Re-Purposing the Epic Form and Pre-Capitalist Wisdom in Ngu͂Gi͂ Wa Thiong’o’s The Perfect Nine

This study investigates the critical significance of the epic form in Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o’s The Perfect Nine (2020), arguing that the text revitalizes the epic as a repository of pre-capitalist wisdom and a tool for addressing contemporary human crises. In an era marked by global socio-political and ecological upheavals, the choice of this study is grounded in the need to re-engage indigenous literary forms that offer alternative value systems and epistemologies. Ngũgĩ’s reimagining of the African epic becomes particularly relevant in light of his broader decolonial project, wherein orality and indigenous knowledge are positioned as counter-narratives to Western capitalist modernity. Anchored in Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o’s postcolonial theory of Globalectics and Viktor Shklovsky’s Formalist approach, this study applies these frameworks to examine both the ideological and aesthetic dimensions of the text. Globalectics is employed to interpret how the narrative interweaves local oral traditions with universal human concerns, thereby situating African epistemologies within a global conversation. In tandem, Formalist theory—especially the concept of defamiliarization—is used to analyze the poetic and narrative techniques through which the epic form is re-institutionalized and made relevant for modern readers. The research follows a qualitative methodology, utilizing textual analysis and library-based research to fulfil three objectives: first, to identify the poetics of the African epic as represented in The Perfect Nine; second, to explore how pre-capitalist wisdom is encoded in the text; and third, to examine the relevance of this wisdom in mitigating present-day crises. The literature review engages with key scholarship on African epics, oral traditions, and pre-capitalist thought, providing a robust foundation for analysis. Ultimately, the study argues that The Perfect Nine offers a compelling model for reclaiming and reapplying traditional knowledge systems in the face of modern challenges. By demonstrating how the epic form can serve both aesthetic and ideological functions, the research contributes to scholarship on Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o, African postcolonial literature, and the broader discourse on indigenous and decolonial epistemologies.