What is the original title of the Petals of Blood?

The title Petals of Blood is derived from Derek Walcott's poem “The Swamp”. Walcott’s poem hints at the potential danger that lies beneath the apparently harmonious nature. The novel was originally named as “Ballad of a Barmaid”. It seems that Ngugi intentionally replaces the first title with “Petals of Blood” to give the novel a deeper significance. 

The title “Petals of Blood” has multiple connotations. We know that the phrase is first used in the novel by one of Munira’s students, who uses it to describe a flower. From the context of the novel we can sense that there is something terrible in the student’s utterance of the phrase. This is why, Munira rebukes the boy, saying that there is no colour called blood. Perhaps Ngugi makes the student utter the phrase to hint at the fact that the very Kenyan situation at the time is related to blood or violence. Kenya has the potential to be flower-like paradise, but that paradise has been defiled by the violence committed by the colonialists and subsequently by the rebels. 

In Petals of Blood, Ngugi shows the neo-colonial exploitation against the backdrop of the post-independent Kenya. The Kenyan people shed their blood with a hope that they would equally share the fruit of ‘uhuru’ or “independence. But immediately after independence, the native elite betray the hope of the people and involve themselves in all sorts of corruption and bribery. They amass huge wealth while the fate of the common people deteriorates. People find their traditional life shattered by the so called modernity initiated by the capitalists. They also lose their land and property. Thus the whole scenario changes after the independence of Kenya only because of the irresponsibility of the new rulers who ally themselves with neo-colonial capitalists and multinational companies. The vision of the freedom fighters who wanted to see Kenya as a paradise is completely broken. Kenyan people still remain vulnerable to exploitation and violence. By using the phrase “Petals of Blood”, Ngugi expresses his anger at the new colonial condition of the country. 

In Petals of Blood Ngugi unfolds his theme through the life-history of Some characters. One of the major characters is Wanja. Wanja from her childhood became the object of violence and sexual exploitation. Her old lover Kimeria uses her body and throws her away when she becomes pregnant. “Petals of Blood’ is related to her virginity which she has to lose because of the terrible exploitation of the evil-minded people. Her virginity is likened to petals, which has been deflowered by the exploiters. In fact, Wanja is the symbol of Kenya itself like Wanja, Kenya is subject to constant exploitation and violence, Kenya is prostituted first by the colonizers, then by the neo-colonialist elite. 

Perhaps to give the novel more symbolic twist, Ngugi towards the end shows the murder of the capitalists. The murder is related to the burning of Wanja’s hut. When the hut is burning, it produces the flame of red glow, just like the petals of blood. Ngugi here hints at the positive violence by which the exploitation of the capitalists could be challenged and neutralized. This is the reason Karega utters the phrase a new day, a new hope for the Kenyan people, which is to be earned at the cost of the blood of the people. . 

Thus the title of the novel Petals of Blood is pregnant with many meanings and possibilities. Through this title Ngugi hints at the pathetic conditions of Kenya and her people. At the some time, Ngugi shows the people the beacon of a new hope which could be realized by positive violence.