani (slums) of Kenya.

All graphic novels are adapted from One Who Dreams is Called a Prophet, a book about a lone elder’s walk in pursuit of the last traces of Indigenous knowledge of Utu during conflicts. Utu in Swahili means the quality of being human or simply humanness or humanity. The walk resulted in cultivating conversations on reconciliation in a conflicted country, among diverse cultures, in diverse languages and diverse arts that led to the making of the Community Museums of Peace in eastern Africa. 

Each book has a running meme on Utu as viewed by 10 Indigenous cultures through elders’ memories, the environment, material culture, community stories, rituals and spirituality.   

Alamas Walk - Graphic Novel Reviews

I love this book!

“The images remind me of my childhood looking at pictures from African storybooks. They inspired me so much. I became a refugee at 11 and was shuttled from one refugee settlement to another around Africa. But the images of my African childhood stayed in my head. When I was still a child and safe in my ancestral land, I looked at the colourful pictures of Africa I could connect with. The graphic novel is truly a gift that I hope will reach far and wide amongst young African readers.

I want to send some copies to children in refugee camps in Africa, and to my nieces. This is gold. It's a treasure for us! I love the maps. For now, the graphic novel has been sending me to sleep remembering Africa. "

Njamba Koffi

author of Refuge-e: The Journey Much Desired.

I am grateful for the warmth of both the illustrations and the story

“I am struck by the layers of translation of embedded meaning enacted by the journey from physical objects like the walking sticks and leketyo, to written narrative inspired by them, to graphic illustration of both the words and the objects themselves. The sensory movements between and across emphatically material entity, written word, and drawing are so complex and intriguing. The sense of time and ambulatory tempo that I found so soothing in the book are terribly difficult to replicate in a much shorter graphic form of course but I found the passage of the day and Swahili time powerfully conveyed in Sadiq's illustrations - especially via the shadows on the earth. I also loved how richly saturated the colors are - the intensity of reds, oranges, yellows and pinks that vibrate from the pages and adumbrate sky and ground are so evocative, especially when seen in the gloom and rain of early January in England! I particularly like the way the notations of color in the ground have a textured patina to contrast the softer burnish of the sky - of course this helps suggest the physicality of natural features like sand and water, but it also adds to the sheer optical shimmer which is enveloping at points despite the modest page size. I am grateful for the warmth of both the illustrations and the story.”

Jonathan Shirland, PhD

Associate Professor of Art History

Department of Art & Art History

Bridgewater State University

MA 02325

Delightful story!

“This finely written and beautifully illustrated story reveals our age old yearning for peace and a sense of community. No matter your cultural background, geography or present day politics, Alama’s Walk - The Oracle Speaks is sure to gently tug on your heartstrings, give you pause for reflection, and help you realize once again the common humanity and simple desires we all share, and which bind us together. A truly refreshing read in these troubled times; Alama’s Walk is a story that transcends its East African setting and cultural heritage and speaks prophetically to all of us.”

Amazon reader review

Preview the graphic novel on Amazon

One Who Dreams is Called a Prophet - Book Reviews

Alama's Walk, The Oracle Speaks is a graphic novel  is based 

on Sultan Somjee's book One Who Dreams is Called a Prophet 

Muse India - the literary ejournal 

"One Who Dreams is Called a Prophet engages with the eternal and universal quest for the source of peace within self and oneness with the environment, as well as collective social cohesion...

Somjee’s main protagonist is a Turkana elder called Alama who sets out on a spiritual-philosophical quest for the source of peace. He is troubled by his desire for revenge against humiliation suffered against his family and clan, largely based on his upbringing that a warrior must take pride in acts of aggression. Restless and uneasy, he sets out from the arid lands of Northwest Kenya and traverses the Kenyan landscape in a quest for self-discovery."

For the full review visit Muse India - the literary ejournal 

Quote from Professor Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o

“The book has a lot of history in it. With a very profound title, ‘One Who Dreams is Called a Prophet’ is driven by a dream, Somjee’s dream driven by his belief in the people and a dream that makes us survive.”

Book launch YouTube video 

Old Africa Magazine - Issue 95 June-July 2021

"Written in a truly poetic manner while evoking the land, the traditional heritage of material culture as well as proverbs, parables, music and dance, Somjee’s style has evolved in leaps and bounds into a work of profound transparency that touches a chord of deep harmony. He also shows the beauty of silence within the parameters of utu - I exist because of you - reminding us of the importance of utu, of being, of relationships. Relationships with others, with the nature, with the land, with dreams, with peace. A relationship that is not limiting; elders are involved, the entire community is involved."

Old Africa Magazine

Awaaz Magazine 

"The story takes the form of a walk of a pastoralist seeking one of humankind's most sought-after ideals, the search for peace, especially relevant now during the times of internal and external conflicts. The protagonist, Alama, (Somjee’s alter ego) sets out to explore Utu, an African humanist philosophy. Utu comes from the Swahili word meaning 'being mtu' or simply 'being human.' It stands for a set of traditional African values that connect the spiritual realm, the community, ancestors and nature in reciprocal relationships of respect. In South Africa, Ubuntu can be translated into many African languages bringing the meaning home... Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o launched the 614-page book on November 25th, remarking "prophets are very conscious and connected to the land and environment." "

Awaaz Magazine

Alberto Parise, Comboni Missionary Rome, November 2020 

"All that resonates so deeply with my 18 year experience as a missionary in Kenya... One Who Dreams is Called a Prophet is a captivating reading, very entertaining, with an unpredictable plot and a vivid narrative that paints every scene as a microcosm that unfolds through rich sensorial renderings and spiritual insights. African readers will find inspiration in it, and a path to develop an appreciative and critical consciousness of their own cultural heritage as a gift for peace."

Learning Peace Through African Biocultural Diversity

Review Vancouver

"His background as an ethnographer gives him ample material for his story lines. What makes him unique, however, is his insightful, poetic voice. His writing reaches deep into recesses in our being human. It awakens forgotten parts of our humanity, long hidden, covered up by lives immersed in acquisition, self-preservation, and egoistic endeavours. It refreshes the tired spirit, and opens doors to new visions of a better way to be. We taste what Alama seeks." 

Review Vancouver website

Amazon Reviews 

"Now in an original book, One Who Dreams is Called a Prophet gives us a rare, kaleidoscopic vision of Indigenous cultures of peace. Weaving together memoir, history, and peace heritage traditions. Sultan Somjee tells the story of one of the most sought-after ideals of humankind, the search for peace within each of our souls."

More Amazon reviews