MODERN AFRICAN LITERATURE As A * RESOURCE FOR ENRI'CHING THE . EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCE IN 5—; THEsOOIALscIEUOEOURRIcULA FOR SECONDARY EDUCATION, IN :zATRE, , . : > ' Thesis for the Degree of ‘Ph. D. * ' MICHIGAN'STATE UNIVERSITY " ’MADELY.N..JANEALBRECHT _ r .5 EM 2;l231311j{:&’ n .eEL’A ‘ Michigan 3 late We? University 5",?- This is to certify that fie . thesis entitled MODERN AFRICAN LITERATURE AS A RESOURCE FOR ENRICHING THE EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCE IN THE SOCIAL SCIENCE CURRICULA FOR SECONDARY EDUCATION IN ZAIRE presented by Madelyn Jane Albrecht has been accepted towards fulfillment of the requirements for Ph . D . degree in Secondary Education and Curriculum 5 College of Education ' / M/ Date October 18, 1972 0-7639 5 UATATAR/TATTATAR MODERN AFRICAN LITERATURE AS A RESOURCE FOR ENRICHING THE EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCE IN THE SOCIAL SCIENCE CURRICULA FOR SECONDARY EDUCATION IN ZAIRE BY Madelyn Jane Albrecht A THESIS Submitted to Michigan State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Department of Secondary Education and Curriculum College of Education 1972 ABSTRACT MODERN AFRICAN LITERATURE AS A RESOURCE FOR ENRICHING THE EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCE IN THE SOCIAL SCIENCE CURRICULA FOR SECONDARY EDUCATION IN ZAIRE BY Madelyn Jane Albrecht The study reviews modern African literature for resource materials which secondary social science teachers in Zaire may draw upon to enrich their students‘ learning experiences. Qument assessment was used in analyzing literary works for lfistorical and sociological themes related to the social science curricula. In the area of language, the titles selected were limited to those written in or translated into French. They include novels, biography, drama, short stories and recorded legend by writers representing black African mfltures south of the Sahara as these cultures represent areas of interest in programs of history, sociology, political Science, education and philosophy. Modern African literature and recorded legend do depict social and cultural structures of historical African kingdoms and early colonial history and society. Cultural traditions regarding government and law, family and kinship, economy and M Madelyn Jane Albrecht labor, religion and magic among ethnic groups such as the Malinke, the Ewe, the Fulani, the Tucolor, the Ibo, the Yoruba, the Wolof, the Ashanti, the Kongo and the Zulu are depicted by African writers. They also describe the conflict between traditional and modern society and discuss many of the current problems and issues which result from this en— counter. Together they raise the question, can or should the best from the two cultures be harmonized in the search for personal meaning and for social and cultural foundations for modern African nations. The findings have been annotated under the following headings: Modern Literature and Legend Related to Pre—Colonial and Early Colonial History and Society; Modern Literature and Recorded Oral Tradition Concerned with Traditional Social and Cultural Values; Modern Literature Reflecting the Transformation of Society and Exploring the Present Experience; and, Modern Literature Dealing Primarily with Cultural Conflict, the Consequent Psychological and Philosophical Disruption, and Proposals for Renewal. A bibli— ographical essay has been included as a beginning resource guide for teachers and students. :e as; ACKNOWLEDGMENTs The author has benefited from the knowledge and experi-- ence of those who have worked closely with her on this study. The major influence and inSpiration was given by the Chairman of the writer's doctoral committee, Dr. J. Geoffrey Moore. Dr. Moore has given unselfishly of his time to provide con- stant guidance to the writer and has instilled far higher aspirations in the writer than she thought possible. '- Acknowledgment is also given to the members of the t writer's doctoral guidance committee: Dr. Charles C. Hughes A, for his assistance in the areas of African studies and anthro— i pology, Dr. Charles A. Blackman for his assistance in the i; area of curriculum and Dr. Louise M. Sause. Special acknowledgment is given to Dr. John W. Hanson who advised with regard to African education and to Dr. D. Rand Bishop who was an inspiration in the study of African litera— ture. ********* ii TABLE OF CONTENTS I. RATIONALE FOR THE STUDY. Rationale Purpose and Limitations of the Study Relationship Between the Social Sciences and the Humanities——Literature Social Science Curriculum in Zaire's Secondary Schools African Writers and Education Method Content Assessment Critical Bibliography II. REVIEW OF RESEARCH RELATED TO THE EFFECTS OF READING ON ATTITUDES AND BEHAVIOR. . . . . . Contribution of Imaginative Literature to Education Educators' Recognition of the Values and Purposes of Reading Experimentation with Literature as a Source of Enriched Experience in Education Research Exploring the Effects of Reading Literature on Attitudes and Behavior TABLE OF CONTENTS——Continued Page III. MODERN LITERATURE AND LEGEND RELATED TO PRE— COLONIAL AND COLONIAL HISTORY AND SOCIETY. . . . 43 Pre—Colonial History Nazi Boni: Crépescule des temps ancienSv— Kingdom of Benin Paul Hazoumé: Doguicimi——Kingdom of Dahomey (Fon) Ousmane Sembene: "Le Voltaigue" from Voltaigue——Slave Trade Era Thomas Mofolo: Chaka, une épopée bantoue—— Zulu Kingdom D. T. Niane: Soundjata ou l'épopée mandingue——Empire of Mali Tchicaya U Tam'si: Légendes africaines Bantu Origins and Civ1lization Taken from Oral Traditions Ibrahim Issa: Grandes eaux noires Garamantes Ousmane Socé: Contes et légendes d'Afrique noireh—Kingdoms of Ghana, Massina, Cayor and Baol and the Moslem Conquest of West Africa Maximilien Quenum: Trois légendes africaines——Origins of the Ivory Coast, Dahomey, and Mali Joseph Brahim Seid: Au Tchad sous les étoiles——Chad Jean Malonga: La lé ende de M'Pfoumou,u Ma Mazono—~Kongo Early Colonial History and Society Amadou Cissé Dia: Les derniers jours delof Lat Dior—~Kingdoms of Cayor, Baol and W0 iv UTE TABLE OF CONTENTS-—Continued Page Cheik Ndao: L'exil d'Albouri Wolof Kingdom Jean Pliya: Kondo le Requin Kingdom of Dahomey Jean Ikellé-Matiba: Cette Afrique—la! German and French Occupation of Cameroon Fily Dabo Sissoko: La savane rouge Tauregs Mongo Beti: Le roi miracule Essazam, Cameroon IV. MODERN LITERATURE AND RECORDED ORAL TRADITION CONCERNED WITH TRADITIONAL SOCIAL AND CULTURAL VALUES. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70 Camara Laye: L'enfant noir Malinke Chinua Achebe: Le monde s'effondre Birago Diop: Les contes d'Amadou Koumba, Les nouveaux contes d'Amadou Koumba and. Contes et Lavanes——Oral traditions from senegal and Mali David Ananou: Le fils du fétiche Ewe Francis Bebey: Le fils d'Agatha Moudio Duala Joseph Owono: Tante Bella Cameroon: Where the Wife is Part Of the Husband's Patrimony Jacques Nzouankeu: .Le souffles des ancétres Cameroon Paul Lomami—Tshibamba: Ngando Kongo Olympe Bhély—Quénum: Un piége sans fin Fon TABLE OF CONTENTS——Continued Page V. MODERN LITERATURE REFLECTING THE TRANSFORMA— TION OF SOCIETY AND EXPLORING THE PRESENT EXPERIENCE................... 108 Eza Boto (Mongo Beti): Ville cruelle Benjamin Matip: Afrique, nous t'ignorons! Bernard Dadié: Climbié Jean Malonga: Coeur d'Aryenne Ferdinand Oyono: Le vieux negre et la médaille Abdoulaye Sadji: Maimouna N.G.M. Faye: Le débrouillard Abdoulaye Sadji: Nini, mulatresse du Sénégal Ousmane Socé: Karim Sembéne Ousmane: Le mandat Sidiki Dembele: Les inutiles Mamadou Gologo: Le rescapé de l'Ethylgs Guillaume Oyono: Trois prétendants . . un mari ‘ René Philombe: Sola ma chérie Dieudonné Mutombo: Victoire de l'amour Sembéne Ousman: Selections from Voltaigue Mongo Beti: Mission terminée Ezekiel Mphahlele: Au bas de la deuxiéme avenue Albert Luthuli: Liberté pour mon peuplel ll. l WBLECE‘CONTENTS——Continued Page VI. VII. MODERN LITERATURE DEALING PRIMARILY WITH CULTURAL CONFLICT, THE CONSEQUENT PSYCHO- LOGICAL AND PHILOSOPHICAL DISRUPTION AND PROPOSALS FOR RENEWAL. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144 Bernard Dadié: Monsieur Thégé—gnini Wole Soyinka: Le lion et la perle Yoruba Seydou Badian: Sous l'orage Olympe Bhély-Quénum: Le chant du lac Cheikh Hamidou Kane: L'aventure ambigué Diallobé and Moslem Community Ousmane Sembéne: Vehi—Ciosane Ousmane Sembéne: Les bouts de bois de Dieu Ousmane Sembene: O pays, mon beau peuplel. Ake Loba: Kocoumbo, l'étudiant noir Rémy Mvomo: Afrika Ba'a Ousmane Sembéne: L'harmattan Seydou Badian: La mort de Chaka Camara Laye: Dramouss Charles Nokan: Violent était le vent SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS . 178 Summary Conclusions Suggestions for Using Literature in the Social Science Classroom Recommendations Frill l meE(E‘CONTENTS-—Continued Teacher Education Programs Experimentation and Research Use and Expansion of the Study BIBLIOGRAPHICAL ESSAY OF PRIMARY SOURCES. BIBLIOGRAPHY OF SECONDARY SOURCES . . . . viii Page n o I o o o 190 / RATIONALE FOR THE STUDY The purpose of this study is to review modern African literature for resource material which secondary social science teachers in Zaire may draw upon to enrich their students' learning experiences. The literature reviewed in this study has been selected from bibliographies of modern African literature and includes works published between 1947, considered by many to mark the beginning of Modern African Literature,1 and 1970. Paul Hazoumé's historical novel, Doguicimi, published in 1938, Thomas Mofolo's Chaka, une émpée bantoue, published in 1940 and Maximilian Quenum's Trois légendes africaines, published in 1946 are included as exceptions to this guideline because of their importance in the history of Africa. Ousmane Socé's Karim, roman génégalais is also included. Although first published in 1935, this novel was published again along with Contes et légendes d'Afrique noire in a single volume of Socé's writing. The selection of titles is further limited to 1David‘Rand Bishop reviews.the eVents that demarcate the (Era of modern African literature in his doctoral dissertation: African Critics and African Literature: A Study of Critical Standards, 1947-1966" (unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, Michigan State University, 1970) , Chapter I. available works that contain historical and sociological themes related to the social science curriculum and, of neces— sity in the area of language, to titles written in or trans— lated into French. Titles will include biographies, novels, drama, short stories and legends by writers representing African cultures south of the Sahara as these represent the core of interest in programs of history, sociology, political science, education and philosophy. The study is not exhaus- tive either in the sense that it covers all of the modern African literary works available in French or that it deals with all the possibilities in any given selection. African writers in general consider themselves educators as well as artists. They do not think of their work as "art for art's sake"2 only, though they are concerned with its artistic quality. They intend that their poetry, novels and drama serve as a social force in society much as oral litera— ture serves.a Their literature reflects traditional values and is concerned about the current situation and the future. Francois M'Buyamba, a Congolese critic, points out that for the African everything has a purpose, everything is action. K‘— 2Léopold Sédar Senghor, "L'Afrique noire; 1a civilization négro-africaine," in Liberté I: Négritude et Humanisme tParis, Editions du Seuil, 1964), p. 78. Appeared ofIginally in Les plus beaux écrits. 3For a more complete discussion of the question of social commitment in African literature, the reader is referred to David Rand Bishop, Jr., "African Critics and African Litera— ture: A Study of Critical Standards, 1947—1966", chapter 6. for O C‘Uio insul R‘U Art for the sake of art implies masterpieces for a museum, for contemplation, for admiration and the satisfaction of curiosity. M'Buyamba considers this form of passivity an insult to human beings whom he accepts as transcendentally dynamic.“ Interviewing Ezekiel Mphahlele, Lewis Nkosi, the South African writer and critic, asked "should one read novels about Africa in order to find out how people live? Is there some kind of artistic and aesthetic value to it?" Mphahlele replied, "I think it is both. The great novelist always reconciles his social realism with the aesthetic element."5 Achebe's assertions of the educative role of the writer are perhaps best summed up in the following quotation: The writer cannot be excused from the task of re— education and re—generation that must be done. In fact he should march right in front. For he is after a11—-as Ezekial Mphahlele says in his African Image—— the sensitive point in his community. Perhaps what I write is applied art as distinct from pure. But who cares? Art is important but so is education of the kind I have in mind. Dahomey's playwright, Jean Pliya, when asked what purpose he would assign to theatrical art, replied that he considered the "L'Art négro—africain et son ”Fran ois M'Buyamba. 25 (janvier, message," Documents pour l'action, Kinshasa, V. 1965)] p. 57. 5Lewis Nkosi, "Conversations withnAfricain Writers, I. Conversation with Ezekiel Mphahlele," African Report, IX, 7 (July, 1964), p. 9. 6Chinua Achebe, "The Novelist as Teacher", Mew_§t§§§§§§£ (January 29, 1964), p. 162. Ujec enter objective of dramatic art to be first of all education, then entertainment.7 Cyprian Ekwensi maintains that the African writer is a powerful educator able to interpret the African to himself and to others, to dramatize his achievements and frustrations and to illustrate his social, political and philosophical ideals.8 In his preface to L'harmattan, Sembéne Ousmane makes clear his personal conception of the African novelist's relation to his social background which is the framework of his imaginative world. Comparing the modern African novelist with the griot,9 he sees their roles as somewhat similar. Like the griot in traditional society, the modern writer, in Ousmane's View, assumes the role of a chronicler, who, remaining close to the people and to real events in their history, records the impact of these events on their lives. Iflharmattan can be regarded as an illustration of his theory. Taking a real event, the referendum of 1958, as his point of departure and his center of interest, he portrays the reaction of an African population in a composite French colony to this 7“Une interview de Jean Pliya a lefrique Nouvelle a PropOS de 'Kondo 1e requin'," Afrique Nouvelle, No. 995 1‘7 septembre, 1966), p. 2. 8Cyprian Ekwensi, "The Dilemma of the African Writer," West African Review, XXVIII (1956), p. 701. 9Historians, poets, story tellers, musicians, sorcerers, the griots belong to a special caste in society and often act as councelors in royal families. event event Tl event. In Les bOuts de bois de Dieu, Ousmane describes the events of the 1947 Niger—Dakar railway strike, showing how the workers in Dakar, Thies and Bamako suffered and endured the hardships imposed on them by their action. The writer becomes a committed witness, whose duty is to report his people's collective existence from the inside, seeing it with their own eyes and giving voice to their inner responses to external circumstances. Considering themselves educationalists as well as artists, depicting reality from within the society, African writers struggle to restore personal dignity and self—respect #0 their peoples, to renew pride in African culture and to re—establish African values. The stated purpose of the jour- nal, Abbia, is first to put the essential traditional values in evidence, to promote knowledge of them and to restore them to their position of privilege . . . then . . . to help to integrate these values smoothly into the new structures. . . .10 AS early as 1937, President Senghor championed African values When, Speaking to the cultural problems in French West Africa, he challenged African intellectuals to give to their civiliation a literature that would express and demonstrate . 11 African values in their genuiness and their excellence. __________________ 10W. Eteki—Mboumoua, "Abbia's Arrival is Timely," éhhii I (February, 1963), pp. 11-12 ulturel en A.O.F.," Speech given at France—Senegal, . 11Léopold Sédar Senghor, "Le probléme C EEEEIELEI Négritude et Humanisme, p. 19. the Dakar Chamber of Commerce for the Foyer September 10 , 1937 . 361133 other E” To Uadi EU. STU lot; Vi Bernard Dadié of Ivory Coast, Chinua Achebe of Nigeria, among others, support Senghor's argument and challenge literary malto defend African values and help make them a valid part of modern—day African education. African writers also join in the struggle to integrate traditional values into modern structures. While the cul— tural heritage is important and ought to be preserved, the past is valuable only as it helps to make the present meaning- ful. synthesizing the old and the new demands reflection and evaluation of past values and practices and present realities and goals. Davidson Nicol, Principal of Fourah Bay College, Sierra Leone, points out in Africa: A Subjective View that a notable feature in African fiction is the illustration of change, the manner in which it is met and its results. Writers dramatize for their readers the many problems that every African family faces as a result of their emancipa— tion and the evolution of the younger generations: polygamy, hygiene, fetishism with its retinue of superstitious prac— tices, education, its content and its methods. Wole Soyinka Speaks of African writers who take the "back cloth" as they find it asserting simply that tradition is upheld not bY one— dimensional innocents, but by cunning Old codgers on hawklike chieftancy stools, polygamous elders watching the approach of young blood around their harem, by the x— 2Davidson Nicol, AfriCa: A Sug' ggtive View (London.: Longmans,1964), Lecture Fine, pp- “The L ——"v*'“‘ V eternal troublemaking females who plunge innocents, unaware, into memorable odysseys. Hospitality is not, as we are constantly romantically informed that it is, nearly so spontaneous. There is a mercenary edge, and this, alas, is not always traceable to that alien corrupt civilization...13 The African writer, from his experience infuses traditional realities with present actualities, particularly those of tme colonial era. Into traditional culture the intrusion of the administrator, the school, the dispensary, the colonial aflflie. the priest and the missionary, the Libano—syrien Eminpney, slavery and taxes is witnessed. More recent novels depict the newer actualities of the post colonial period and Emesent sharp self-criticism. What is of interest to educators is the realization that the people, the places described, the conflict dramatized, the issues and problems that must be faced in today‘s Africa are basically the same for all parts of black Africa and can, therefore, though dramatized in local geographical situations, INHP to make education more dynamic and meaningful for the Mlee of Africa south of the Sahara.15. G. Adali Mortty, referring specifically to Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart, Points out this universality. """' ”T 13Wole Soyinka, "From a Common Back Cloth, WEE, XXXII (1963), pp. 394—395. " American 1 unity are re- 14 . - ' 1tura . Those 1nterested 1n African Cu elle de 1'Afr1que ferred to Cheikh Anta Diop, L'Unité cultur 92i£§ (Paris, Presence Africaine, 1959)- ref 9R The theme of the novel is the kind which, while having a clearly recognizable local setting, breaks loose from its place limits. It is West Africa; it is Africa; and yet it is even more universal than that. The Ibo village of the story might well be any village of rural Africa. And the conflicts of cultures are universal and timeless. 5 Another factor of interest to educators who would like to use literature to Africanize the curriculum is brought out by John Nagenda and James Ngugi in an interesting discussion about commitment. Responding to Nagenda's query about the social implications in poetry and narrative Ngugi says that writers "must write not only to entertain people, but also to change society." As educationists, "they must not only reflect the conflicts within society; they must also sug— gest."16 Present curricula in Zaire's secondary schools provide for the study of African societies in the historical milieu as well as in the current context. Curricula for sociology, economics, political science, teacher education and philos- ophy in grades nine through twelve are based on African social and cultural traditions.17 Students study the 15G. Adali Mortty, "A Nigerian Novel,“ Review of Chinua Achebe, Things Fall Apart, Black Orpheus, No. 6 (November, 1959), pp. 48—49. ' 16"Interview,“Cultural Events in Africa, No. 15 Webruary, 1966), pp. II—III. . 17Official curriculum guides were published by the Ministére de 1'Education Nationale et des Affaires Culturel— les, 4eme Direction, Services Pédagogiques du République Démocratique du Congo (now the Republic of Zaire), 1965. CU: essential structures of the family and the social, cultural, political, economic and administrative institutions and practices of traditional society in their local situation and hirelated societies in Africa. Comparisons are made of traditional and modern—day situations, their problems and con— flicts, in the desire to affect a more harmonious accultura— tion. Traditional values compatible to modern trends are evaluated and given particular emphasis in the light of their potential as valid cultural fondations for modern Africa. African history and the history of Zaire form an integral part of the panoramic view of world civilizations which high school students review and compare in an effort to understand the world as they experience it today. Economic, ideological, geographical and social factors that influence the evolution of civilizations are studied as well as the role of leading personalities who have crystallized the aspirations of the masses. African literature should, therefore, be used in the curriculum because it provides material which would allow stu— dents to study things related to their own experience, giving greater freedom to native intelligence, judgment and creative imagination. As a tool in the social sciences it could be used to bring meaning and reality into social learning. BiOgraphy, fiction and drama could be helpful in developing inSight and understanding into students' personal experiences, hlbringing about understanding of other peoples and acceptance by 3&1 assess ch 1 Wm 'iith PER “Ma 25’ 7‘”. r? 10 of kinship groups which make up the nation and the continent. The writer's contribution could assist in the rediscovery of cultural values still valid for today's world and in the awakening of concern over problems of social change and modernization . In order to achieve the above, titles~ from modern African literature selected within the limits established in this chapter will be. identified and analyzed for themes related to the social sciences. The method of analysis to be used is content assessment, following the distinction made by Bernard Berelson between content analysis and content assessment. The latter does not make judgments about the pre— cise magnitude with which certain symbols appear, but makes judgments through qualitative analysis which is less concerned with "content—as—such" and more with the content as a reflec— tion of deeper phenomena. Content assessment seeks for com— plex themes and assumes that the meaning resides in the "totality of impression" and not in "the atomistic combination of measurable units," says Berelson.18 These themes will be presented under the following sub— ject headings: Modern Literature and Legend Related to Pre- Colonial and Early Colonial History and Society; Modern Literature and Recorded Oral Tradition Concerned with -————____.