Why should you read sci-fi superstar Octavia E. Butler? - Ayana Jamieson and Moya Bailey

Translator: Julie Mbeyella Reviewer: Doris Mangalu

Following a devastating nuclear war,

Baada ya vita ya nuklea vya kusikitisha

Lilith Iyapo awakens after 250 years of stasis

Lilith Iyapo anaamka baada ya miaka 250 ya mapumziko

to find herself surrounded by a group of aliens called the Oankali.

kujikuta amezungukwa na kundi la viumbe linaloitwa Oankali.

These highly evolved beings want to trade DNA

Hawa viumbe walioendelea sana walitaka kubadilishana DNA

by breeding with humans

kwa kuzaliana na binadamu

so that each species’ genes can diversify and fortify the other.

ili kila kinasaba cha kiumbe kisambae na kiwe na nguvu kushinda kingine.

The only alternative they offer is sterilization of the entire human race.

Njia pekee wanayotoa ni kinga ya uzazi kwa jamii yote ya binadamu.

Should humanity take the leap into the biological unknown,

Je ubiinadamu utakubali kuingia kwenye biolojia isiyojulikana,

or hold on to its identity and perish?

au wang'ang'anie asili yao na wapotee?

Questions like this haunt Octavia Butler’s "Dawn,"

Maswali kama haya yamejaa kwenye "Dawn" ya Olivia Butler,

the first in her trilogy "Lilith’s Brood."

ya kwanza kwenye simulizi yake ya utatu ya "Lilith's Brood".

A visionary storyteller who upended science fiction,

Msimuliaji anayeona mbali aliyebadilisha bunilizi ya kisayansi,

Butler built stunning worlds throughout her work–

Butler amejenga dunia za kustaajabisha katika kazi yake --

and explored dilemmas that keep us awake at night.

na kufumbua mafumbo yanayotuweka macho usiku.

Born in 1947,

Alizaliwa mwaka 1947,

Butler grew up shy and introverted in Pasadena, California.

Butler alikua na aibu na mpole akiishi Pasadena, California.

She dreamt up stories from an early age,

Aliota hadithi akiwa na umri mdogo,

and was soon scribbling these scenarios on paper.

na punde akaanza kuziandika hizi fikra kwenye karatasi.

At twelve, she begged her mother for a typewriter

Na miaka kumi na mbili, alimuomba mama yake mashine ya kuchapa

after enduring a campy science fiction film called "Devil Girl From Mars."

baada ya filamu ya bunilizi ya sayansi iitwayo "Msichana Shetani kutoka Mars"

Unimpressed with what she saw,

Kutokuvutiwa na alichokiona,

Butler knew she could tell a better story.

Butler alijua angeweza kusimulia simulizi nzuri zaidi.

Much science fiction features white male heroes

Iliyojaa za bunilizi za sayansi wanaume weupe mashujaa

who blast aliens or become saviors of brown people.

wanaolipua viumbe au wanakua wakombozi wa watu weusi.

Butler wanted to write diverse characters for diverse audiences.

Butler alitaka kuandika wahusika tofauti kwa ajili ya watazamaji tofauti.

She brought nuance and depth to the representation of their experiences.

Alileta uelewa na kina kwenye uwakilishaji wa uzoefu wao.

For Butler,

Kwa Butler,

imagination was not only for planting the seeds of science fiction–

ubunifu haukua tu kwa kupanda mbegu za bunilizi za sayansi--

but also a strategy for surviving an unjust world on one’s own terms.

lakini pia njia ya kupona dunia isiyo na haki kwa mapatano ya mtu mwenyewe.

Her work often takes troubling features of the world

Kazi yake huchukua sehemu zenye mateso za duniani

such as discrimination on the basis of race, gender, class, or ability,

kama ubaguaji unaotakana na rangi, jinsia, hali au uwezo,

and invites the reader to contemplate them in new contexts.

na kumkaribisha msomaji kuzitafakari kwenye muktadha mpya.

One of her most beloved novels,

Moja ya riwaya zake zinazopendwa,

the "Parable of the Sower,"

ya "Mithali ya Mpanzi,"

follows this pattern.

Inafwata huu mpangilio.

It tells the story of Lauren Oya Olamina

Inaelezea hadithi ya Lauren Oya Olamina

as she makes her way through a near-future California, ruined by corporate greed,

akielekea njiani kupitia California ya karibuni, iliyoharibiwa na tamaa ya jumla,

inequality, and environmental destruction.

ukosefu wa haki, na uharibifu wa mazingira.

