Coloniality and Identity in Kopano Matlwa’s Coconut (2007)

Abstract

ABSTRACT Africa in general and South Africa in particular remain entangled in colonial power matrices which some decolonial writers have described as “coloniality.” Coloniality refers to the perpetuation of quasi-colonial relations between the West and former colonized territories long after the official end of colonialism. Decoloniality is a theoretical paradigm that seeks to identify and critique legacies of colonialism that continue to influence the lived experiences of those who were formerly colonized. The production of knowledge and systems of knowing in former colonized territories remain trapped in erstwhile-colonial power structures in the same way that neocolonial global relations continue to influence postcolonial economies and livelihoods. Thus, coloniality encompasses the continued marginalization of non-Western peoples, cultures and knowledge systems. In this article, we read Kopano Matlwa’s debut novel Coconut, as a decolonial text that highlights the persistence of colonial matrices of power in the day to day lives of black South Africans. The novel deploys the metaphor of “coconut” to interrogate coloniality of being among young South Africans. We are particularly interested in the complexities and contradictions of negotiating new cultural identities in the context of a post-apartheid society that “breathes” coloniality.