___—_ leBernard Berelson, Content Analysis in Communication Research (Glencoe: Free Press, 1952), Chapter III, pp. 123— traditi Reflect Preseni with CT Rios cverla :ions Thich 11 Traditional Social and Cultural Values; Modern Literature Reflecting the Transformation of Society and Exploring the Present Experience; and, Modern Literature Dealing Primarily with Cultural Conflict, the Consequent Psychological and Philosophical Disruption, and Proposals for Renewal. Some overlapping is inevitable due to the fact that all annota— tions from each selection will be reported under the topic which is most appropriate. A bibliographical essay will be developed as a beginning resource guide to which teachers may add information which they may have or may locate as they experiment with the ideas and content contained therein. Teachers may wish to add new authors and titles and even expand the nucleus to include other literatures. The bibliography will be valuable not only to teachers in the social sciences and teacher educa— tion, but to teachers of literature as well. While attention will focus on programs of education at the secondary school level, it is realized that the materials are applicable in basic social science programs at the post-secondary level as well. The assumption implied in the statement of purpose is that both the social scientist and the literary man, though their central interest may be different, are dealing with the Same subject: The diverse personal and social relations of man listor sciem T T ‘T m P JIT human beings.1 l2 9 Robert F. Carter, Associate Professor of ffistory at the State University of New York, begins an essay with these thoughts about the relationship between the social sciences and the humanities: For an individual to be a complete and effective b ing, he must have an understanding of himself as a person relative to Other persons in the whole sphere of experience. The social sciences embrace the large framework in which he may place himself——both abstractly and factually. The humanities embody the experiences and perceptions of individuals, and the study of these can help one to gain insights into his situation and role in society. It would seem only reasonable, then, that an integrated study of the social sciences and the humanities is the approach by which people would most benefit.2° Carter continues in his essay to point out some of the ways hiwhich the humanities can contribute understanding to man's social knowledge——intangib1e values, such as sensitiveness, compassion and imagination which are indispensable to man's understanding of himself and the problems of the contemporary world around him. "Because the humanities have to do with the development of the ineffable qualities in the total man, they can aid man to become less the servent, more the master Of his own institutions."21 Natural science and technology 19James W. Bailey, "Objectivity in Literature," Humanities and the Social Studies (Washington, D.C.: National Council of the Social Studies, Bulletin No. 44, 1969), pp. 30—37. 20Robert F. Carter and Katherine K. Carter, “Some Prac— tical Difficulties," Humanities and the Social Studies, p. 184. I 211bia., p. 185. alone Liner; noon] to 56 nnnal inns with [Er/('3: lIn 13 alone are simply not enough for man's happiness and survival. Literature mirrors the human condition and, if skillfully incorporated into the social sciences, can enable students to see the unique, human side to man within the social context. Literature mirrors the human condition by placing per— sonal and social problems and conflicts outside the self, thus enabling the self to see these problems and conflicts with a certain detachment and to arrive at a more objective understanding of its own situation and of its motivation. This process of objectification may also go on in a disguised form. An individual may not always consciously admit the relevance of the literary experience to his own practical situation. Yet his attitudes may be clarified by a violent reaction against what he has read or by an unconscious assimilation of it.22 A literary work becomes “an organ of vision“23 as John Dewey calls it. It complements the natural sense of sight and extends the power of observation. It shows people the interrelationships between separate parts of their past experience. Structured toward an end, it can help the individual understand situatiOns that he has lived in for years, yet has never realized their significance until it has been dramatized for him in an imaginative story. ‘ fl 22Austin L. Porterfield, Mirror, Mirror: On Seeing Your- self in Books (Fort Worth: Leo Potishman Foundation, Texas W‘— . I Christian Univers1ty, 1957), Part I. 23John Dewey, Democracy and Education (New York: The Free Press, 1966), p. 238. r r l x l V COMOI Biography, novels and drama, then, have something in common with studies in sociology, psychology, anthropology and philosophy; both present concrete examples of many kinds of human relationships. They differ in that the former offer readers an opportunity to identify emotionally with human beings interacting with their fellows. This provides vicarious experiences with other people where face—to-face contacts may be impossible. Presenting concrete living examples of human behavior and relationships, biography, fiction and drama offer occasions for mulling over, inter— preting, comparing and contrasting responses. Analyzing these situations, the student may gain insight and under- standing of principles that apply to his own experience. Furthermore, literature often depicts cultural conflict as well as different cultural situations that create misunder— standing, prejudice, social distance and tension. Learning to know groups of people, their traditions and customs, may lessen the ignorance on which prejudice is based. Awareness of the values to which people are oriented and of the ways they learn different kinds of acceptable behavior may enable the reader to interpret misunderstandings and conflicts and make him less likely to reject people who have values differ— ent from his own. Understanding the causes of cultural con- flict may lead to intelligent evaluation and judgment regarding the issues and problems involved.in developing 3656M is no ._4 _._ :. ,P-fi ___,d/———v‘—‘ " 15 national unity and international cooperation in the modern world. Melvin Arnoff, Director of the Social Studies Curriculum Research Center in Cleveland, summarizes the contribution of the novelist to social education: One of the most exciting characteristics of a gifted novelist is the ability to expose the inter— twined composite of values of his characters in such a manner as to simultaneously convince the reader that the character is a real human being and permit the reader to dissect human motivations and aspirations, to View the torturing of the mind in the decision—making process, to live vicariously as the hero, the coward, the unsure, the faltering, the victimized, and in living each role, to gain a deeper understanding of man in all his stages, at all his levels, in his greatness and infirmity.2“ Ifliterature can offer these benefits to the educator inter— ested in social education, the tool should be employed. No attempt has been made to prove empirically any of the asmmmtions made in this study. They are made on the basis of personal observation, claims made by Africans concerning the social function of African literature and the experiences of others who have experimented with literature in their class- room situations. Nor does this study propose that African literature is a panacea to curriculum problems in education. It is presented as a proposal that might lead to a more mean— ingfully orientated educational experience in some areas of curriculum for students in Zaire. It is hoped that some M 2”Melvin Arnoff, "Toward Higher Levels of Cognition and Behavior," Humanities and the Social Studies, pp. 233—234. educa‘ mine It 15 _,__.______-.__/ _..__.__'——~ 16 emxmtors might experiment with the ideas and materials con— tained herein at both secondary and higher education levels. It is not intended that this projection of African litera— ture into the social sciences should be a substitute for programs of study in African literature. The use of litera— ture to animate, simulate, illustrate, dramatize or otherwise enliven situations involving human relationships, to illumi— nate social problems and issues, to stimulate critical think— ing in these classes does not mean that literature should not be studied as literature, as "art for art's sake," as literary form, and for building skills in composition. While there is much discussion about the difficulties inherent in expressing oneself in an adopted language and the desirability of a return to the venacular, this study assumes that European languages will be used at least to a great extent for an indefinite time to come for economic if not for other reasons. It is not an objective here to argue one way or another, only to recognize that there is a very positive contribution from African writers in both French and English. These writers are to be highly commended for their well developed flexibility in communicating in both languages and should be granted the freedom to continually expand and flex these mediums poetically and otherwise to permit an ever clearer and natural expression of the human situation as it Lsco E U18 17 is confronted in Africa in all its complexity. The use of the European languages will make it possible for these artists to share their contributions with many language areas. II REVIEW OF RESEARCH RELATED TO THE EFFECTS OF READING ON ATTITUDES AND BEHAVIOR Reading is one of the many channels through which the environment affects the individual. As a social process, it relates the reader to his environment, and in turn, condi— tions that relationship. Waples, Berelson and Bradshaw point out that the reader holds both primary and secondary relation- ships with aspects of his environment. He is in direct physical contact with certain aspects of his environment; with others he establishes contact only through symbols. Both sets of relationships are part of his experience. "Through reading the individual may extend his secondary relationships with the environment; and they may do as much to condition him, to make him what he is, as do his primary relationships."l Fiction can present a diversity of images of personality and conduct. Louise Rosenblatt in Literature as Exploration discusses the potentialities that literature possesses for a direct assimilation of ideas and attitudes. u.__________________ 1Douglas Waples, Bernard Berelson, Franklyn R. Bradshaw, What Reading Does to People (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1940), pp. 30—31. 18 19 . . . literature offers the closest approach to the experiences of actual life. It enables the youth to "live through" much that in abstract terms would be meaningless to him. He comes to know intimately, more intimately perhaps than would be possible in actual life, many personalities. He shares vicariously their struggles and perplexities and achievements. He becomes a part of strange environments, or he sees with new emotions the conditions and the lives about him. And these vicarious experiences have at least something of the warmth and color and emotion that life itself possesses.2 Since personal and social development are the result of experiences, and, since literature is one means of broadening experience, it follows that the study of literature could contribute to personal and social development. Several American educators with teaching experience in reading and literature have tried to analyze the values and purposes in reading. While their judgments and the evidence they present are from one culture, the American culture, there is no reason to believe that their findings would not be cross—culturally relevant. Research in reading, its values and purposes and its effects, when undertaken in Zaire, will have to consider an additional variable, the fact that most reading is done in languages other than the indigenous one. Usually this language is French; sometimes English as well. How this factor might influence the effects of reading would need to be determined. m— 2Louise M. Rosenblatt, Literature as Exploration éNew York: Appleton-Century—Crofts, Inc., 1938), pp. 214— 15. Lmag Rose The sens poi! 20 Perhaps one of the best analyses of the contribution of imaginative literature to education is that of Louise Rosenblatt. Briefly summarized, she maintains the following: The literary experience should lead to increased social sensitivity making the reader more aware of the feelings and points—of—view of other people, of the emotional coercive— ness of political slogans and advertising, of the problems of peoples in other parts of the world as well as those of other social groups within his own society. Literature should offer a source of enlightenment in the process of making personal choices. Literature can help an individual become assimilated into the culture pattern of his people by acquaint— ing him with the attitudes and expectancies of his group. Through literature the individual can gain release from Provincialism by extending his awareness beyond the family, community and national background. It should enable the indi- Vidusl to participate in the lives of people different from his own in time, space and cultural heritage. From a thera- PGUtiC point of view, literature may help to prevent neurotic tendencies by objectively presenting problems and Offering Various solutions to them. It may give the reader a wide range View of contrasting temperamental types and contribute to the development of the habit of interpreting the inter— actions of temperament upon temperament.3 \——_____,___ aIbid., chapter seven. 21 William Gray and Bernice Rogers outline ten purposes for reading. They include among other purposes: reading "to meet personalrsocial demands" such as fostering agreeable social relationships and understanding people as well as one's self better; reading "to meet socio—civic needs and demands" such as more effective participation in community life and the determination of solutions to social or political problems; reading "to satisfy strictly intellectual demands" such as gaining a different point of View, a new outlook or a reinforcement of attitude.” Ralph Preston identifies six values of reading which include reading to augment the indi- vidual's self—respect and to foster substantial human and social values.5 David Russell maintains that people read at four levels. At the first level the reader is concerned with the associ— ation of printed words with their sounds. At the second level the individual reads for literal meanings. He seeks facts, follows explicit directions, finds out about India or the latest on the stock market. At the third level the reader interprets what he reads. He goes "beyond the literal compre- hension of the fact to read between the lines": drawing his ' ”William S. Gray and Bernice Rogers, Maturit in Read- lng (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 19565, pp. 92—93. 5Ralph C. Preston, "The Changed Role of Reading,“ in William 8. Gray ed., Reading in an Age of Mass Communications (New York: Appleton-Century—Crofts, Inc., 1949), pp. 7—13. on auth one . 16 its is 22 own conclusions, he predicts or infers; reflecting on the author‘s point of View or the relation of the content to other things he knows, he evaluates or critically analyzes the material. Reading at the fourth level takes the indi— vidual beyond thoughtful analysis or critical review to what Russell calls "the shock of recognition." We recognize a new or an important idea in the actions, characters, or values described. The impact of the material is such that we receive fresh insight into our own or other's lives. In our reading we are changed, a little, as persons.6 Helene Hartley believes that literature can help a stu— dent achieve a "mature personality," which she defines as a personality that has outside interests, an objective View of itself and a unifying philosophy of life.7 American educators have only gradually come to recognize the significance of reading as a factor in determining indi— vidual adjustment and personal happiness. Many factors have contributed to this recognition. During the decade 1930-1940, wide—spread interest in mental health led to emphasis on the satisfaction of the basic human needs as a primary objective of education. Concerned for children's needs and interests, teachers turned to literature for materials that might be used both ____________________ §David H. Russell, "Contributions of Reading to Personal Development," Teachers College Record, Vol. 61 (May 1960), p. 435. 7Helene W. Hartley, "Developing Personality Through Books," The English Journal, 'XL (April 1951), pp. 200—201. with intel sive some Robs sidt aim rea val “j (7.») 23 with indivisuals and in groups to fulfill those needs and interests. Accordingly, Elbert Lenrow compiled a comprehen— sive guide to books designed to help youth understand them— selves and their environment, comprehend social problems and issues and find entainment.8 In 1941, Paul Witty reported some results of using this approach in language programs.9 Robert Havighurst described certain developmental tasks con- sidered to be significant in the personality of the adoles— cent as well as in the attainment of his social and vocational aims.10 Relating these developmental tasks to the values of reading, Alice Brooks made an analysis of the developmental values in fifty books, twenty—five titles that were popular among those in the late childhood age group and twenty—five 1 Brooks believes that popular among early adolescences.1 reading materials "form one source of the concepts which develOp insight" on the part of young people as they seek to achieve developmental tasks.12 7 8Elbert Lenrow, Reader's Guide to Prose Fiction (New York: Appleton—Century-Crofts, Inc., 1940). 9Paul Witty, "Children's Needs—-The Basis for Language Programs," in Pupils are Pepple, Nelly Appy, Chm., National Council of TeaChers of English (New York: Appleton—Century— Crofts, Inc., 1941), Chapter III. . 10Robert J. Havighurst, Developmental Tasks and Educa- tlon (New York: Longmans, Green and Co., 1948), pp. 111-147. llAlice R. Brooks, "Developmental Values in Books," in Youth, Communications and Libraries, Edited by Frances Henne, licé Brooks and Ruth Ersted (Chicagof‘ American Library Association, 1949), p. 51. l2A1ice R. Brooks, ”Integrating Books and Reading with Adolescent Tasks," School Review, LVIII (April 1950), p. 212. 24 The Forty-seventh Yearbook of the National Society for the Study of Education underlines several purposes for read- ing in the high school. Reading experiences should help the pupil (l) appreciate and understand various kinds of materi— als in diverse subject areas, (2) gain a better understanding of himself and his personal environment, (3) achieve a more adequate understanding of his social environment, and (4) acquire deeper satisfactions, enjoyment, and escape.13 A bibliography published in 1950 as a March and April supple— ment to the Chicago Schools Journal contains annotated refer- ences for books placed under seventy—eight categories.1“ Many bibliographies now include annotated listings which are classified according to developmental tasks and the needs of children, adolescents and young adults. Educators interested in the use of literature in the various subject areas in high school and college programs have prepared teaching guides, bibliographies and anthologies of literary materials that correlate with textbook materials in those areas. Some educators have experimented with literary materials as a supplement to textbook materials for enriching classroom experiences. Still others have shifted the emphasis 13Reading in the High School and College, Forty—seventh Yearbook of the National Society for the Study of Education, Part II (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1948), pp. 9—14. 1“Effie La Plante and Thelma O'Donnelle, "Developmental Values Through Library Books," Chicago Schools Journal, XXXI (March-April, 1950), pp. 1—21. iron exp ou‘ l l. 25 from textbooks to literature as the springboard for student experience. Austin Porterfield, in his Mirror, Mirror: On Seeing Yourself in Books, stresses a sociopsychological interpre- tation of human nature and personality in the light of examples offered in literature. His objective is fourfold: (l) to make it easier to read for self—insight and social understanding, which abound in fiction and the drama; to discover that serious reading can also be exciting; (2) to help the student and the teacher in social sciences to find literary sources which are use— ful in illuminating sociological and psychological con— cepts; (3) to add to the ability of the student and the teacher in literary fields to make use of such con- cepts in literary analysis; and (4) to supply leads for the uses of literary sources by public speakers and student groups. Josephine Strod's Anthology on Social Insight through Short Stories is a wealth of materials organized "to satisfy the need for supplemental material to enrich courses in sociology, psychology, social work, guidance, education and social admin— istration."16 Lewis Coser's Sociology through Literature17 is an anthology of literary works that might be useful in teaching modern sociology through illustrative material from literature. Each chapter centers upon one of the major 15Porterfield, Mirror, Mirror: On Seeing Yourself in Books, Preface, p. vii. 18Josephine Strode, ed., Social Insight through Short Stories: an Anthology (New York: Harper and Brothers, 1947), P- ix. 17Lewis Coser, Sociology through Literature: An Intro— ductory Reader (EngleWood—Cliffs: Prentice—Hall, Inc., 1963)o con tio aut 26 concepts of sociology: culture, social control, socializa— tion, the self and the other, status and role, power and authority, the sociology of politics, urban sociology, the family, race relations, and collective behavior among other topics. Alma Spithill, Lecturer in the Psychology Department and Staff Counselor in the Counseling Center at Central Washington State College, maintains that for those who would truly know adolescents, psychology and literature ought to be fellow disciplines. The psychologist discovered the adolescent, but it is the novelist who defines him.18 Morris Weitz, in a series of lectures given at Wayne State University in April of 1961, attempted to show by analyzing 1 four literary masterpieces that philosophy and literature can be combined to their mutual enrichment.19 Joel Burdin, in his doctoral dissertation, studied contemporary American novels as a possible supplement to other means for helping teachers "learn about, internalize, and carry out varied teaching roles."20 The National Council for the Social Studies published a series of essays for social studies _ 18Alma c. Spithill, "Valuable Allies," Personnel and Guidance Journal, Vol. 46 (May 1968), p. 879. 19Morris Weitz, Philosophy in Literature: Shakespeare, Voltaire, Tolstoy and Proust (Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1963). 