As she struggles with hyperempathy,

Akipambana na huruma kubwa,

or a condition in the novel that causes her to feel others’ pain,

au hali kwenye kitabu inayomfanya asikie uchungu wa wenzie,

and less often, their pleasure.

na mara chache, furaha yao.

Lauren embarks on a quest with a group of refugees to find a place to thrive.

Lauren anaanza safari na kundi la wakimbizi kutafuta sehemu ya kupumzika.

There, they seek to live in accordance with Lauren’s found religion, Earthseed,

Hapo, wanajaribu kuishi kutokana na dini yake aliyoigundua, mbegu-dunia,

which is based on the principle

ambayo inategemea kanuni

that humans must adapt to an ever-changing world.

kua binadamu wanatakiwa wafuate dunia inayobadilika kila mara.

Lauren’s quest had roots in a real life event–

Safari ya Lauren ina mizizi kwenye uhalisi wa maisha-

California Prop 187,

California Prop 187,

which attempted to deny undocumented immigrants fundamental human rights,

ambayo ilijaribu kuzuia wahamiaji bila vibali haki za msingi za kibinadamu,

before it was deemed unconstitutional.

kabla ilionekana kutotambulika kwenye katiba.

Butler frequently incorporated contemporary news into her writing.

Butler siku zote aliweka habari zinazoendelea kwenye uandishi wake.

In her 1998 sequel to "The Parable of the Sower," "Parable of the Talents,"

Kwenye mwendelezo wake mwaka 1998 wa "Mithali ya Mpanzi", "Mithali ya Talanta,"

she wrote of a presidential candidate

aliandika kuhusu mgombea uraisi

who controls Americans with virtual reality and “shock collars.”

anayewatawala Wamarekani kwa ukweli taswira na "mikanda ya umeme."

His slogan? “Make America great again.”

Msemo wake? "Fanya Marekani bora tena."

While people have noted her prescience,

Wakati watu wakitambua utabiri wake,

Butler was also interested in re-examining history.

Butler alivutiwa pia na kufwatilia tena historia.

For instance, "Kindred" tells the story of

Mfano "Jamaa" inaelezea hadithi ya

a woman who is repeatedly pulled back in time

mwanamke anayerudishwa nyuma ya muda mara kwa mara

to the Maryland plantation of her ancestors.

kwenye shamba la Maryland la mababu zake.

Early on, she learns that her mission is to save the life of the white man

Mwanzoni, anagundua kwamba kazi yake ni kuokoa maisha ya mwananume mweupe

who will rape her great grandmother.

ambae atambaka nyanya yake.

If she doesn’t save him, she herself will cease to exist.

Asipomuokoa, yeye mweyewe atasitishwa kuwepo

This grim dilemma forces Dana to confront the ongoing trauma

Haya matatizo makali yanamlazimisha Dana kutazama majanga yanayoendelea

of slavery and sexual violence against Black women.

ya utumwa na ubakaji yanayowakabili wanawake Weusi.

With her stories of women founding new societies,

Na simulizi zake za wanawake kuanzisha jumuiya mpya,

time travelers overcoming historical strife,

wasafiri wa mda wakishinda fitina za kihistoria,

and interspecies bonding,

na viumbe tofauti kushabihiana,

Butler had a profound influence on the growing popularity of Afrofuturism.

Butler alikuwa na ushawishi wa kushangaza kwenye umaarufu unaokua wa Afrofuturism.

That’s a cultural movement

Hio ni harakati ya utamaduni

where Black writers and artists who are inspired by the past, present and future,

ambapo waandishi na wasanii Weusi ambao wanavutiwa na ya nyuma, sasa na ya mbele,

produce works that incorporate magic, history, technology and much more.

kutoa kazi zinazojumuisha mazingaombwe, historia, teknolojia na mengine mengi.

As Lauren comes to learn in "Parable of the Sower,"

Wakati Lauren anakuja kujifunza kwenye "Mithali ya Mpanzi,"

"All that you touch you Change.

"Kila unachogusa unabadilisha.

All that you Change Changes you.

Kila unachobadilisha kinakubadilisha wewe.

The only lasting truth is Change.”

Ukweli pekee usiopinda ni Mabadiliko."