Dangarembga's use of colloqiual language.

I thought it was very poignant that Dangarembga used somewhat out of place terminology to highlight certain aspects of her book. One specific example I can mention is the keening that Nhamo's mother does after he dies of meningitis at the school. "Keening" is a peculiar word choice, given that the phrase itself comes from an ancient Irish mourning ritual practiced by Irish women in the 1600's. Keening also referred to the wail of a banshee, a monster of Irish mythology, which stated that hearing a banshee's death wail was fatal to the listener. This gives another dimension to the scene, adding a cross cultural comparison between Africa and Ireland, which have a surprising amount in common. First off, Ireland and Africa are both British territories that were under control of the English government. Also, a lot of their native culture was stripped of them by the invading forces. Another problem with both countries was the loss of the native language (Shona and other languages in Africa's case and Gaelic in Ireland's case.) It really gives a subtle and relevant look into the sociocultural effects of British rule.