20Joel Laverne Burdin, "The Availability and Utility of Contemporary American Literature for Teacher Education" (unpublished Ed.D. dissertation, East Lansing, Michigan State University, 1965), Abstract. tea 1 . M‘m i. f\.N~—_r ‘r x“ fiw 27 thachers sketching ways in which the humanities might be illuminating or useful in the social studies.21 The Council has also published a bibliography for secondary schools entitled Social Understanding through Literature.22 Another excellent source of songs, poetry and stories associated with world cultures is Ruth Tooze and Beatrice Krone, Literature and Music as Resources for Social Studies.23 Some educators have experimented with literature as supplementary reading or as a primary source of student experience in the various subject areas. The Intergroup Education Program in Cooperating Schools, sponsored by the American Council on Education, explored the use of imagina- tive literature in human relations programs to extend sensi— tivity toward people, their values and their ways of living. The study summarizes specific attempts to develOp such pro— grams and is designed as a practical guide to pertinent concepts and to classroom practice.2“ Discovering that 21Thomas F. Powell, ed., Humanities and the Social Studies; Bulletin No. 44 (Washington D. C.: National Council for the Social Studies, 1969). 22G. Robert Carlsen and Richard S. Alm, Social Under- standing through Literature: A Bibliography for Secondary Schools, Bulletin No. 28 (Washington, D.C.: National Council for the Social Studies, 1954). 23Ruth Tooze and Beatrice Perham Krone, Literature and Music as Resources for Social Studies (Englewood Cliffs: Prentice—Hall, 1955). 2”Literature for Human Understanding, Edited by the Staff of Intergroup Education in Cooperating Schools, Hilda Taba, Director (Washington, D.C.: American Council on Educa- tion, 1948), . ,_4_——-— 28 teachers using these programs needed materials about problems on human relations, those involved collected materials to develop the publication Reading Ladders for Human Relations.25 Hilda Taba used fiction dealing with problems of human relations but illustrating values, behaviors and solutions which differed from the current experience of her eighth grade pupils as one of her tools for creating an environment in which to extend an egocentric and ethnocentric orientation to a more cosmopolitan sensitivity. She organized three sub- jects she taught; social studies, literature and guidance, into one sequence. A reading program was organized on the basis of diagnosed gaps in sensitivities and skills in human relations and concerns and interests of the students. Two kinds of topics were used in the program: those relating to immediate concerns about interpersonal relations in the family and peer group and those underlying concerns involving broader problems of human relations. Novels and stories were used to illustrate and stimulate discussion of problems such as various ways of expressing affection, of belonging and of isolation, of understanding motivation underlying overt conduct and of making decisions involving conflicting loyalities and values. Stories were used alongside history and sociological texts to illustrate personal and family affairs, problems of 25Reading Ladders for Human Relations, first edition, 1946. Fourth edition edited by Muriel Crosby (Washington, D. D.: American Council on Education, 1963). _;_:;._2_ '-- W‘ 29 segregation, prejudice and inequality in rights and privi— leges. There were opportunities in sociodrama, in open—ended discussion and in written reaction to analyze the behavior, problems and motivations of the characters in the different situations and to compare them with the students own experi— ences. Continuous effort was made to transfer learning in one context to another and different context. Changes occurring in student responses as the year pro~ gressed indicated that an objective and analytical orienta— tion to human behavior was strengthened considerably. . . . the method of reading and discussing fiction organized around life problems of students is effec- tive in extending sensitivity to human values and in objectifying orientation to human relations. Students can master methods of thinking which reduce the role of preconceived notions, extend identification with a wider range of values, and decrease moralistic judge- ment.’ After 20 years of teaching American History to high school Students relying primarily on the textbook with an assist from supplementary reading, Morris Gall shifted the emphasis from the text to historical novels, plays and biography. Titles were furnished for each unit and reading guides provided questions and problems based on each book which the students ’selected to read. The approach was successful. The students‘ reactions were positive and the learning experience more M— 26Hilda Taba, With Perspective on Human Relations: A Study of Peer Gropp Dynamics in an Eighth Grade (Washington, D- C.: American Council on Education, 1955), p. 137. int 30 interesting and worthwhile. The guidance helped to extend learning and understanding on the part of the students.27 Using significant fiction in paperbacks, Val Clear, in a sophomore Social Problems course at Anderson College, was able to give new meaning to the course through teaching for attitudes. The course was structured so that the student was faced with reading experiences calculated to force him to react emotionally. "When it is successful, the emotion sears a deep and permanent scar on his attitudinal tissue."28 For example, the best way for a student to understand what alcoholism is to its victim and his family is to become an alcoholic or to marry one. The direct—learning approach is 1 gig—pie... obviously not desirable, but Clear found that vicarious experience through literature was an effective and workable technique. Berthoff,29 Allen, Fitzpatrick and White30 have 27Morris Gall, "The History Teacher as a Reading and Literature Teacher," Education, Vol. 73 (May, 1953), pp. 561—563. \ 28Val Clear, "New Approach to Social Problems," Improving College University Teaching, Vol. 14 (Spring 1966), pp. 93—94. 29Warner Berthoof, "Study of Literature and the Recovery Of the Historical," College English, Vol. 28 (April 1967), PP! 447+486. 3°Rodney F. Allen, "Using Speeches to Enrich History Instruction," pp. 371—376; and Rodney F. Allen and Joseph L, Fitzpatrick, "Using Poetry to Vitalize History," pp. 376—381; T. M. White, "Unifying the Study of American History and Lit- erature," pp. 391-394; in Martin Feldman and Eli Seifman, eds., The Social Studies Structure, Models and Strategies (Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1969). n‘ desc enri abur from effz 31 described their use of literature, speeches and poetry to enrich, revitalize and recover the historical. Research into reading comprehension has resulted in abundant evidence that children and adults do get meanings from printed symbols. Investigations have explored the effects these meanings gleaned through reading have in changing thinking, attitudes and behavior. Teachers planning ' to use literature to enrich the classroom experience will be interested in the probable or potential effects of a work of literature on a reader or readers. The following research is cited as illustrating the potential. In a case study using autobiographical statements from written documents and recorded interviews, Katherine Lind made an exploratory study of what effects reading in child— hood has on the development of personality. Mature adults, most of them students in social science, were selected on the basis of insight into their own experience, for their ability to reconstruct the past with a fair degree of accuracy and for their interest in the purpose of the study. A careful study of the cases indicated that the many variations of experience could be classified into: (1) reading as escape—— individuals in this group shunned society and lived in a world of their own, defined by reading; (2) reading as temporary diversion—-readers in this group did not actually participate and no changes in thinking and attitudes were recorded; (3) reading in relation to objective interests——reading was L‘- L 1 32 instrumental and served to answer questions and to enhance enthusiasms; (4) reading as an organizing influence on person- ality—-here reading helped define roles, clarify conceptions of the self and related to personal problems. Reading, particularly in the latter group, resulted in changes in atti- tudes and habits. The subjects made conscious efforts to obtain through literature a better definition of the meaning of life and a better personal and social integration. The person in conflict would seek through literature some solution to his problem. By more or less unconscious identification with char- acters in those respects where similarities were evident he obtained clues to action and came to redefine his role. He projected himself into the story, took the r61e, and experienced a transformation in his conception of himself~-retaining, however, his orientation in his group, his new conceptions and attributes having refer— ence to his own concrete experiences. He redefined his relations to other people.3 Nila Smith asked teachers of grades_four through eight in five schools located in different geographical settings to gather some personal reSponse type data on possible effects of reading. The students were asked to write about any book, story or poem which they had read and which had changed their thinking or attitudes in anyway. An analysis of the 502 responses revealed that in 61 per cent of the cases attitudes changed as a result of reading. About 10 per cent indicated changes in behavior. Nearly one-third of the students revised their thinking as a result of information which corrected and 31Katharine Lind, "Social Psychology of Children‘s Reading," American Journal of Sociology, Vol. 41 (January, 1936), pp. 454—469, pp. 461-462. The gm IaC' 33 cflarified concepts or which helped them form new concepts. Itcontent analysis of the selections mentioned indicated that nest of the changes in attitudes and behavior were related to people and animals and concerned every-day benevolences. The children also indicated changes relating to other ethnic groups, work and vocations and patriotism. An interesting fact revealed by this study was that, with one exception, no two children in any room mentioned the same book as one which had changed their thinking or attitudes. This would seem to indicate that reading values are personal and indi— vidual; not all books affect all individuals in the same way.32 Fehl Shirley used a questionnaire to collect data re— lating to changes in concepts, attitudes or behaviors as reported in the responses of 420 high school students. Addi— tional interviews and case studies, including intrOSpective and retrospective reports were conducted with high and low ability readers and students whose questionnaire responses Showed extreme patterns of high and low influence. The aim of the approach was to obtain self—observations of internal be- havior by asking subjects to relate specifically how books, Poems or articles affected their attitude or tendancy to act in a certain way, their ideas or their behavior. A content analysis of introspective and retrospective responses revealed 32Nila B. Smith, "Some Effects of Reading on Children," Elementary English, Vol. 25 (May, 1948), pp. 271-278. that imag sens 34 that students were influenced in the basic areas of self— image, philosophy of life, cultural groups, social problems, sensitivity to people and political science. Only 16 of the 420 students reported no personal influence from reading. Of the 1184 influences re— ported, 45 per cent were concepts, 40 per cent were attitudes, and 15 per cent were behavioral responses.33 The number of influences of reading on student concepts, be— havior and attitudes were related to intelligence, reading proficiency, number of books and articles read and situations in which the reading was done. Students tended to report higher numbers of influences from voluntary than assigned reading. A significant series of studies reported by Waples, Berelson and Bradshaw has provided a useful analysis of the types of social effects which reading may produce. These studies distinguish five broad categories of social effects often accompanied by changes in knowledge, attitudes and behavior. These effects may be: (1) Instrumental——the reader utilizes the information he finds in literature to assist in the solution of a wide range of problems. (2) Self-esteem or prestige——the reader identifies with a particular reference group, thereby increasing self-esteem. (3) Reinforcement——the' reader seeks endorsement or reinforcement or a more satisfac— tory statement of his personal views. He may be confirmed in E— 33Fehl L. Shirley, "The Influence of Reading on Concepts, Attitudes, and Behavior," Journal of Reading, Vol. 12 (Fall, 1969), P. 411. S m w 0 m N“ p 5 C 1n! 1 0 m. r. n 1 a i S 0 a p 0 I :‘-x - L‘ his present beliefs or a subordinate attitude may become a dominant one in guiding the individual's behavior. Changes may range all the way from a minor alteration of attitude to a sweeping change in sympathies, knowledge and behavior. The greater changes can seldom be ascribed to a single read— ing experience. (4) Enriched aesthic experience-~the reader appreciates the qualities which produce beauty in literature. (5) ResEite——psychologically, the reader is distracted from somewhat habitual anxieties. Sociologically, the violence of assaults upon the existing social structures is reduced by cooling the discontent of underprivileged groups. Some psychiatric workers testify that their clients relieve some of their anxieties by reading. The effect of this kind of reading, reading for fun, seems to be confined to the reader himself and seldom involves attitude or behavioral change.3“ Developing wholesome attitudes toward other ethnic groups is a concern which is uppermost in the mind of educators today. Using two groups of junior high students, matched with respect to sex, intelligence, chronological age and socio—economic status, Evalene Jackson studied the effects of reading fiction upon attitudes toward the Negro. He reported that reading fiction which presents the Negro as a normal human being does —___ 31+Wapels, Berelson, Bradshaw, What Reading Does to P. eOEle, pp. 114—125. hav r_—___ 36 have a measurable effect upon attitudes towards them.35 Margaret Lorimer's study of the responses of two groups of college freshmen to selected pieces of literature indi' cated consciousness, on the part of these students, of their prejudices. They gained some insight into the reasons for their prejudice and were somewhat aware of changes taking place within themselves. The study also indicated that value-orientated teaching, involving skillfully planned vicarious experiences, group exchange of views about values and encouragement of independent judgment, would help stuw dents re—examine their values and alter their attitudes.36 In an experiment designed primarily to determine the effect of a supplementary reading program on high school seniors' ideas about scientists, Tartara found that reading selected novels about the scientist changed studentsi ideas concerning the scientist in a more positive direction.37 Estimating the potential effects of literature on adolescents, Charles Calitri examined a number of issues —.— 35Evalene P. Jackson, "Effects of Reading Upon Attitudes Towards the Negro Race," Library Quarterly, Vol. 14 (January, 1944), pp. 47-54. 36Margaret Frances Lorimer, "A Comparison of Responses Made to Selected Pieces of Literature by High Scorers and Low Scorers on the Inventory of Beliefs" (unpublished Ph.D. Dis— sertation, Michigan State University, 1959). . 37Walter T. Tatara, "Effects of Novels on Ideas About the Solentist," Journal of Educational Research, LVIII (September, 1954), pp. 3-9. L__— I 37 related to the use of literary works in the classroom which present pictures of individuals who act or live beyond the bounds of a moral code held by society. He found that many individual students personally know the extremes of goodness and badness which exist in the world and proposes that the literature in the classroom should represent these extremes as well as a continuum of values in between. Calitri sug- gests that to the extent that literature represents this broad range of human experience it is valuable as a medium of ex— ploration for today's students.38 Research to date has generally failed to interrelate the several important types of evidence concerning the personal effects of reading. Waples, Berelson and Bradshaw maintain that the reading effects can be understood only when the evidence covers at least the nature of the publication, the nature of the reader, the reader's responses to the reading, the contemporary social context and the purpose for reading.33 Most research tends to hypothesize and examine the effects of a single factor. The general conclusions seem to suggest that many of the effects are often personal and original and that the same passage may produce differing effects on the same student at differing times and also differing affects on 38Charles Calitri, "Macbeth and the Reluctant Reader,“ English Journal, Vol. 48 (May, 1959), pp. 254—26l. 39Waples, Berelson, Bradshaw, What Reading Does to People. dif whi the mat 38 different students. David Russell cited four variables for which the researcher must account: the form of the materials, the content of ideas, the reader himself, the setting and matrix in which overt responses are made.“0 There is a need for more detailed knowledge of the in— teraction between person and passage as well as research dealing with the following problems: What is the effect of reading literature on an individual's deeper layers of feel— ing and behavior? What are the cumulative effects of certain kinds of literature on a child's emotional involvement? How do experiences gained from reading literature enter the realm of real experience? What are the effects of reading the same piece of literature on different persons? What are the effects of different literary materials on the same person at a particular time and at varying stages of his psychological and physical development? The impact of reading is related to constellations of factors in literature, in people and in the setting in which reading is done. Impact is the result of numerous inter— acting variables: the nature of the message, the structure of the situation, the reader's previous experiences and expec~ tations and his personality and value system. The process of effect is highly complex and not easily predictable. Waples, Berelson and Bradshaw, in their review of evidence on the —‘ “oDavid H. Russell, "Some Research on the Impact of Reading," English Journal, Vol. 47 (October, 1958), pp. 409_ 410' Y SOCI The 39 social effects of reading say that: The publication combines several distinguishable factors: the author's predispositions, the subjects discussed, the statements made, the simplicity or complexity of the idiom, the author's many psycho— logical traits which give the work its individuality, the author's intent, and the 'slanting'. The predisposition factor includes the following elements: . . . the reader's sympathies with the various groups in which he is placed by sex, age, income, education, occupation, and other traits—~sympathies which combine to sway the readers toward or away from the direction in which the publication is slanted. The reader's motive for reading or the satisfaction he expects the particular publication to furnish; his present beliefs, loyalties, opinions, prejudices, and other attitudes regarding the subjects read about, which may strengthen or weaken or completely reverse the flow of influence intended by the author; and the emotional and physical conditions in which the reading is done. Such condi— tions may affect the quality of attention the publica— tion receives and hence the number and character of pre— dispositions called into play.”1 More recent studies which focus on the influence of person— ality predispositions corroborate these findings. These have been summarized by David H. Russell.1+2 James R. Squire indicates six sources of difficulty which appear to explain why many adolescents misinterpret and dis- tort literature. . . . they fail to grasp the essential meanings in a story because they either misread or make incorrect inferences; they avoid fresh and original interpreta— tions by relying on stock responses; they are “happiness bound" and sometimes give free rein to sentimental #IWaples, Berelson and Bradshaw, What Reading Does to PeoEle, pp. 7—8. ”ZDavid H. Russell, "Some Research on the Impact of Reading," pp. 398-413. Shh pri emotions in interpreting behavior; they judge stories in terms of superficial critical preconceptions; they are distracted and sometimes bewildered by misleading and irrelevant associations; they are unwilling to withhold judgment and sometimes formulate exact ex~ planations of ambiguous behavior even when they have to supply much of the evidence from the.ir own imaginations. Students working with Neal Cross comparing reactions written prior to group discussion with group consenses of the liter~ ary meaning discovered that they frequently fail to get cor_ rect meanings or got only half—meanings from literature because of their background or lack of it. The experiment indicated four types of misunderstanding which Cross feels are unrecognized, or only partly recognized by teachers of liter~ ature: the influence of family and home life, the influence of a previous experience, confusion in the meaning of words, and inattention because of the belief in the truth of the printed word. His conclusion is that experience and insight come only with the full understanding of literature and that methods of presentation which do not take the distorting ine fluence of previous experience into consideration must fail to achieve or only half achieve the goal.M These findings indicate that the comprehension and critical interpretation of what is read are definitely L“’James R. Squire, "The Responses of Adolescents to Literature Involving Selected Experiences of Personal Develop— ment"(unpublished Ph. D. dissertation, University of California, 1956), p. 252. “”Neal M. Cross, "The Background for Misunderstanding," The English Journal, Vol. 29 (May 1940), pp. 336-370. 'of view. influenced by the background and experience of the reader, his predispositions and, in a sense, his emotional status and motives. They also imply the need for guidance in inter— preting and evaluating reading materials. There are times when students need assistance in acquiring competence in draw— ing rational and accurate conclusions, in achieving a broadened Viewpoint and in learning to read critically materials which either reinforce or contradict previously established points There is evidence that reading literature does effect change in knowledge, attitudes and behavior. It appears to stimulate and direct the reader's imaginative, intellectual and emotional activity. It sensitizes him to life and affects conceptions, judgments and abstracts aspects of experience. When a person seeks a solution to a problem, or when situa— tions which are presented to him are complex or in disagree- ment with his preconceptions, reading directs reflection and planning and enables the individual to reach conclusions in imagination. Literature affects attitudes when the reader is able to make personal identifications and sustain his new attitudes in some social setting. It has influence as it pertains to his interests and concerns, is in line with outgoing activi- ties and answers to some inner need. The socializing effects Of this reading are evidenced in increased objectivity and better integration of the reader in his world. He expands his 42 understanding and knowledge of people and situations and be- comes better able to participate effectively in social and civic life. Reading clarifies his problems, affords solutions to his difficulties and provides a more adequate conception of his role in society. Open—ended discussion, where students share relevant experiences and feelings in an atmosphere of friendly and ' self-confident interchange, help students clarify misconcep- tions and enhance and expand the effectiveness of the literary experience. III MODERN LITERATURE AND LEGEND RELATED TO PRE-COLONIAL AND COLONIAL HISTORY AND SOCIETY The trend of opinion among historians as well as among literary critics is that historical fiction does contribute materially to the reader's insight into past times. The achievements most generally claimed for historical fiction are that it (1) lends atmOSphere, (2) shows more vividly and intimately the bearings of past conditions upon the people, (3) enables the reader to enter imaginatively into the ex— periences of past times and (4) stimulates an interest in historical study. The weaknesses and limitations most common- ly pointed out are (l) the inadequacy of the sources from which reconstructions are built, (2) the distortion and false color caused by interpreting the past from the point of View of the writer's own time, (3) the bias of a limited point of view or purpose and (4) the necessity for meeting the demands of a well-rounded plot even though historical data are lack- ing. It is recognized as well that all but the last three weaknesses exist in varying degrees in historical works them- selves. 43 44 The literary selections discussed in this chapter are divided into two periods: those related to pre-colonial history and the African societies depicted and those related to the early period of colonization. Works belonging to the prewcolonial period are taken from historical fiction, epics and legend recorded by writers of modern African literature. Included as historical fiction are Doguicimi by Paul Hazoumé, Crépescule des temps anciens by Nazi Boni and Le roi miraculé by Mongo Beti.1 Chaka, une épopée bantoue by Thomas Mofolo and Soundjata ou l'épopée mandigue by Djibril Tamsir Niane are epics. Legends utilized are La légende de M'Pfoumou Ma Mazono by Jean Malonga, Grandes eaux noires by Ibraham Issa as well as tribal legacies from oral literature recorded by Joseph Brahim Seid, Bernard Dadié, Tchicaya U Tam‘si, Maximilien Quenum, Ousman Socé and Sembene Ousmane. Selections linked with the early period of colonization include an autobiography, a collection of memoires and three plays. Cheik Ndao, Jean Pliya and Amdou Cisse Dia have Contributed drama: L'exil d'Albouri, Kondo le Requin and Les derniers jours de Lat Dior. La savane rouge by Fily Dabo Sissoko is an interesting collection of historical fact and memoires. The autobiography is that of Jean lkellé—Matiba, Cette Afrique—la! Admittedly the number of selections is not great due to the fact that the African contribution to —__§___'________—_ . 1Mongo Beti also writes under the name of Eza Boto. His real name is Alexandre Biyidi. 45 recorded literature as opposed to oral literature is of such recent origin. Literature related to pre—colonial history and society In Crépescule des temps anciens Nazi Boni's ancestor an old chief, narrates the history of the Bwan people con_ centrating on the period of some three hundred years before the Benin uprising against the British in 1915;} The people who became part of the Benin dynasty belonged originally to the great Edo peoples and numerous satellite tribes. Nazi Boni links the history of his people with that of Benin and says that their ancestor came from the south, the area of Benin. The Bwan oppose the influence of Islam and fight off invasions from the Hausa. Slave trading leads to endless wars between the tribes made in order to capture prisoners that the chiefs can then exchange for merchandise. Superstition holds the people in its grip and engenders cruel practices such as the slaying of twins, social rejection of their mothers and the burning of houses where twins have been born. The people maintain an unshakable faith in their "Ju-Ju" fetiche to whom countless human sacrifices are made. In 1888 Captain Binger appears in Bwan to hand the chief a treaty. The people resist under the leadership of Oba Ovonramven, ‘— 2For details of the history on which Nazi Boni has based his novel see "La résistance du Benin 5 la conquéte Britan— nique" by Nazi Boni, Afrique, No. 45 (avril l965), pp. 59-64. T———’ 46 emperor of the Benin dynasty from 1888 to 1897 when English troops defeated him and took control of the territory sending him into exile in Calabar where he later died. The history then shifts to the heroic uprising of 1915 and the Bwan people's futile attempt to regain their freedom. Nazi Boni reconstructs the feudalistic traditions of these people, traditions founded upon the religious power of the king, the magical powers of the local chiefs of the land, the ancestors, the deviners, the fetishers and the sorcerers. The king rules with the assistance of an impressive court; his power is absolute and, as religious head of the kingdom, he directs all the affairs of state. The kingdom is made up of settlements, each under the leadership of a chief who pledges protection for the settlements. These villages form the units of local government. Within the village the male population is organized into age groups, usually three in number, which represent the fundamental pattern of authority. In their kinship and lineage organization there is a marked patrilineal bias and an emphasis on primogeniture. Rivalry between two of the age groups, the juniors and the seniors is evoked in a picturesque way by the Voltaic novelist. Contending that the seniors have monopolized leadership reSponsibilities for ten years without initiating new members into their group, the juniors organize under the leadership of Terhé, their hero, and force the elders to recognize their right to initiation into the cult of D6. 47 Within this framework Nazi Boni describes methods of cultiva— tion, festivities and regulations for wrestling matches, preparations and procedures for the dry season hunt, chal— lenges of speed and endurance on long journeys, war dances and warrior conduct in which the juniors prove themselves superior to their seniors in physical strength and endurance. Newly chosen initiates must now submit to tests of moral courage after which they enter into the blood pact that seals their initiation into the fraternity of elders. The author also introduces his readers into the realm of witchcraft when Lowan, the old sorcerer, unleashes his jealous hatred on Terhé who has displaced his son Kya as the hero of the younger generation. The two young men provide an interesting contrast between the ideal warrior-hero and the self—made man who earns considerable fame and rec0gnition for his exploits. In Doguicimi, Paul Hazoumé recreates the Dahomey of the early nineteenth century.3 The Dahomeans are a non—Moslem West African people that migrated with the Yoruba, whose vassels they were, across the Niger River to settle just in— land from the Guinea Coast. From their captors they learned administrative techniques, cosmological patterns and tool and *— 3Paul Hazoumé in his preface to Doguicimi indicates that he associated with his people for twenty-five years before writing his novel, extracting every scrape of information he could from them and consulting all the written records he could lay hands on. F___7 48 arms manufacture. Doguicimi relates the struggle of these two people under the reign of Ghezo, King of Abomey (Dahomey) about 1830. Ghezo succeeds in widely extending the boundaries of his kingdom, capturing his way to the coast, freeing Dahomey from the tributary yoke of the Yoruba and monopolizing the slave trade in the area. The story begins on an average day in Dahomey just before sunrise. The official griot is making the rounds of the city whose walls stand four cubits high stopping before the gates, each of which represents a former ruler, to render an oral history of his accomplishments and to sing his praises. Thus the reader is given a complete review of the history of these people as preserved from gen~ eration to generation by the griots or family historians and praise singers. He also gains a picture of the palace and the royal city. The novel presents an authentic View of life in a traditional African slaving kingdom, depicting the personal loyalty and heroism of the Fon people amidst the excesses of that era. Both the customs of the people and the conflicts within society as well as with neighboring enemies are c1ear~ ly described. The society is a collective one, an organic Whole where each fulfills a role that insures the welfare of the group. Society revolves around an absolute monarch, immutable rites and stern, swift justice often reinforced by social pressure. Even-the king confides to his son that, despite the fear that his reign instills, his freedom to 49 change some practice is often restricted by social forces. Jean Ikellé-Matiba refers to this collectivity when in compar— ing traditional African society with that of Europe he says that in African society everything depends on the whole; everything must be considered in its global context. From the moment that a link is removed, the chain remains broken."+ The king, his prime minister—chief executioner, each member of his council, the griots, the warriors, the princesses, attendants in the royal court, the diviners, religious leaders and ancestors, the various groups of citizens and slaves are all locked into a social situation where roles are specified and not interchangeable. Most of the people accept this situation without com— plaint. Doguicimi's attitude about her role as wife explains the general outlook of the people. She tells her husband that as his property, she is ready to do his every bidding and to submit to his punishments in order to fulfill his every wish. The same submissive attitude is demonstrated by the victims of human sacrifices and the warriors who are sent to battle: ". . . the Dahomean is a simple reproducer for the royal household.“5 Doguicimi appears at times to resist the forces of the group as she criticizes the king or refuses to “Jean Ikellé—Matiba, Cette Afrique—lal (Paris, Presence Africaine, 1963), chapter II. 5Paul Hazoumé, Doguicimi (PariS= Larose, 1938), p. 131. 50 submit passively to the judgment of jealous peers. But in the end, upon hearing of her husband's death, she accepts the destiny that is hers as a Dahomean princess and is buried in his tomb. Daily routine in the kingdom is the setting as the story opens. The griot repeats his official laudatory history each nmrning. If he forgets any part of it he will be executed. Fortunately, this griot survives and the day breaks with the usual sacrifices of a slave to the king's ancestors in grati- tude for a safe night. The prime minister-chief executioner tests the soil around the head of the victim and reports to the king that it will be a good day. This is followed by the king's ritualistic appearance which assures his peOple that all is well. The king then meets with his council. The occasions on which the council sits to plan war or judge court cases offer insights into official court relationships and protocol. V A customary festival is relived repleat with details Of royal pomp and parades, investiture ceremonies for a new member of the court, the wedding of one of the king's daughter's and human sacrifices demanded by the gods, feasting and dancing. Preparations for the occasion include sending invitations to surrounding Villages, ritually killing a slave at the grave of each ruler as messengers to the ancestors, presenting specified offerings of animals and food to the gods to insure a happy peaceful festival. As a precautionary 51 measure, however, guards are sent to patrol the borders of the kingdom. Court protocol is carefully followed from the time Ghezo announces his arrival until he returns to his palace each day. The reader gets a glimpse into the more intimate personal relationships and court customs within the palace complex before the festivities begin and again after the holiday when the king takes his bath. The next day gifts, inoluding wives, are distributed to deserving warriors in court ceremony. Toffa's funeral discloses burial customs among the Dahomeans. Divination and ancestor worship form an integral part of tribal activities. Doguicimi divulges an intriguing combination of faith in and skepticism about the efficacy of certain practices, The divination ritual is demonstrated and openly abused by jealous factions seeking revenge. Doguicimi"s seance with her husband's oracle is described in detail. The predictions cf deviners are weighed against council from the ancestors. Sacrifices and offerings demanded by oracles and ancestors alike are ritually fulfilled in the hopes that both groups will be of the same opinion. When there is no agreement, the people must decide upon the direction of their action. The process is a cyclic one of divination, religious ritual and decision making based on the predictions and advice- given. Intrigue is the order of the day when sorcerers are pitted against enemy sorcerers on an espionage mission that King Ghezo organizes. 52 Dahomey's extravagent practices in human sacrifice won for them a reputation of barbary. Paul Hazoumé displays the outragious behavior with realistic actuality. A slave is slain each morning as a thank offering for safety during the night. Slaves are killed as messengers to the ancestors. On specified occasions one or more of their own must be sacrificed. Thus a boy selected by the deviner is ritually killed before the reader's eyes. The immolation is meant to appease the gods offended when decision was made to go to war against the predictions of the oracles. Ghezo administers the slave trade for his kingdom and deals directly with the Bortuguese who come to his court periodically to do business. The court people make interest- ing observations and comparisons of European and African manners, customs and values. EurOpeans are present at all the activities during the customary festival and complete their slave trading before they leave. When Europe decides to end the slave trade, representatives ask Ghezo to go along with them. They also urge the king to renounce the practice Of immolation. In responding to their request, Ghezo uses human sacrifice, a religious custom, as a gesture of political defiance. Servants appear in the midst of the feast, given in honor of the overseas guests, bearing the heads of the attractive girls who have just served them and the Prime Minister-Chief Executioner Speaks for the King: Slave trading was your idea in the first place; to abandon it now would ruin us. Human sacrifice is a _...__.__ _ ____ _.__._,___— 53 sign of respect to our ancestors; to abandon it would be blasphemous. We have sent these young girls as ambassadors to our ancestors to tell them of your propositions. If they are agreeable they will return our emissaries and we will do as they suggest.6 "Le Voltaique"7 by Sembene Ousmane evoques the slave trading during the seventeenth century when villagers along the west coast of Africa lived in constant fear of slavers. Chaka, une épopée bantouea by Thomas Mofolo contains both history and legend surrounding the heroic leader of the Zulu people and the expansion of the Zulu Empire. Born in 1787 and murdered by his half—brothers, Dingane and Mhlangana, in 1828 when he was but forty-one, his accomplishments were extraordinary. He began his life as a herd-boy in E—Langeni land. At the age of sixteen he went to live among the Mtetwa people, about one hundred miles north of the modern city of Durban. In 1809 the famous Dingiswayo became chief of the Mtetwas and Chaka, twenty—two at the time, entered his army. He proved to be a brave and clever soldier and quickly rose to the highest positions in the land. In 1816 he became chief 61bid., p. 377. 7Sembene Ousmane, "Le Voltaique," Voltaique (Paris: Presence Africaine, 1962), pp. 179-204. 8Thomas Mofolo, Chaka. It was originally written in SOtho. Translated into English by F. H. Dutton (London: Oxford University Press, 1931), reprinted in 1967. Translated into French by V. Ellenberger (Paris: Gallimard, 1940). of the Zulus whose land at this time covered only one hundred square miles. Under Chaka's leadership the territory was extended to cover 7,000 square miles and before his death he ruled over 200,000 square miles, a territory larger than Europe. He built the army from five hundred men to 50,000 of the most efficient soldiers equipped with modern weapons and new methods of fighting which were far in advance of anything known in southern Africa at that time. He established a stronger and better government than they had ever had. Two paramount chiefs are compared. Chaka's career is an example of the results of rule by force, deliberately adopted and consistently followed. Dingiswayo is a direct contrast, gentle, humane, with a strong sense of justice and common good, even though in battle he was as whole—heartedly a fight” ing man as Chaka. But Chaka was no more cruel than his con- temporaries. His attitude toward punishment by death was in terms of a code recognized and accepted by his people. It seems clear that Chaka enjoyed immense popularity among his people and many tribes asked of their own accord to be in— corporated into the Zulu nation. It was after his mother, Nandi‘s death in October of 1827 that Chaka's grief made him lose his head and indulge in the most appalling homicidal excesses which turned his people against him and ended in his assassination in September 1828. LSometime 1J1 his career, Chaka had received a small group of white men at his court. He showed them great friendship w&I_-- , ,_, ~_~w 55 and their respect for each other was mutual. Through them he heard of the colonial occupation of the Cape and his later campaigns in the south brought him into further contact with the white colonizer. Perhaps it was a premonition of their intentions that prompted the prophecy he makes as he is dying that his successors would not be able to keep the Zulu nation together and prevent the white man's advance. The role of the supernatural in contributing to a lead— er's-power and success is very evident in Chaka. Chaka's right to the throne is contested when the chief's legitimate wives finally bear sons. Now as an illegitimate child he is persecuted and gradually excluded from the tribe by his jealous half-brothers and their mothers. But the chief's original decision that Chaka is to be his heir is not to be revoked. His motherfis witchdoctor has already promised him a great and glorious future and he has met the Great Spirit of the water who has repeated the promise. As he wanders in the wilderness he meets the man who is to help him achieve his goal, Isanusi, the most powerful of witchdoctors and prophets, comes to dominate and control every move and every decision that Chaka makes. Soundjata ou l'épopée-mandingue is the oral history of the establishment of the Mali Empire as told by the griot, Djeli Mamadou Kouyaté and recorded by Djibril Tamsir 56 Niane.9 The history of West Africa dates back to when the rich coastal cities of North Africa had contact with West Africa via trans-Saharan trade routes as early as the third century A.D. The towns of the middle Niger acted as inter— mediaries in the north-south trade.‘ By the seventh century the first great western Sudanic empire, Ghana, had come into existence and effectively controlled the movement of trade goods over a wide area. Islam, which followed the traders, became strongly entrenched in the Sudan and was tolerated by the Ghanaian emperor. But in the eleventh century puritanical Moslems, the Almoravids, destroyed the power of Ghana. 2 Taking advantage of the destruction of Kumbi, the capital, and the decline of Ghanaian power, kingdoms controlled by the empire began to break away and establish self-rule. Soumaorc Kante, best known of the now independent kings, eventually dominated nine kingdoms and established the empire of Sossa, second great empire in the area. Niane's epic is the record of one of these nine kingdoms, that of the Mande, which resisted Sossa domination the long- est, but was finally subdued and the royal family, except for Soundjata Keita, his mother and sister, destroyed. 9Readers who are interested in the historical documenta- tion should check Robert Pageard's "Soundiata Keita et la Tradition Orale: A propos du livre de Djibril Tamsir Niane: Soundjata ou l"Epopée Mandingue," Presence Africaine, n.s. No. 36 (premier trimestré, 1961), pp. 51-70. Pageard reviews the historical documentation and includes a bibliography for further reference. 57 The threesome, along with the family griot, flee the wrath of a jealous first wife who usurps the throne for her son. The refugees go to the Fouta Djallon from where the fearful King Kamara sends them to Ghana. Here under Moussé Tounkara's instruction Soundjata becomes a great warrior and leader. A search party brings news of defeat and of his brother's death and asks him to deliver the Mande from the power of the Sossa King. Soundiata wrests territorial supremacy from the sorcerer king around 1230 A.D. He then calls together the twelve kings of the savannah, restores their ancient terri— torial rights and establishes the empire of Mali, third great empire in West Africa. As a feudal potentate Soundjata presumes upon the loyalty of allied chiefs and his military might to maintain his federated empire. A century later the empire is further consolidated and extended over a much larger territory. Myth and legend form an integral part of the history of Soundjata. The tribal forger—diviner prophesies the king's marriage to an ugly hunchback, his second wife, who will bear the heir to the throne. Soundjata is born a slow, difficult and crippled child; at the age of seven he still cannot walk. The king deSpairs but the forger—diviner is reassuring and reminds him that the growth of a seed once germinated may not be easy; great trees grow slowly, but they sink their roots deep into the ground. Respecting these predictions, the king makes Soundjata his heir and appoints his griot, Bella Fasséké, 58 to be his SOn's groit. One day after his father's death, Soundjata suddenly becomes aware of his mother's humiliation and decides to walk. Calling for an iron rod from the forger—diviner's shop, he pulls himself up, bending the rod into a perfect hunter's bow while his ever present griot chants his praises. He becomes the great warrior-leader that the prophet foresaw before his birth. Soundjata and his major enemy, Soumaoro Kante, are each protected by personal genii. Before Soundjata can hope to defeat Soumaoro, he has to discover the secret of his power to disappear at every critical moment. After several dis~ couraging battles, Soundjata decides to send his sister to charm Soumaoro and discover his secret. Soumaoro falls into the trap letting Nana Triban escape with the weapon that can kill him, an arrow made with a white cook's spur. Thus, Soumaoro, unable to control either his passions or his tongue, gives away the secret that leads to his own destruction, a lesson in political intrigue and prudence as well as a lesson in history and the relationship of natural to supernatural forces. While legends often may not be factually accurate or complete, some follow historical documentation more closely than others, they do lend atmosphere and understanding of the PGOples and the situations in which they are interacting. In Légendes africaines, Tchicaya U Tam'si has recorded a series Of legends from oral literature which relate the origins of man, his civilization and early history in Africa. He begins with man's creation, his discovery of women and fire. Then he depicts man's activities as a hunter, his discovery of tools and the development of his more agrarian instincts. As the population grows, man developes cities and empires and political institutions for governing himself and discovers the problems of living peacefully with peoples of differing origins. The author has not limited his choices to one geographical area but has brought the best from Sub—Saharan African culture together to illustrate the history and heritw age of all the peoples. Several legends are linked with the history of West African kingdoms and empires. "La légende de Ghana"10 recorded by Ousmane Socé describes the conflict between man and his gods which led to the dOanall of the Ghananian Empire. The legend of Ghana is the legend of the serpent Wagadou, totem for this cradle of African civilization, which Amadou Séfédokoté dares to kill. This disaster brings on a drought which lasts seven years, seven months and seven days and destroys the kingdom. Another legend, Grandes eaux noires by Ibrahim Issa, is based on the history of the Garamantes who lived in the region of Air. The story evokes the first contacts of these peoples with Europeans and the establishment Of trade routes across the Sahara. Some customs are compared 1°Ousmane Socé, Contes et légendes d"Afrique noire (Paris: Nouvelles Editions Latines, 1962), pp. 33—42. 60 when representatives of the two groups go hunting together. The author also illustrates how mutual lack of understanding leads to mistrust and conflict. The legend of "Ham Bodédio"ll is related to the history of the Moroccan invasion and occu- pation of the kingdom of Massina in the seventeenth century and describes the local reaction to the invaders. "La légende de Maissa Tenda Oueddj"12 depicts the rivalry and wars between Maissa Tenda, paramount chief of the Cayor and Baol Kingdoms, and Chief M'Boye Cissé of Nones. This legend also character_ izes the traditional rituals and dances as well as the roll of the diviners in preparations for war. The Moslem conquest of West Africa is retold in “Tara: la légende d'El Hadji Omar."13 The events in the legend cor» respond to the historical events. History, however, credits victories to Omar's military foresight and abilities while the legend brings in his faith in intervening supernatural forces. "La légende des Baoules“1” dramatizes the conflict, common to many parts of Africa, between agrarian and nomadic peoples. The religious practice of immolation is described when Queen Abra—Poko, forced with her people to flee the ”£1039, pp. 43—45. 1231951., pp. 93-105. l3;b_ia., pp. 57-81. 1”Maximilien Quenum, Trois légendes africaines (Paris: Larose, 1946). This legend 18 also recorded by Bernard B. Dadié in Légendes et poemes (Paris: Seghers, 1966). 61 nomads, is called upon to sacrifice the heir to the throne in order to secure the help of supernatural forces in crossing "15 records the flooded Comoe river. "La légende du Roi Dan the mythical origins of the Kingdom of Dahomey. According to history the King of Allada had three sons. One became ruler among the Yoruba and the other two sons left Yoruba territory to establish kingdoms in the west: one established the Kingdom of Porto—Novo, the other, the Kingdom of Dahomey. This legend relates the history of the establishment of the Kingdom of Dahomey under Ako-Daka Dogbaghan. Enlisting the help of his wives he penetrates the kingdom of Awessou and kills their king. Then he proceeds to displace King Dan in popularity among his people and has him destroyed. Joseph Brahim Seid in Au Tchad sous les étoiles has recorded several legends linked with the origins and history of his people in the area of Lake Tchad. "Le Tchad, pays d'abondance, de bonheur et d'amour" describes the mythical origina of Kotoko. As the family grows "Djingue ou la sagaie de famille" relates how twelve brothers, taking the assagai dedicated to their ancestor, migrate to the south and east where they establish the empire of Baguirmi between Lake Fittri and the Charie River. Thus, all the people in the southern part of Tchad are related to the same ancestor. The legend of “Le royaume de Ouadai" tells the story of the Moslem _* 15Ibid. es...__~ 62 conquest of Tchad and the establishment of the empire of Kanen under the leadership of Abd-el—Kerim.16 The legend of "Le Sultan Saboun," seventh descendant of Abd—el-Kerim and ruler of the Empire of Kanen between 1785 and 1815, dramatizes the expansion of the empire, the development of the economy and the inauguration of trade routes between Tchad and Sudan, Libya and Egypt. La légende.de M‘Pfoumou.Ma Mazono acquaints readers with the mythical origins of Jean Malonga's village, N'Tsangou, in the area of the Kongo Kingdom. Established as a center of peace and justice, it grows into an Empire as M'Pfoumou Ma Mazono, their ancestor, forms marriage alliances with friendly groups and subdues those who continue to trade in slaves. The arrangement of marriage alliances in a matrilineal society are clearly illustrated in this legend. The tale is also interesting for its illustration of the union between man and nature and the belief that everything has force. Magic and power over the natural forces is shown to be based on intimate communion between man and nature. A chief's power over his people cannot be separated from his ability to control these forces, especially the occult ones in the universe. Repeated demonstrations of this power insure tranquility and security 16The history of Abd-el-Kerim and the legend are reported as well by Henri Carbou in La Région du Tchad et du Ouadai. (Paris: Ernest Larous, 19127, Tome 11; beginning with page 111. 63 for the peOple. If this power is in anyway diminished or superseded by that of another, the chief may loose his place of leadership. This happens when Ma Mazono competes with the chiefs of allied families to determine who will become the paramount chief of the new empire. Literature related to colonial history End'sociegy Two plays: Les derniers jourswde Lat Dior by Amadou Amadou Cissé Dia and L'exil d'Albouri by Cheik Ndao, are based on the history of Senegal and Gambia during the last half of the nineteenth century. Lat Dior in Les derniers jpurs de Lat Dior is king of Cayor and Baol, the territory lying between the Senegal River, Saint—Louis and Dakar; Albouri in L'exile d'Albouri is King of the Wolof peoples located south of Dakar. Lat Dior at some time in his life has been granted asylum among the Wolof and is considered to be 7 Albouri's wife is a Cayor princess.18 Albouri‘s uncle.1 Lat Dior dreams of a united Senegambia, an empire that would include the peoples of Senegal and Gambia under his leader- ship. The peoples of the two areas have always maintained very close relationships and are so intermarried that ancestry is traced back and forth among them. Perhaps other kings have 17Cheik A. Ndao, L'exil d‘Albouri (Paris: Pierre Jean Oswald, 1967), p. 29. 181bid., pp. 37-41. 64 dreamed the same dream under their leadership thus explaining some of the tribal conflicts. Both kings are faced with the problem of slave trade and the encroachment of French colonization. Neighboring kingdoms have already acquiesced. Lat Dior has signed slave trade agreements with the French governor, Faidherbe, at Saint—Louis. But he refuses to submit to French domination and has been successful in battle against French forces. He is currently opposing the construction of a railway between Dakar and Saint—Louis. Albouri also opposes colonization and refuses as well to sign slave trading contracts or other agreements with the governor. Lat Dior elects to oppose the French forces in battleo Demba War, one of the leading men in his empire, counsels him to join forces with the French and thus avoid complete destruction. But Lat Dior is a dreamer and wants no solution to the problem other than open combat. King Albouri realizes from the onset the impossibility of victory in battle against European firearms and takes his people into exile among the Bambara at Segou. His half—brother, Prince Laobé Penda, organizes the opposition that is defeated in battle. The areas of the Cayor, the Baol and the Wolof become part of the French colonial empire in West Africa. The two plays lend insight into the court life in feudal Systems, the political intrigue of the two kings and the role Of the griots in society. In L'exile d'Albouri, Cheik Ndao 65 also illustrates the conflict of two philosophies: the long- ing to enjoy the life of ease, on the one hand, and the need to struggle for national freedom, on the other. Kondo le Requin by Jean Pliya re—enacts the tragedy of King Béhanzin of Dahomey. The scenes are taken from the history of the Kingdom of Abomey between 1889 and 1894, the years when the French were colonizing the area. King Béhanzin is the grandson of Ghezo, reigning king in the historical novel Doguicimi. When the curtain rises in Kongo le Requin, Bayol and Béraud, representatives of the French President, Carnot, have been received by King Glélé, Kondo's father, and friendly relations established. Trade relations with France and other countries are prosperous and the agricultural economy is good. Slave trading has diminished, although human sacrifices are multiple eSpecially on ceremonial occasions. France wants to negotiate about this practice, but the time is not well chosen: King Glélé is near death. Bayol, more interested in imposing the will of France on the area than concerned about the king's health or the customs of the people, proceeds to stir up trouble between Toffa, King of Porto—Novo who has al- ready pledged loyalty to France, and his brother, King Glélé. When Kondo attacks and destroys several villages in Toffa's kingdom, Bayol confronts him with the threat that attacking the realm of Toffa is also an attack on France. Deviners and ancestors counsel against war, but the inevitable begins when f 5‘; .3: ...__..‘ :_..‘__'._.:_._..;_:_.L' 66 Bayol and the French forces take Cotonou and begin their advances upriver firing on the villages as they proceed. Jean Pliya recbnstructs the royal court in action, show- ing its political structure, the tactics and political manoeuvring of King Béhanzin and the effects of sudden turns of fortune on the whole. As king, Kondo, with the support of his court, insists that all friendships with Dahomey must begin with respect for its institutions and peoples. Jean Ikellé—Matiba's Cette Afrique—la! reviews the period of colonial occupation in the Camerouns as experienced by the author using the name Franz Mohma, hero of the story. Franz lived through both the German and the French occupations and finally sees independence restored to his country. During World War One he fought beside German troups in the Cameroun.13 His experience of the colonial process is recalled in inter— esting detail: violations of customs and traditions, imple— mentation of European education, religion and medicine as well as new diseases. Franz criticizes the colonial practice of conscription both for war and for labor gangs, the limitation of freedom on the part of the populations, the abuse of economic controls, bureaucracy, taxes and the penal system. Because many chiefs in traditional social systems refused local administratiVe 19Joseph Owono in Tanta Bella (Yaoundé: Librairie au Messager, 1959), discusses World War I in Cameroun as well. See Chapter 12. __ 4 ‘9 TVW" w 7"" 67 posts proffered them by the Europeans, these government agents were selected from among the lower social classes and the former slave populations. Corrupt and cruel, their atti— tude towards the local populations and their robot—like loyalty to the administration creates total disrespect among the people. The two colonial systems are compared. The German occu- pation is pictured as rigid, despotic, assimilatory and anxious to make Africans into black Germans. The French occu- pation appears to be more liberal and more respecting of traditions but underneath, anarchy is the rule of the day. Their policy of assimilation is revealed as false and deceiv~ ing. Franz does not hide his preference for the German occu- pation which though tougher was more honorable and, in the end, more humane. As Jean Ikellé—Matiba has demonstrated in Cette Afrique— _§i, the events of World War One affected Africa as well as Europe. The realities of the draft and the cruelities of the battle field are depicted by African writers. But the war also revealed the vulnerability of the colonial powers and indigenous aspirations for freedom manifest themselves in local rebellions. The uprising among the Benin and the Bwan against the British in 1915 has already been cited. Fily Dabo Sissoko in La savane rouge describes uprisings among the Tauregs of Upper Volta in 1905, 1915-1916 and 1917 which were subsequently repressed by French and allied African forces oPerating out of Timbuktu. 68 The author discusses what he considers to be some of the psychological and philosophical causes of the revolts. France does not understand the African and has made no attempt to understand nor to obtain his favor. Innovations are introduced without concern as to whether or not they would be practical. But, he adds, all the responsibility should not rest on the French alone. Certain sectors of the African population are also responsible. Teachers and the majority of the indigenous government agents have become quite literal» 1y “machines“ used for utilitarian purposes. African psy— chology has been completely ignored. The local African officials have abused customs and traditions thus creating an atmosphere of hate, intrigue and infamy. Respect has dis— appeared and with it individual dignity. "The fault lies with education and the administration that speaks as black but acts as white."20 The African intermediaries have become a plague in their own country. He accuses them of being re~ sponsible for the local revolts. Mongo Beti in Le roi miraculé, describes the demise in the 1940's of the Essazam, a tribe in Cameroon. The disinteu gration is a result of a general breakdown in tribal structures already weakened because the old King Essomba Mendouga is a staunch supporter of the European administration. He further allienates his people when, newly converted to catholicism, 20Filly Dabo Sissoko, La savane rouge (Paris: Les Presses Universelles, 1962), p. 125. 69 he decides to renounce polygamy. The different families rem lated to the wives he repudiates will not accept this situa— tion and trouble erupts. Although the European administrator persuades him to revoke his decision, the tribe never regains its unity. Mongo Beti satirizes the Catholic Church and obsolete tribal customs as well as French Colonialism. His criticism of colonial administration is that by maintaining too many of the ancient particulars of tribal life, it hinders the development of political consciousness among the people. Thus, African writers have made an interesting and in- sightful contribution to pre—colonial and early colonial history, particularly in West and Central Africa. They have preserved verbal images of feudalistic systems of government, political social and economic structures and activities that dominated the lives of peoples involved in these pre—colonial cultures. The historical experience as made possible through literature may render the factual situation more dynamic and meaningful. It may likewise lead to a clearer understanding of today's social and cultural conflicts that individuals as well as groups must face. IV MODERN LITERATURE AND RECORDED ORAL TRADITION CONCERNED WITH TRADITIONAL SOCIAL AND CULTURAL VALUES One outstanding characteristic of African writing is that these books have Africa as their background and they deal with one aspect or another of African life. Writers handle African situations authentically and concern them— selves with the feelings and aspirations of their people. Some writers return more to the past than others. These writers attempt to recreate the simplicity and romantic attraction of the traditional way of life. They underline its glory and grandeur, celebrate its achievements and display the richness of its cultural heritage. Others also criticize the past depicting its weaknesses, the problems and the conflicts present in that society. Eleven titles have been selected as examples of African writing that can enrich a student's understanding and dis- cussion of traditional life and its cultural and social values. Among them are Camara Laye's autobiography, L'enfant noir, Joseph Owono's biography of Tante Bella, a series of four short stories by Jacques Nzouankeu entitled Le souffle des ancetres and three collections of contes by 70 71 Birago Diop: Les contes demadou Koumba, Les nouveaux contes d'Amadou Koumba and Contes et lavanes. The remaining choices are novels by Chinua Achebe, David Ananou, Francis Bebey, Paul Lomami-Tshibamba and Olympe Bhély—Quénum: Le monde s'effondre,1 Le fils du fetiche, Le fils d'Agatha Moudio, Ngando and Un piége sans fin. Each selection will be discussed on the basis of content relating to government and law, family and kinship, economy and labor, religion and magic. As depicted by these writers, the traditional way of life is dominated by the rhythm of the seasons and daily tasks: the activities at day break, long hard hours in the fields, the return at sunset, the preparation of supper and the evenings around the fire. The neighborhood resounds with the pounding of manioc, the chatter of women and their quarreling at the source of water where they gather each morning. The warrior retains his prestige even within the more modern image of a veteran of foreign wars. Fertile fields are the pride of agricultural peOples and an abundant catch of fish means food and income to those in fishing villages. Blacksmiths may work with discarded chassis instead of metal extracted from ore but they still guard the secrets of their art and are respected in the community. . 1Chinua Albert Achebe, Things Fall Apart, Translated into French by Michel Ligny (Paris: Presence Africaine, 1966). 72 The oldest member of the group is the religious leader and represents the ancestors. These heads of family form councils that administer justice. The occult forces and the ancestors have controlling interest in the community. In his autobiography, L'enfant noir, Camara Laye records his childhood experiences and through them portrays traditions among his people, the Malinke, in upper Guinea. He also evokes a sense of the mystical union of the human and the spiritual and identifies love as a very important attribute of African life. Camara Laye demonstrates that Malinke society is based on a mystery which many of the people themselves only half understand. He describes how in his village there was no doubt in the people's minds that the four elements were inhabited by genii who had to be propitiated by prayers and sacrifices. He says that there were witches who could harm one and that there were special formulae for averting the ill effects of their charms and amulets to be used to ward them off. The society contained healers and deviners of hidden things. Everything had meaning: dreams, the cries of certain birds and even the radiance of the sun. Some happenings were associated with life or death, others with prosperity or woe. Magical and supernatural beliefs greatly influenced the way in which people led their lives. The author reveals how love pervades life and unites the people. The reader is impressed with the African's 73 love for his neighbor, tribe and country; his love of nature and mankind; his love for living men and departed relatives; his love for the heavens and for God. The mystical union of human and spiritual forces, insured through correct behavior, the observance of prescribed ritual, sacrifice and respect for the guiding spirits, is experienced through love. It was through that love that we remained within the mystery . . . for there is no mystery in the absence of beings and things, any more than the mystery can be clearly or intimately apprehended without at least a beginning of love for beings and things, without some kind of almost mystical union with them.2 Love denotes a sense of security, a sense of belonging and is enshrined in the family and the larger community. Laye writes vividly and tenderly of his family life; the different love he felt for his mother and his father. He also conveys the feelings of his parents towards each other. Paternal love, hospitality and generosity extend beyond the bonds of kinship to include servants and strangers as well as apprentices such as those who frequent the father's workshop in Kouroussa. His mother is self assertive, submissive but not passive, courageous, reserved, unosten— tatious, efficient and effective in managing her household, loved and respected by all. The poem dedicated to her in 2"The Writers Speak" in African Literature and the UniVersities, Gerald Moore, ed. (Ibadan: Ibadan University Press, 1965), p. 68. the beginning of the book ramanticizes her womanhood and reveals the nature of maternal love in Africa. When Camara Laye goes to Conakry to continue his education he lives with his Uncle Mamadou, a practicing Moslem and an educated businessman. (Laye's own father and mother are Moslems, but they give their first allegiance to African beliefs. His father is a religious leader among the Malinke.) Laye's warm and easy acceptance into his uncle's family, whom he has never met before, illustrates the strong sense of kinship in Malinke society. The chil— dren accept him and respect him as their big brother. When he makes friends with Marie the family welcomes her into their midst as well. Later, when friendship deepens into love, Laye has his uncle's full support in arranging the marriage.3 As a youth, Camara Laye formed close friendships with those of his age group. It is interesting to observe the love and goodwill that develops between the boys' families as a result of their association. The warm acceptance into each other's families where they eat, play and sleep to- gether promotes a strong sense of solidarity and confidence. Relating his childhood experiences Camara Laye reveals some of the traditional customs and practices of his people. 3Camara Laye marries Marie in Dramouss, sequel to L‘enfant noir. M His for put and su; the His father, a member of the caste of smiths is skilled in forging iron and gold and also a prophet. The act of transforming gold into a delicate piece of jewelry requires purification rites for the artist, the smelting environment and the ore. The skills of the workman combine with the supernatural forces and magical incantations contributed by the griot or praise-singer and the confident expectations of customers concerned to create an object of beauty. The product will vindicate the mastery of the goldsmith and be a token of the goodwill of the powers that be. The whole group, conscious of a task shared as well as a wonder achieved, offer gifts and applause as the artist celebrates with the great dance, the Douga, another expression of creative harmony. An economic activitiy, the rice harvest at his uncle's farm in Tindican, is also a social act performed as a col— lective ceremony. Work is not only shared but also given a conscious value which transforms communal life into an act of communion between man and his fellowmen and between man and the spiritual forces in nature. Like all social activ- ities, reaping needs the goodwill and guidance of the spirits of the land who have to be propitiated before the day of harvest. Although the people work in a happy festive atmosphere, correct procedures must be followed and customs and taboos observed, otherwise misfortune may befall the fields and the gods of the land be displeased. The uncle's lea< SOCI awa the pro bri phy SOC 76 leadership role among his people and the courtesies and social taboos observed by the reapers disclose something of the nature of human relations within the group. Camara Laye's education begins early as he develops awareness of the traditional codes which are to direct him in society and dictate to him his rights and duties. In the family group he learns self—control, self—sacrifice, propriety and the respect due each of the different members of the kinship group. His father assumes responsibility for bringing him up to be a useful member of society morally, physically and aesthetically, teaching him basic family and social virtues and ensuring that he is initiated into the cults of his people so that he will be accepted by the community. As a youth he joins his age group and his association with them teaches him qualities of leadership, tolerance and community. The members establish friendly relationships amongst themselves, plan and execute their decisions collectively, keep no secrets from one another and regard themselves as equals. With his age group he is initiated into adult society. The objective of the initiation ceremonies is not to make heros but to produce men who will be able to fulfill the physical and moral obligations that society will impose on him. All phases of the rite are beautifully depicted: the festivities and demonstrations that precede the physical and moral ordeal, the fearful night in the forest with K01 77 Konden Diara, the more private circumcision rite and the days of seclusion and instruction that follow. As an apprentice to his father he learns the skills of his father's trade which he will inherit. His father initiates him as well into the secret practices and proce— dures he will need as spiritual leader of his peOple. The law of mutation is alluded to in Laye's explanation of his father's relationship to the little black snake, the totemic incarnation of his guiding Spirit. Camara Laye attended the Koranic school in his village and later European schools. The Koran provided the basic content in the school and the process was a series of recitation ordeals and oral examinations. Cheikh Hamidou Kane in L'aventure ambigué devotes considerable description to them. He emphasizes the suffering imposed on the stu- dents when they recite from the sacred booko He also men— tions the enriched spiritual experience which results from being forced to beg in the streets of the village. Mother and father provide the alternative values which Laye must consider in deciding upon a European education and the direction of his life. His mother's values are tradi- tional; they would lead the child back to the country, to the ancestral village of Tindican. His father, possessing both magical and creative powers, emerges as a commanding figure in the community. But he has achieved his unique position by means of ambition and individual striving. As his him expl cour real mm the: you his son is about to make his first trip to Conakry, he tells him of his wretched childhood as an orphan and of his exploitation by his uncles. "I always had to keep to my own counsel and work hard to make a name for myself."k Fully realizing that the colonizers are not going to remain in Guinea for ever and convinced that one day the nation must be ruled by its own citizens, he now encourages his son with these words: "Seize your opportunity. And make me proud of you. I ask no more of you."5 When Laye begins classes at the technical college in Conakry, he soon realizes that some schools are considered more prestigious than others; graduates from this school are viewed simply as future laborers. Laye also feels that he has learned nothing new in these first days, so he wants to change schools. His uncle, however, councils him to be patient and to remember that clerks are a dime a dozen. Then he adds: "If I were twenty years younger and had to go to school again I would not go the Ecole Normale. No! I would learn a good trade in a technical school."6 Camara is finally convinced of his uncle's arguments. l’Camara Laye, The Dark Child (New York: Farrar, Straus and Girous, 1954), p. 151, Chapter IX. 5Ibid. 6Ibid., p. 153. Chinua Achebe in Le monde s'effondre describes a well—ordered Ibo community and how this is disrupted by the coming of white man. In traditional Ibo society, the people concerned themselves with the perpetuation and the develop— ment of the group, its political autonomy and economic sufficience. The balance maintained between the material and the spiritual insured personal and cultural success. Traditionally the Ibo never had any central govern— mental organization nor any kings. Their tribal set—up was different from many tribal societies because of its individualism and its rejection of any inherited or hier- archical system of authority. The social unit was the village group which in Achebe's novel consists of the nine villages of Umuofia. Disputes were settled at public meet— ings, Where common agreement could not be reached, an oracle was consulted or a decision was given by the egWUgWUy spirits represented by the ancestral masks. Such judgments had the sanction of the supernatural. The husband-wife dispute between Uzowulu and Mgbafo is judged by the egwugwu. Okonkwo, a character of intense individuality, is the embodiment of Ibo values such as wealth, courage and valour. Okonkwo was clearly cut out for great things. He was still young but he had won fame as the greatest wrestler in the nine villages. He was a wealthy farmer and had two barns full of yams, and had just married his third wife. To crown it all he had taken two titles and had shOWn 80 incredible prowess in two inter—tribal wars. . . . Age was respected among his people, but achievement was revered.7 Achebe also suggests some flaws in his nature: his inor- dinate ambition and his refusal to tolerate anything less than excellence coupled with an impulsive rage which pro— duces irrational responses to situations. Though tender and kind of heart, he thought it unmanly to show these emotions. The comment that Okonkwo had "no patience with his father"8 is important, for Unoka is the antithesis of those values most cherished by the people and consequently represents everything that Okonkwo personally despises. Unoka was poor and his wife and children had barely enough to eat; he was lazy and improvident, a debtor and a coward. A man's wealth, status and reputation depend upon his possession of yams. The yam is the king of crops; it is also a man's crop in Iboland. Young men build reserves of seed Yams for their future farms while share-cropping. Yams are food and while supplemented by crOps grown by the women, the man who can feed his family on yams from one harvest to another is considered a great man indeed. Yams also repre- sent wealth and with them a man can take titles in the clan; that is, he can attain power and influence the conduct of affairs. ‘— 7Chinua Achebe, Things Fall Apart (New York: Astor- Honor, Inc., 1959), pp« 8‘9- 81bid., p. 4. 81 All of man‘s activities, the acquisition of wealth and wives, the production of children, his courage and resource— fulness in sport and war, are judged by what is or is not acceptable to Ani the Earth Goddess and source of all fertility, the "ultimate judge of morality and conduct in the clan.“9 Tradition insists that everyone follow the codes of behavior and morality formulated by the ancestors. To disobey is to incur their displeasure. It is therefore not surprising to see Ekwefi and Okonkwo allow the oracle of Ani to carry their only daughter, very sick at the time, to her shrine among the Hills and the Caves. It is to this oracle that Unoka goes to find out why he has had so miserable a harvest. Okonkwo's downfall and eventual banishment from the tribe proceeded from offences committed against the earth. The first occurs during the Week of Peace when Okonkwo beats his wife. The priest of Ani indicates strict observance of religious, social and economic philosophy when he says: You know as well as I do that our forefathers ordained that before we plant any crops in the earth we should observe a week in which a man does not say a harsh word to his neighbor. We live in peace with our fellows to honor our great goddess of the earth without whose blessing our crops will not grow.1 9Ibid., p. 38. 1°Ibid., p. 32. Ani demands : offense. Th1 Ikemefuna. Mbaino for k as a child-h 0f the Hills sacrificed. made at a ti N0 indicatic their relatf the destruc1 peOple have be obeyed I , the ritual. the killing appear Weak hatchete, T families f0 accidentall ancegtors c‘ and his prc The rj feaStS' fee detail. T] ships hem. and child ‘ community 82 Ani demands retribution in the form of money for this offense. The second offense is related to the killing of Ikemefuna. Ikemefuna is the price paid by the people of Mbaino for killing one of the women of Umuofia. He came as a child—hostage to live with Okonkwo until the Oracle of the Hills and the Caves should command that he be sacrificed. It is interesting to note that this demand is made at a time when the locusts are destroying the crops. No indication is given that the two events are linked but their relationship in time leads one to suggest that perhaps the destruction of the crops is due to the fact that the people have not obeyed the earth goddess. The oracle must be obeyed, so the elders of the nine villages proceed with the ritual. Okonkwo is warned that he must have no hand in the killing because the boy calls him father. Yet, lest he appear weak and cowardly, he cuts the child down with his matchete. The goddess has been known to wipe out whole families for this kind of disobedience. When Okonkwo accidentally kills the son of a kinsman, the laws of the ancestors decree that he must flee the area for seven years and his property be destroyed in order to cleanse the land. The fight for existence against soil and seasons, the feasts, festivals and rituals are all drawn in arresting detail. The day—to—day life of the family, the relation— Ships between father and child, husband and wife and mother and child are depicted and the solid stability of the community is conveyed. The mar: betrothal is nut, and the the whole ex father for t weeks in the gather once admits prema becomes his Childre an iron hand Possible We; his responsj they Will 11. child relatj ate. Ekwef; about Propr: around thrOI form of tab< Okonkw. concerning administeri believed th dies repeat \ 11In Matiba deg: 83 The marriage custom is described at great length. The betrothal is marked by drinking, breaking and eating kola nut, and the friendly settlement of the dowery. For Uri the whole extended family gathers at the home of the bride's father for the giving—away of the bride. After seven market weeks in the home of her suitor's family, the families gather once more for the Confession at which time the bride admits premarital faithfulness to her fiance. She now becomes his wife and the marriage can be consumated.11 Children are highly prized. Though Okonkwo rules with an iron hand, he loves his children and is concerned about possible weaknesses in his son, Nwoye. He takes seriously his responsibilities towards them, teaching them the skills they will need and Ibo customs and practices. The mother- child relationship is intimate, confidential and affection- ate. Ekwefia imparts to her daughter, Ezinma, knowledge about propriety, sex, domestic accomplishments and the world around through folk—lore, proverbs and coded concepts in the form of taboos. Okonkwo carefully executes the fetisher's instructions concerning the care of his beloved daughter, preparing and administering the prescribed medications. For it is believed that Ezinma is an Ogbanje; that is, a child who dies repeatedly, each time returning to its mother's womb 11In chapter six of Cette Afrique—la!, Jean Ikallé— Matiba describes a typical traditional marriage in Cameroun. to be born a1 children. Us mutilated am where all ev ill, the loc world of Ogb links her to impossible f Ibo soc the birth of to twins or sent ominous thrown away Victims Of . ancestors a: apersons d an epidemic UHOka is dy GoddesS, he The gods a: PrSVent a I to a M b. and are km Permitted i Wrest‘ 84 to be born another time. Her mother has lost several children. Usually when an Ogbanje child dies its body is mutilated and taken away to be buried in the Evil Forest where all evil things are abandoned. When Ezinma becomes ill, the local doctor attempts to break her bond with the world of Ogbanje by digging up her iyi—uwa, the object which links her to this wicked group of spirits, thus making it impossible for her to die again. Ibo society is not without its outcasts. In Umuofia the birth of twins is anathema. When a woman gives birth to twins or triplets the people believe that the gods have sent ominous tidings to them; therefore, the babies are thrown away into the Evil Forest and left to dieo Similarly victims of the god of thunder are not buried where the ancestors are buried but thrown into the Evil Forest. If a persons dies of some unusual disease or as the result of an epidemic the corpse is taken to the Evil Forest. When Unoka is dying of the swelling, an abomination to the Earth Goddess, he is carried to the Evil Forest and left to die. The gods are then propitiated and sacrifices offered to prevent a recurrence of the same fate. Persons dedicated to a god become the exclusive property of that divinity and are known as Osu. They forfeit their social rights. Permitted to intermarry, their children are also Osu. Wrestling is a highly organized sport among the nine Villages of Umuofia. It is important for several reasonso First, victor throwing of P solid achieve village is l: Okonkwo bring Amalinze has champion for offers an op This gives 5 adlIIire this entertainmen is suitable ‘Lribal warfa Kinshig Okonka, wit to Mbanta f( with members 85 First, victory is a sign of personal achievement. Okonkwo's throwing of Amalinze is regarded as part of his personal solid achievements. Secondly, the honor of the wrestler's village is linked with his success in the contest. Thus Okonkwo brings honor to his Village by winning over Amalinzec Amalinze has retained the honor for his Village by being champion for the past seven years. Thirdly, wrestling offers an opportunity for demonstrating masculine strength. This gives satisfaction to men like Okonkwo and women who admire this kind of strength. The sport also provides entertainment which everyone enjoys. In addition, wrestling is suitable training for people who live in the midst of tribal warfare. Kinship and communal solidarity are demonstrated when Okonkwo, with his three wives and eleven children, migrates to Mbanta for the seven years of exile during which he stays with members of his mother's family. It's true that a child belongs to its father. But when a father beats his child, it seeks sympathy in its mother's hut. A man belongs to his fatherland when things are good and life is sweet. But when there is sorrow and bitterness he finds refuge in his motherland. Your mother is there to protect you. She is buried there. And that is why we say that mother is supreme.12 Echendu receives him warmly, gives him a plot of ground on Which to build his compound and several pieces of land to 12Ibid., pp. 138—139. farm. He an help him adj greatest fri some of the the money. and barns wh Hospita citizens of their wealth tors as well PIOVided. u this hOSpite formal and ; 0f Ibo tribe bring life. “W“ on t: sharing of j disruPtEd, j accuse Okon him kOIa nu the Wise 0 anceStors' " is sipped f OhiErika.s \ la _ “a. 86 farm. He and the local people counsel with Okonkwo and help him adjust to this new situation. Obierika, Okonkwo's greatest friend in Umuofia, remains faithful to him, sells some of the produce from his farm in Umuofia and brings him the money. Later he sends money to help build new houses and barns when Okonkwo returns from exile. Hospitality is a characteristic of these people. The citizens of Umuofia and Mbanta are shOWn to be generous with their wealth, especially food and drink. Unexpected visi— tors as well as neighbors are always welcome and their needs provided. The kola nut and palm wine are representations of this hospitality. Kola nut is offered to those who attend formal and informal gatherings and symbolizes the continuity of Ibo tribal life. The one who brings kola is thought to bring life. One of the lobes of the kola nut is always thrown on the ground for the ancestors. The breaking and sharing of kola denotes unity. Consequently, when unity is disrupted, kola is refused. When the priest of Ani comes to aCcuse Okonkwo of breaking the Week of Peace, Okonkwo offers him kola nut which he refuses saying: "I shall DOt eat in the house of a man who has no respect for our gods and ancestors."13 On grand occasions or at parties Palm wine is sipped from drinking horns as at the betrothal 0f Obierika's daughter. Okonkwo takes his big horn from its 13Ibid., p. 31. goatskin bag to his wife wine before When E: funeral cere a military ] ment in one that reflec adead pers lived while anything ev Hence the e Eze last 1 YOU Cc been a Courag YOU he get 15 YOU t< Refer. Society be his Ch\i Wh defines as is in the Am“'8 Ch \ it. . Him 15Marc goatskin bag, blows into it to remove the dust and gives it to his wife to fill. She follows custom by tasting of the wine before returning the horn to her husband. When Ezendu dies, all the clan is present for the funeral ceremony. As elder among his people, Ezendu is also a military hero and has taken three titles, a rare achieve— ment in one's lifetime. His is a warrior's funeral, one that reflects his greatness. Belief that the spirit of a dead person can return into the family in which he once lived while on earth leads relatives to ask his chi to shed anything evil that would prevent his enjoying a new life. Hence the egwugwu says: Ezendu. . . . If you had been poor inyyour last life I would have asked you to be rich when you come again. But you were rich. If you had been a coward, I would have asked you to bring courage. But you were a fearless warrior. If you had died young, I would have asked you to get life. But you lived long. So I shalllask you to come again the way you came beforeo References to the chi are important. People in Ibo society believe that a man cannot rise above the destiny of . . 15 his chi which Margaret Green in Ibo Village Affairs defines as "the personal Spirit which everyone has and Which is in the nature both of a creating and a guardian spirit. A man's chi may be either good or bad. Unoka's chi is a bad 1m . Ibid., p. 128. 15Margaret Green, Ibo Village Affairs (London: Frank Cass and Co., 1964)., p. 249. chi, so evil narrowly esc.‘ friend remari Ekwefi also without chil bdieves tha His to becc been hi it, Th cast or beach, was not rise be the elr €3.13 als nay des For a While He now suspw overriding 1 When 0‘ will have c egwugwu: Wh his Chance rebuild his the clan iI \ ISAChei 17 _ he 88 chi, so evil fortune attends him to the end. When Ekwefi narrowly escapes being shot by her husband, Okonkwo, a friend remarks: "Your chi is very much awake, my friend."16 Ekwefi also blames her chi for the fact that she is so long without children. When Okonkwo is exiled from Umuofia, he believes that his chi has betrayed him. His life had been ruled by a great passion—- to become one of the lords of the clan. That had been his life—spring, And he had all but achieved it, Then everything had been broken. He had been past out of his clan like a fish onto a dry, sandy beach, panting. Clearly his personal god or chi was not made for great things. A man could not rise beyond the destiny of his ghi. The saying of the elders was not true-—that if a man said yea his chi also affirmed. Here was a man whose chi said —__ nay despite his own affirmation. For a while at least he has been the master of his life. He now suspects, however, that he is in the grip of an overriding destiny which he cannot control. When Okonkwo returns to Umuofia, he knows the village will have changed, but he does not realize how much. He has lost his place among the nine masked spirits, the egwugwu, who administer justice in the clan. He has lost the years when he might have taken higher titles and lost his chance to lead his people. Nevertheless, he plans to rebuild his compound and initiate his sons into the ways of the clan in the hopes that they might sit among the 020, H 16Achebe, Things Fall Apart, p. 50. 17Ibid., p. 135. the highest recognition. including Ok now establis in ignorance interpret a1 Africans, e‘ court and t the status Okonkwo is Obierika's Situation; The wt and pe at his he ha: lOnge: thing: apart Obier interestin and dies i tions. He demand the 10"?! as a killing a his dEali; the highest title holders. But Umuofia has changed beyond recognition. The new Christian Mission has claimed many including Okonkwo's son Nwoye. The British government is now establish with the District Commissioner judging cases in ignorance. Court messengers have been appointed to interpret and act as go-betweens and although they are Africans, even Ibo, they are strangers to Umuofia. The court and the English district officers do not understand the status of the village elders and the men of title. Okonkwo is appalled: "What has happened to our people?" Obierika's reply sums up the cruel inevitability of the situation: The white man is very clever. He came quietly and peaceably with his religion. We were amused at his foolishness and allowed him to stay. Now he has won our brothers, and our clan can no longer act as one. He has put a knife on the things that held us together and we have fallen apart. 8 Obierika, also a titled and prosperous man, forms an interesting contrast to Okonkwo. Okonkwo is a man who lives and dies in the service of his native land and its tradi— tions. He is a staunch conservative even when social forces demand the sacrifice of Ikemefuna whom he has learned to love as a son and send him into exile for accidentally killing a member of the family. Obierika is moderate in his dealings with others and does not accept the laws of laIbid., p. 183. the communitj content with he killed. ritual. He should preve has to go ir why a man sl he committee the times i: Okonkw hmission 0 thus exposi it is to we This act am ancestral 3 head of the the church the village broken up 1 Then, know; Umuofiaxs ] hangs him. and his me he buriEd It is 0k0nka 3 S 90 the community without question. For instance, he is not content with the custom which requires that Ikemefuna should be killed. He condemns Okonkwo for taking part in the ritual. He fails to understand why taking the 020 title should prevent him from climbing palm trees. When Okonkwo has to go into voluntary exile for seven years, he wonders why a man should have to suffer so grievously for an offense he committed inadvertently. Okonkwo's failure to grow with the times is one of the tragedies of the heroo Okonkwo's last offence against the earth is suicide. A mission convert tears off the mask of an ancestral Spirit, thus exposing the human face and the man whose sacred duty it is to wear the mask and bear the possession by the spirit. . i This act amounts to the killing and the defiling of an ancestral spirit and the infuriated elders demand that the head of the mission leave. When he refuses to go, they burn the church and are subsequently arrested. Released after the villagers have paid a fine, they hold a rally which is broken up by court messengers. Okonkwo kills one of them. Then, knowing that the days of his power and the days of Umuofia's power are over, he returns to his compound and hangs himself. Obierika has to ask the District Commissioner and his men to cut Okonkwo down and bury him, for he can only be buried by strangers. It is clear throughout Le monde s'effondre that Okonkwo's tragedy is due to pressures from within as well as , i v i i i pressures fr external cir against the inmesmm TheBritish goes direct faith challi value place istic incen gains prece balance is Ibo so may sc time a gods, The St the tv, Today the 5} Both < use Of ora. eniertainm, literature him w COnte \Q‘Et‘ The c 0fthe are \ l SChir 0“,“ i Nati iii. mu 1 1. ,, W 7 W77 7 "‘r—y fir. ' u 91 pressures from the outside. He is greatly damaged by the external circumstances of his life; he also commits violence against the god within. The old Ibo society is disrupted in the same way, both by inner flaws and outer assaults. The British system of courts and government—appointed chiefs . - goes directly against Ibo social institutions. The new faith challenges and undermines the old religion. The new value placed on palm-oil and palm kernels arouses material— istic incentive and the acquisitive nature of the society gains precedence over the spiritual. The traditional balance is destroyed. ‘ ; Ibo society has always been materialistic. This may sound strange because Ibo life had at the same time a strong spiritual dimension-—controlled by gods, ancestors, personal spirits of chi and magic. The success of the culture was the balance between the two, the material and the spiritual. . . Today we have kept the materialism and thrown away the spirituality which should keep it in check. Both Camara Laye and Chinua Achebe authenticate the use of oral literature for educational purposes as well as entertainment. Birago Diop has recorded some of the oral literature from the savanna of Senegal and Mali: Les contes d‘Amadou Koumba, Les nouveaux contes d'Amadou Koumba and Contes et lavanes. The characters of these stories are often the animals 9f the area who through their character and habits 19Chinua Achebe, "The Role of the Writer in a New Nation," Nigeria Magazine, No. 81 (June, 1964), p 179 impersonate and weakness to fable. T awise and r rascally if cumspect, me The hare whc tion of mis< wrongs. 0t] Voracious, 1 the usual 13. the latter the hare, i traditional the griot c eVeryone. Parrot is i from far av naive; the Worthy. T1 lackel is i \ . Bira Presence A 21_ 1L1 92 impersonate the human element in society, their strengths and weaknesses. Some of the personalities vary from fable "20 to fable. The Crocodile in "Maman—Caiman is essentially "21 she is a i a wise and respected matron; in "Le salaire rascally if stupid traitor. The chameleon, usually cir— cumspect, may be led to commit an occasional indiscretiono The hare who habitually uses his cunning for the perpetra- tion of mischief is also a wise arbiter and redresser of wrongs. Other animals display more consistent behavior. Voracious, egotistical, foolish and a coward, the hyena is the usual foil to the hare on whose insatiable appetites the latter playsT The lion, although usually outwitted by the hare, is generally a benevolent despot. The monkey, . traditionally regarded as a stupid Chatterbox, is called the griot of all since he claims to know everything about everyone. He is also an indiscreet trouble—maker. The parrot is the gossip of the bush while the fish bring news from far away places. Deer are considered intelligent but naive; the double dealing panther, agile, sly and untrust— worthy. The elephant represents sheer brute force; the jackel is an ill—bred fellow. 20Birago DiOp, Les contes d'Amadou Koumba (Paris: Presence Africaine), l96l. a1Ibid. In som noble like in“Le Boli works and I like the tr ofhuman we whose long- irritations rather be r With his hi ih"Les mar Tieni, the arthOr The m. P80ple ShO' asin "Mam hauvaiSes \ ZzBira (Paris: P 23Ibid -_. Ziihig szira ZSDiOE 27Di0I 2 I Biéif 93 In some of the tales the main characters are humans: noble like old Samba in "L'Heritage"22 or the blacksmith in "Le Boli"23 who are hard working, full of wisdom and good works and respectful of the ancestors; a helpful neighbor like the trader in "Le Pretext."2” More often they are full of human weaknesses: irascible like Demba in "Judgement“25 whose long—suffering wife bears the brunt of his daily "26 who would irritations; greedy like Mor-Lamé in "L'Os rather be buried alive than share his succulent shin-bone with his hut-brother; spiteful like the hunchbacked Khary .in "Les mamelles"27 disrespectful of the ancestors like Tieni, the young blacksmith in "Le Boli." Diop thus creates a rich portrait gallery of human and often universal types. The moral of the story is frequently direct: young people should always listen to the wisdom of their elders as in "Maman—Caiman"; and, beware of bad company as in “Les n28 mauvaises compagnies. Virtue is rewarded and evil 22Birago Diop, Les nouveaux contes d'Amadou Koumba (Paris: Présence Africaine, 1958). 23Ibid. 2“Ibid. i___ 25Birago Diop, Les contes d'Amadou Koumba. 26Diop, Les nouveaux contes d'Amadou Koumba. 27Diop, Les contes d'Amadou Koumba. 28Ibid. punished, wt of Koumba or or the cour“ in “Les calr proud and h. of need bec cannot keep iness makes and its man ically in " three 50115 father's be tht sharir goods. "SE atiofls not Contains t} belief in 1 and in the In 801 cynically : dintienca he Ibid \ 94 punished, whether it is the meek obedience and sweet nature of Koumba or the bitter malice of Khary in “Les mamelles" or the courtesy of the hare and the rudeness of the hyena in "Les calebasses de Kouss.“29 Satire is used against the proud and haughty who are abandoned by friends in their hour of need because they have humiliated them, against women who cannot keep secrets, against pious hypocrites whose greed— iness makes them social parasites. All of man's existence and its many possible vicissitudes are illustrated symbol— ically in "L'heritage" by the fantastic adventures of the three sons in their pilgrimage. At the same time their father's bequests contain a message about community living, just sharing and a wise assessment of the value of worldly goods. "Sarzan"30 presents a warning to the younger gener— ations not to scorn the wisdom of the ancestors. It also contains the poem which expresses so beautifully Diop's' belief in the constant presence of the spirits of the dead and in the life of things as well as beings. In some of the stories conventional ethics are cynically reversed and questions raised. Are loyalty and diligence in a lifetime of service always repaid by neglect and cruelty in old age? Is a good turn always repaid by 23Ibid. 3°Ibid. evil as in world, is t mensonge? " i where love to death? The b. generosity extolled. and injust but peace While an inciden Birago Dic some detai bllrial and aims are and their tional hos PaiaVer—t] and taboO: H O" H I, 3 n H O‘ \i Li M 33 A . ar grlcatine 95 evil as in "Le salaire"?31 Does falsehood triumph in this world, is truth a bad guide as represented in “Verity et mensonge?"32 What about the tragic element in “Petit-mari“33 where love that dares not declare itself hounds its object to death? The basic virtues, piety, common sense, loyalty, generosity, patience and courage are illustrated and extolled. The characters often rebel against stupidity and injustice, sometimes they submit through cowardise, but peace and order triumph in the end. While primarily interested in telling a tale, reliving an incident, re—creating his characters, animal and human, Birago Diop also includes many references, some causal, some detailed to local customs of circumcision, initiation, burial and marriage. Islamic beliefs, prayers and tradi— tions are described, especially the place of the Marabouts ” Tradi— and their disciples in the life of the community.3 tional hospitality, the gathering of the elders under the Palaver—tree, periodic famine and fire, some superstitions and taboos are mentioned. References are made to both 3'Ibid. 3ZIbid. a31bid. 3“Particularly in Contes et lavanes (Paris: Présence Agricaine, 1963). , 1 w i i , r r pastoral ant millet, the and culinar couscious w relations; notes on th ethnic grou other varie the rural a Narrat TOgoland, I humorous a1 Somality, , life. The novel. p0 The desire women are , Son. The Pact in Ew funeral pr potentiai is able to group is a The i is intereE Dansour ll! 96 pastoral and agricultural customs: the importance of the millet, the ground-nut and the palm; explanations of eating and culinary habits, including how to prepare a good couscious with its various sauces; dress; courtesy; family relations; and,.the education of children. Included are notes on the history of the area, the languages spoken and ethnic groups who inhabit Senegal and Mali as well as many other varied details of traditional life, particularly in the rural areas. Narrating the life of two generations of Ewe in Togoland, David Ananou in Le fils du fétiche presents a humorous and not uncritical study of the interplay of per- sonality, community and the occult in traditional village life. The theme of reconciliation is prominent in the novel. Polygamy and marriages of convenience are criticizedo The desire for children and the social ostracism of barren women are demonstrated in the households of both father and son. The role of reconciliation ceremonies and the blood pact in Ewe society are described as well as the special funeral practices utilized in the burial of a feticher° The potential contribution that the younger educated generation is able to make towards the economic amelioration of the group is also illustrated. The interplay of personality, community and the occult is interestingly manifested when Affavi, who is in love with Dansou, uncovers a plot against his life. Father and son l i i r hurry to th For a sum 0 and promise sane sorcer the enemy t difficult t one. Now[ his hut fo: their frieI over him. The i] in relatio1 Affavi, is mother-in, ity. Dans! her back t there woult more toler aCCepted t me“ enter Prevent re Affav arrange a daUghter t Affav'l Vis This breed 97 hurry to the sorcerer thought to be implicated in the plot. For a sum of five thousand francs, he reveals the enemy and promises to cancel outstanding magical debts. The same sorcerer has already taken three thousand francs from the enemy to bring harm to Dansou. But then, it is more difficult to repair a relationship than it is to destroy one. Now Dansou invites each of the three men involved to his hut for a drink and in his own good-humored way gains their friendship before the counter-medicine can have power over him. The interaction of these forces is also demonstrated in relationships within the family. When Dansou's wife, Affavi, is childless after some years of marriage, his mother—in—law brings some of her private remedy for steril= ity. Dansou, somewhat skeptical about the practice, sends her back to her house. A more tactful father suggests that there would be less trouble in the family if he would become more tolerant in his attitudes towards others; he could have accepted the potion without feeding it to his wife. The two men enter into a blood pact with the in-laws in order to prevent retaliation. Affavi's father abuses the dotal system, attempting to arrange a marriage of convenience instead of allowing his daughter to marry Dansou. Again, some years later, when Affavi visits her father he forces her to remain with him. This breeds ugly rumors and creates marital problems as the father re-establi: ceremony w? David amous fami quarrelsom he decides a new wife subsequent ‘The n and how be suits the the totem his wife's family re; at a pubi: DanSOu, h: becomes a Protected life throw the Protet for his f is Consid lineage a 98 the father intends. Now the oracle advises Dansou to re—establish family relations through the reconciliation ceremony which here includes another dot and marriage. David Ananou portrays the problems present in a polyg- amous family situation where wives are not infrequently quarrelsome and jealous. Such is Sodji's household. When he decides to do something about the situation by taking a new wife, the others attempt to poison him and are subsequently repudiated. .The novel shows clearly that children are highly prized and how barren women are socially ostracized. Sodji con- sults the oracle and promises to consecrate his child to the totem spirit Dan if the gods will only see fit to grant his wife's request for offspring. When a son is born the family rejoices in a relatively private ceremony. Later, at a public naming ceremony, the child is given the name Dansou, his lineage is established by the griot and he becomes a member of the clan. He will, henceforth, be protected by their common ancestor who is represented in life through the family totem. (Camara Laye also mentions the protective power of the totem; the little black snake for his father and the crocodile for his mother.) Dansou is considered a gift from the gods insuring the family lineage and a reward for faithfulness to tradition. When Dansou marries, his wife bears twins which are welcome among the twins insp Danso cousin Ana educates t new mode c their home rope. He added to a In E his reade: in wester: and do so: take care by factor the creat but essen Mbenda ha the girl It 1' Bebey exa certain ( empectatj the Collq talents z 99 among the Ewe. Considered as possessing special powers, twins inspire awe and fear more than simple affection. Dansou, a precocious child, goes to live with his cousin Anama in Vogan who can better discipline and who educates him. He returns to teach the village people a new mode of roofing, how to paint designs on the walls of their homes, how to weave baskets and cloth and to make rope. He also introduces collective fishing which, when added to agriculture, will improve their economy. In Le fils d'Agatha Moudio, Francis Bebey shares with his readers some aspects of village life among the Duala in western Cameroun. The men practice collective fishing and do some hunting while the women work in the gardens and take care of their households. The village has been touched by factors within colonial society such as the penal system, the creation of roads and traders who buy the local produce, but essentially they have chosen to remain with tradition. Mbenda has elected to live in the village and to marry Fanny, the girl that his father chose for him on his deathbed. It is within this traditional social structure that Bebey examines cultural values and raises questions about certain customs and practices as well as social roles and expectations. Respecting the elders and cooperating within the collectivity, Mbemba is given freedom to develop his talents and personality and to do what he wants to do. i l i i He shares fishing a leadershi the elder who have father's old while marriage Why shoul rather th Agat comPanior keep thei Sorceress that haPE be 0f dut right? ( is no one hEr fathe What his mothg elders ir and a fe\ be instr, i'ibmemba,1 to preSEJ 100 He shares responsibilities and labor in the collective fishing activities of his village; he also develops his leadership talents. But, how much should one listen to the elders? Should young men be expected to marry minors who have been selected by their elders? Fanny is his father's choice; she is also a minor, only thirteen years old while Mbemba is a young man of twenty-two. Their marriage cannot be consummated for several years yet. Why should he not be allowed to marry the one he loves rather than Fanny who is only a child. Agatha Moudio is beautiful and intelligent, an exciting companion. Mbemba has known her for many months but they keep their love for each other secret, except for the sorceress, Mother Evil Eye, who seems to know everything that happens in the village. Agatha is also considered to be of dubious reputation among the villagers. Are they right? Or, are the rumors the result of the fact that there is no one who cares for her since her mother has died and her father is in prison? Whatever may be the case, Mbemba decides to fulfill his mother's expectations and marry Fanny. The Village lders immediately open negotiations with the other family, nd a few weeks later Fanny is brought to Mbemba’s mother to e instructed in how to care for him. The arrangement of bmemba's marriage gives the author the opportunity he wants 0 present the issue of abuses within the dotal system: the 7. increasing values of - tend to re commercial highest bit Later the elders given thei arranging of a POlyg and the jo Fanny is t shows What the family Mbemba fai his first Whether it} question i Ponders he OPPOrtuni, is a mule, 1318111: a ( COmIm throughou‘ and gel f1: the group lOl increasing disregard for the traditional moral and social values of the dot and the increasing material demands that tend to reduce the agreement to nothing more than a greedy :ommercial transaction where the merchandise goes to the mighest bidder. Later, because he has chosen to abide by the advice of :he elders and has married the girl elected for him, he is iven their permission and experiences their COOperation in rranging a second marriage with Agatha Moudio. Now as head f a polygamous household, Mbemba experiences the anxieties nd the joys of a multiple marriage. Agatha is loved, but anny is the dutiful wife. What about favoritism? Mbemba hows what this problem can mean for relationships within he family. Still another problem presents itself. When bemba fails to fulfill the husband‘s role in reproduction, is first wife becomes pregnant by one of his best friends. lether the father is a friend or an enemy, is the child in lestion to be accepted by you? This is the question Mbemba >nders next. Not too long afterwards he is given the )portunity to renew his ponderings; this time the child a mulotto, born to Agatha Moudio. He accepts both of em: a child is a child, innocent and valuable. Community solidarity and cooperation are demonstrated roughout Bebey's novel. He also dramatizes how pettiness i selfishness can disrupt the harmony between members of a group. One elder gets into trouble because another does not te Another of men. Mbemi responsibil Mother Evil influences Guardians l danger or . their acti is their r Evil Eye p she consid Their magi Villager. in torture Daily praCtices and Crossj lest a bad AChehe in superstitj bottom ey( top One tx seldom gi‘ them to 8' door for 102 does not tell the truth, thus protecting his own interests. Another of the men, skilled in building, cheats his fellow— men. Mbemba also discovers that to disobey in serious responsibilities may mean exclusion from fellowship. Mother Evil Eye and her husband are two of the most powerful influences for peace or for disruption within the village. Guardians of public morality, their sorcery can protect from danger or destroy. How often do selfish motives determine their actions? This seems to be the question raised. What is their role in society? Forewarned in a dream, Mother Evil Eye performs ritual that will protect Fanny from what she considers impending danger, undisclosed to others. Their magic is believed to have caused the death of one villager. Another is falsely accused and spends four years in tortured silence before the truth becomes known. Daily life is shown to include many superstitious practices such as throwing salt on the fire to insure rain and crossing the first and second finger of the left hand lest a bad act should re—open an ancestor‘s eyes. Chinua Achebe in Le monde s'effondre also shares some of the superstitious practices among the Ibo. For example, if the bottom eyelid twitches, the person is going to cry; if the top one twitches, he will see something. Children are seldom given eggs to eat because the practice will tempt them to steal. People never answer yes to a knock at the door for fear an evil Spirit may be calling. ‘1 : x. ', - The bi dotal syste is consider husband die husband to merchandisr The W illustrate. to Chief E1 of hatred, ‘ “ aristocrat ‘ Secret Soc ‘ the activi . in the vil in favor c Sorcerer, °°CUr and Tanta Bel] humiliated time of Cl Phases of are exelnp: “Shana. dege, and the r practices The biography, Tante Bella, by Joseph Owono reveals the dotal system in traditional Cameroon society where the wife LS considered as part of the husband's patrimony. When her 1usband dies, she is passed from one heir to another, from 1usband to husband, sold on one occasion and exchanged for lerchandise on another. The woman's status and role in society is vividly llustrated during the years of Tante Bella's first marriage 0 Chief Emana. The author skillfully conveys the atmosphere f hatred, deceit and intrigue that he feels permeates the ristocratic traditions in a polygamous society. The women's ecret society is shown exercising limited jurisdiction over he activities and the discipline of the female population n the village. Taboos regarding foods are misinterpreted n favor of the men over the women and children. The arcerer, active in devining responsibility for deaths that :cur and dispensing punishment for his victims, blames anta Bella for the death of her child and has her publicly 1miliated and beaten. The fate of wives and slaves at the .me of Chief Emana's death is realistically portrayed. The rases of mourning and the purification rites for widows 'e exemplified following the death of Tante Bella's second stand. Joseph Owono is critical of the elders, the sorcerers d the religious leaders who abuse normal beliefs and actices in order to keep the people submissive to their \. will. He women and relating t Jacqt the popule the name: with men. between m; the gods t imperfect he assign The man w life but the ranks The factors, living be OccasiOn Who love Wish to I Finally, to prese] perfecti, four Sho; gods, On that WOu 104 will. He is concerned particularly with the situation of women and the need for reforming attitudes and behavior relating to them. Jacques Nzouankeu in Le souffle des ancetres deals with the popular conceptions of the gods in Cameroon society and the manner in which these gods behave in their relations with men. The philosophy presented is that of conflict between man and his gods. Man believes in the gods, but the gods demand a perfection which he cannot attain in his imperfect state. Lacking understanding of this perfection he assigns other goals to his life thus creating conflicts. The man who seeks perfection does not strive to save his life but to free it in death where he will be promoted to the ranks of the gods. The behavior of the gods is explained by several factors. First, the gods cannot allow people to go on .living because if they did there would be no further occasion to manifest their power over them. Secondly, those who love the gods and believe in them should not and do not wish to preserve their lives; they prefer to join the gods. Finally, it would not be normal that man's goal should be to preserve his life because man's judge and his models of perfection are not living people but the ancestors. The four short stories extol the omnipotence of the ancestral gods, on the one hand, and satirize the fatalism and rites that would continue to hold the people in the grip of Superstition, on the other. Paul philosoph‘ something that led in his in falls and stances t not have misfortun the agent because t kind's e) mediarieg the worlc‘ him from the 960p: affect t1 liVe und< of the e! instead , in behal; jealOtIs r IEVenge 01y seemingl 105 Paul Lomami—Tshibamba in Ngando interprets the bantu philosophy of causality which holds that the author of something that happens may not be reSponsible for the cause that led to the effect. For example, Lomami-Tshibamba says in his introduction that if someone climbs a tree, then falls and breaks his arm, no one thinks about the circum- stances that led to the fall. It is assumed that he should not have fallen; someone is suspected of having caused the misfortune and the fetisher is consulted to find out who was the agent of the evil forces. Evil forces dominate life because the Creator has become indifferent regarding man- kind's existence. But since man was created to live, inter— mediaries initiated into the mysteries of communication with the world of the occult must intercede for man and protect him from the evil he experiences. The fetishers impose upon he people ideas, practices and prohobitions that profoundly ffect their psychology. Ngando illustrates how the bantu ive under the influence of the fetisher and at the mercy f the evil forces. He also depicts how the fetisher, 'nstead of providing protective occult forces and acting n behalf of his people, often becomes suspicious and 'ealous of his fellowman and abuses his power in order to evenge some personal affront, Olympe Bhely—Quénum's Un piege sans fin pursues this eemingly vengeful inclination on the part of the gods as epresented in the behavior of the oracle Fa Aidégoun, middleman It is he ' by causin stock and because h the gods. Anatou, t transform Who will relations flees in Pursued 1 COmplica is destr Aho Some of Peeple' the kins forces C cattle. tecting eat the leading during . Plantin. 106 middleman between Ahouna's father and the occult forces. It is he who disrupts the harmony between man and nature by causing the plague of cholera which destroys the live— stock and by sending the crickets that ruin the harvest because he has not received the respect and recognition due the gods. Jealous of the love between Ahouna and his wife, Anatou, he decides to sabotage their happy marriage by transforming Anatou into an insane suspicious little vixon who will not listen to reason. This disruption of family relations creates intense uneasiness and anxiety. Ahouna flees in order to avoid the temptation to kill his wife. Pursued by fate, he accidently strikes a woman dead, thus complicating his problems. Unable to placate the gods he is destroyed by them. Ahouna pauses, exhausted by his experience, to recall some of the more pleasant aspects of family life among his people. He describes the peace and harmony they knew within the kinship group, their communion with each other and the forces of nature. They cultivated the fields and owned cattle. Ahouna's age group shared in the tasks of pro- tecting the fields from the animals and birds that would eat the millet, battling the monkeys in the grove of bananas, leading the animals to pasture each morning, guarding them during the day and returning them to shelter each evening. Planting and harvesting were community affairs similar to those all The: are makiI preservat Their ill study ant worthy o behavior challeng 107 those already discussed in L'enfant noir and Le monde s'effondre. These examples furnish evidence that African writers are making a colorful and not uncritical contribution to the preservation of African social ideals and cultural values. Dheir illustrations can possibly stimulate interesting study and consideration of traditional values and ideas vorthy of a place in modern life, as well as attitudes and behaviors that may need modification in order to meet the :hallenge of growth. MOI Whi] Way of li cerned at reflect t African 1 moment. by insis "Transit and the tru re- for the pEI The Wri.‘ trate c} )—<:L’XJ 0/5; Pro ..2 O MODERN LITERATURE REFLECTING THE TRANSFORMATION OF SOCIETY AND EXPLORING THE PRESENT EXPERIENCE While some writers are interested in the traditional way of life and their cultural heritage, others are con— :erned about the present. Their novels and short stories :eflect the transformation of society and eXplore the lfrican experience as it presents itself at the present moment. Wole Soyinka tends to minimize the past per se >y insisting on its integrality with the present. 'Transition is now," he says, and is born of every experience, not buried in the stillness of antiquity. This freedom is the true legacy of the modern Africa, the freedom to re—shape, to select and to reject, to build new forms around the image of the past, to reinterpret the ancient idioms through the uniqueness of a personal contemporary experience.1 he writers represented in this chapter skillfully illus— rate Change and some of the problems related to it. Annotated selections encompass autobiography, novels, irratives and drama. Bernard Dadié, Mamadou Gologo, 1Wole Soyinka, "Nigeria: Culture in Transition," in ‘80 World Theatre, ed., Esso Educational Foundation (New irk: Esso Education Foundation, 1964), p. 4. 108 N.G.M. Fay written at and M sénégalais Biyidi usi under the Malonga, 1: 93% by and we Ousmane's from his raferred Play, Tie m that evOl and 10991 beyond tk governmer Tanga N01 its alles in the U into the returnim 109 N.G.M. Faye, Ezekiel Mphahlele and Albert Luthuli have written autobiographical novels: Climbié, Le rescapé de d'Ethylos, Le débrouillard, Au bas de la deuxiéme avenue and Libertéypour monypeuple. Novels include Karim, roman sénégalais by Ousmane Socé, Ville Cruelle by Alexandre Biyidi using the pseydonym Eza Boto and Mission terminée under the pseudonym Mongo Beti. Coeur d'Aryenne by Jean malonga Afri ue, nous t'i norons! by Ben”amin Mati , Le ( £1 9 J P __ gieux négre et la médaille by Ferdinand Oyono, Malmouna and Nini, mulatresse du Sénégal by Abdoulaye Sadji, Sola ma :hérie by René Philombe, Les inutiles by Sidiki Dembele, and Victoire de l'amour by Dieudonne Mutombo. Sembene )usmane's narrative, Le mandat, as well as several titles from his collection of short stories, Voltaique, are also referred to in this chapter. Theatre is represented by one )lay, Trois prétendants . . . un mari by Guillaume Oyono. Ville cruelle by Eza Boto describes the double tOWn hat evolved in colonial society. The commercial sector nd logging center lie on the river's edge. On the hill eyond the factories and the business district stands the avernment post, aloof and austeer. This is Tanga South° anga North is the African sector with its crowded wards, :s alleys and yards, its bars, brothels and hovels. Life 1 the town moves between these two poles, flowing by day Lto the shops, factories and offices of South Tanga and turning by night to Tanga North. The author creates an l..¢_ L :4; exciting activitie and drink T they inha the then with unix fell spor puri I qua] expl was dre and Eza istratio Older ge the part tYpical the bush admires One and realizes “0% t1 °f Bami: resPOhs: \ 2 E 1954), llO exciting picture of this town, of its lively commercial activities, its noise, its roughness, its dancing places and drinking bars. Above all he brings the people to life, They had come from all over the land. But they tended increasingly to regard themselves as inhabitants of Tanga rather than as natives of the south, north, east and west. You would see them in the street laughing, arguing, quarreling, with gestures large enough to embrace the entire universe. They ran, walked, jostled one another, fell off their bicycles and all with a certain spontaneity, the single vestige of their lost purity. . . . At night, life flowed back into the popular quarter. Tanga North reclaimed its own and exploded with unbelievable effervescence. It was fiesta every night for these prodigal chil— dren . . . jo , real joy, joy undisguised, naked and original. Eza Boto also discusses the corruption in local admin- istration and the conflict between the conservatism of the alder generation and the desire for freedom and growth on :he part of the young people. Banda is in many ways a :ypical young man. He has grown up in a little village in :he bush. Although he is devoted to his mother and greatly .dmires and loves the simple people who surround her, his ne and only wish is to go and live in the city. He ealizes that life in the city is not untold bliss and he nows that he will not find the kindness of the inhabitants f Bamila. He has been the victim of corrupt officials asponsible for inspecting cocoa on its way to market. But 2Eza Boto, Ville cruelle (Paris: Editions Africaines, '54)( p. 21. ‘ abso Nort busi comm inha In B might be, agree wit listen tc to live i Tonga wh< It: difl rap ead ano eac 0th him vai and of dri aga As long the will the back At last relatiye Bm lb?" 4.— [H , r.-. , ,— 7 37. “£73.;la—i , , lll . , . as far as he was concerned he preferred the absolute indifference of the inhabitants of Tanga North, who were too preoccupied with their own business-—just like white people——to the pity, the commiseration and worried compassion of the inhabitants of Bamila.3 In Bamila the old people, well-meaning though they night be, impede individual freedom. Banda can no longer agree with many of their ideas and yet he is expected to listen to them and obey them all the time. Banda, wanting to live his own life, can no longer agree with his old uncle Ponga who is full of advice and reproaches: It seemed to him that he and Tonga were in two different canoes on a high river that flowed rapidly. They stretched out their hands towards each other. Their hands touched, gripped one another and interlocked. They started to pull each other strongly, each wanting to force the other to step over into his own craft, to join him on board his OWn canoe. But they pulled in vain. The rapid current pushed the canoes asunder and each minute widened the gap. Finally, tired of the war, their hands disengaged. And each one drifted to his own side, full of resentment against the other.” -S long as his mother is alive he feels that he must stay in he village, although the lure of the big city is always at he back of his mind. Her death comes like a liberation. t last he is free to go and no reproaches of friends and elatives can stop him. Benjamin Matip in Afrique, nous t'ignorons! is also >ncerned with corrupt colonial practices, the conservatism 31bid., p. 133. "Ibid., p. 128, and passi are pictu to grow. towards t lagers ar measures. to Samuel how to re person val the Euro} defy him and raze tion, ar. ing to t. generati challeng the 0010 for edUc and agai tion, 0n Cli the Sallie a Studen \ . SEE Edit-10m and passiveness of the older generation and both of these are pictured as opposed to the younger generation who want to grow. Matip depicts the general administrative attitudes towards the indigenous populations and how illiterate vil— lagers are exploited by merchants who use false weights and measures. Agents are obliged, however, to pay just prices to Samuel, hero of the younger generation, because he knows how to read and write. The trade is pictured as a powerful person/able to influence the colonial administration. Thus, the European trader, Robert, threatens Samuel who dares to defy him: "One word from me would be enough to lock you up and raze your village."5 The older people represent tradi— tion, are‘conservative and too passive about what is happen- ing to them, full of advice and reproaches. The younger generation want progress and change. They accept the Challenge of modernization and in their zeal rebel against the colonial powers that would deny them the opportunities for education, leadership and advancement, on the one hand, and against the restraining authority of the older genera— tion, on the other. Climbié, hero of Bernard Dadié's autobiography bearing :he same name, looks at the double town through the eyes 0f 1 student. For youngsters, the docks, the bridge and the 5Benjamin Matip, Afrique, nous t'ignoronsl (Paris: 1ditions Renee Lacoste & Cie, 1956), p~ 29' old saw u district explorati place whe tease the Saturday like hol: and live Africans Ber aftermat through Describi SChOOlma Who dema their 0“ traditic The and the expectm assimilz \. st B00“. : 113 old saw mill, the path to the Yayo tree and the business district are full of mysteries that provide adventure and exploration. Their pranks are well known at the market place where they stock up on food on the way to school and tease the girls. Both halves of the town like to dance on Saturday evenings and the nights when movies are shown are like holidays. "The people of Grand Bassam worked earnestly and lived peacefully, the Europeans on one side, the Africans on the other."6 Bernard Dadié pictures colonial education and its aftermath in former French Africa as Climbié progresses through the school system and begins his career in Dakar. Describing his experiences with detail he depicts sadistic schoolmasters, harsh discipline, favoritism and foreigners who demand perfection from their students while corrupting :heir own values. The story also provides insight into :raditional African methods of educating children. The author also describes the formation of trade unions Lnd the social and political agitation that developed when ’Xp6ctations of equality nurtured by the French policy of .ssimilation, set forth in 1946, did not materialize at the 6Bernard B. Dadié, Climbié (London: Heineman Education ooks, Ltd., 1971), p. 41 working-m experienc only. wt in Dakar. policy. ranks of advanceme joins in Ivory co; Clir the race: Looking . the stru The Crue nor to w Where th now gayS As thi boo lat to \ 71h declarec‘ tench 1 aSSmely legislat 10Ca1 gc 114 working-man's level.7 Climbié discovers from his personal experience that assimilation is valid to a limited extent only. When he graduates from Goreé he takes an office job in Dakar. Race relations seem more cordial here due to this policy. But after ten years he is still kept in the lower ranks of the paper pushers with a low income and no hope of advancement. He drops out of this hopeless situation and joins in the agitation first in Senegal and then in the Ivory Coast where he was born and raised. Climbié would break down the barriers that separate the races and unite all men in one universal brotherhood. Looking at pictures in a forbidden book makes him aware that the struggle for human rights is a world-wide phenomenon. The cruelty of white towards black is not limited to Africa nor to white and black races alone and that men are every— where the same. His Uncle Koffi, who has shown him the book, now says to him: As far as I'm concerned, you should read every— thing, and that's why I was anxious to show this book to you. . . . You will understand, my child, later on. For the moment you have only one job, to study. Your studies will teach you to help 7In 1946, the citizens of French colonies in Africa were eclared equal with French nationals. They thus came under rench law and were entitled to enjoy freedom of speech and ssembly. They were entitled now to representation in the egislative institutions of the French Republic and in the ocal government councils, known as Assemblies Territoriales. «.- JW eve Ney thi bod wor nat Whi contact and Whit country. shock ax toqethei the civj are alw; one can Mst fi: How Can and und. Th society But the Jean Ma territo sent th SegrEga family wearst \ °r every man who is suffering, for he's your brother. Never look at a man's colour; it doesn't mean a thing. But on the other hand, don't ever let any— body step on your rights as a man, for even in the worst slavery, those rights are part of your very nature.8 While war rages in Europe, Climbié reflects on the contact between groups of Whites, the contact between Blacks and Whites and the contact between Black groups in his own country. It seems to him that culture contact is a brutal shock and one that does not necessarily bring the people together. Then he reflects on the contradictions of war and the civilization, justice and liberty that the colonialists are always talking about. Climbié suggests that before any— one can find and occupy his place in the community, people must first recognize that he exists and that he has value. How can this be accomplished except as people learn to know and understand each other? The social stratification that developed in colonial society is indicated in the situations already mentioned. But the various status groups are more clearly pictured in Jean Malonga's Coeur d'Aryenne. Roch Morax, Father Hux, the territorial administrator and the local police chief repre- sent the extreme in colonial society: exploitation, racism, segregation and subjegation. Mrs. Morax and the Thillard family represent the positive: the struggle for mutual nderstanding, racial equality and intellectual development. eDadié’, Climbié, pp. 47-48. African c or manual to their the white the vict: rooted a1 security cated in "Mindele‘ eXploite and whit the poor % the C010 the best betWeen basic Va of all I shared t of the f hood and front ti Standing erected practicE ican city dwellers are classed as élites and non-educated manual laborers. The élites are privileged with reSpect their uneducated brothers but not generally accepted by white sector. Manual laborers are socially deprived and Victims of human ingratitude. The villagers remain ted and secure in their traditions and thus offer some :urity and comfort for the others. They place the edu— ,ed in a class at once prestigious and bastard: the ndele-Ndombe" or White—Negroes. The villagers are loited economically and considered inferior by both black white communities. The half-castes share the poverty of poorest and are rejected by European and African sectors. Coeur d'Aryenne also presents the harsh realities of colonial situation and the hope for an amalgamation of best in each society. At stake in the confrontation een African society and European domination are the c values of friendship, brotherhood and love between men ll races and all levels of society. These values are ed by Solange, daughter of Roch Morax and Mambeké, son he family servant. They have been friends from child— and as their friendship deepens into love, they con— t the conventions and prejudices of race and social ding. The cause of all these problems is the barrier ted between the two races as a result of European tices of exploitation which are contradictory to the __.__l humanisti faith am 8012 standing hOpe tha1 younger e the one 1 baby bori between - the half- their dr. young wi‘ encourag. dignity. the futu. In 1 SEttors . bratte th between . depicted imanistic values that are found in their books, in their lith and in the French constitution. Solange and Mambeké represent a hope for mutual under— anding and acceptance between Africans and Europeans, a pa that is so far manifest only among certain of the unger generation who have assimilated African values, on 8 one hand, and have been Europeanized on the other. The y born to Solange and Mambeké represents that love ween the races that will unite them; the antithesis of half—castes created and rejected by Roch Morax. When air dreams are not realized, Mambeké would follow his ing wife in suicide, but his sister prevents him and :ourages him to continue the struggle for freedom and rnity. They return to the school, symbol of hope for 5 future. In Ferdinand Oyono's Le vieux negre et la médaille all tors of the population gather in Doum, Cameroun to cele- te the French National Day on July 14.9 Relationships een Whites and Blacks in a colonial society are vividly 'cted during the holiday preparations, the ceremonies of 9Bernard B. Dadié in Climbié also describes colonial brations in Dakar on the French National Day as well ew Year's festivities and the Christian holidays of stmas and Easter. In Cette Afri ue-la! by Jean lé-Matiba, colonial SOCiety celebrates the inau— tion of a new railway at Edéa, Cameroon during the an occupation. the Frenw day. At demonstr of the t' during f bantu de vations of both franknes nature. Now People t types of from tre head of are more Peers 01 ethnic < Communi. by Writ catiOn. the Chi Obambi' hingelf This is lilies W .he French Independence day and the activities of the next ay. Attitudes, social values and expectations clash to emonstrate the lack of mutual understanding and integration f the two groups. The author also describes the atmosphere uring festive village reunions preceeding the holiday, the antu desire to live and enjoy life, his open honest obser— ations about what happens to him. Strengths and weaknesses hf both Europeans and Africans are observed with the same frankness based on Oyono's profound knowledge of human .ature. Novels dramatizing the modern urban situation show that eople tend to live together in one or the other of two ypes of family groupings. Most live in cell groups derived rom traditional kinship links and are directed by a family ead of sorts. Others develOp broader associations which re more open and democratic but where members are often aers or people who share common interests through their :hnic origins or their occupations. The first kind of >mmunity is the one most commonly described as experienced ' writers who have gone to the city to continue their edu- Ltion. The head of the family, usually a relative, becomes .e child's tutor as Assouou Koffi, Climbié's uncle or iambi, Mambeké's uncle in Coeur d'Aryenne. The child finds mself in familiar surroundings with friendly relatives. is is the situation in L'enfant noir where Camara Laye ves with his uncle while attending school in Conakry. Maimouna bears he: Thi modern u ostentat The wome Street r then. J noveltie displays in the J the movj rather I Place '11 His Soc; laV'lShlj Shits f. Furnish EVerytn Li in Long Stall i “Mum diseaSG dolls, courtes ll9 Maimouna, in the novel written by Abdoulaye Sadji which bears her name, lives with her sister's family in Dakar. This family belongs to the new bourgeois sector of modern urban society. The milieu is formal, leisurely, ostentatious in some respects, rather severe in others. The women lead restricted lives; Jim's place and Vincens Street represent the sectors of the city that interest them. Jim, a Senegalese, sells all the latest fashions and novelties; Vincens Street is in the Morracan quarter which displays oriental art and odeurs. Beautiful Rihanna dresses in the latest fashions; her husband, Bounama, takes her to :he movies twice a month. Bounama has advanced from a rather modest social position as a minor clerk to take his )lace in the aristocracy as a leader in the administration. [is social status requires that he, on occasion, spend .avishly for social gatherings. He dresses in European pits for work and in the latest Senegalese styles at home. urnishings in the living room are part European, part Arab. verything presents an image of successful compromise. Life in this middle class setting is compared to that n Louga, the rural village where Maimouna's mother has a tall in the local market. Louga, with all of its joyous ammunal rhythms, is a distressing place of poverty and isease. As a child Maimouna is seen playing with her 3118, re-enacting scenes of village life and Senegalese >urtesy which the griots and her mother have taught her. An eweni is accla evening Sad a psyche to eat, her motl sion f0] there, I Sonal a: idealis sought and pie Of her romanti happine man, Ga Choice tange ( eVOlué This ae in a or Stralte: dePlet 120 An evening in the city With its night clubs where Maimouna is acclaimed the "belle of the ball" is contrasted with an evening she might spend in the village. Sadji presents Maimouna's desire for independence as a psychological repercussion of adolescence. She refuses to eat, is often sick and grows progressively thinner until her mother, upon the advice of the marabout, grants permis- sion for her to live with her older sister in Dakar. Once there, Maimouna is exposed to a social milieu that is imper— sonal and superficial and this reality clashes with her idealism. Beautiful like her sister, she is soon the most sought out girl in the group. Her brother—in—law is willing and pleased to arrange a very advantageous marriage with one of her many suitors. But Maimouna vascilates between the Sromantic love she dreams of and this guarantee of material .happiness and security as the wife of a successful business- man, Galaye, who loves her. Passively accepting Bounama's ‘choiCe of fiance, she goes off on her own, with the assis- tance of a jealous maid, and becomes pregnant by a young evolué who has no intention of marrying a traditional girl. This act of individual independence involves the whole group in a confusing and frustrating experience. Sadji demon— Strates how the waywardness of one member of the family depletes the whole and isolates the individual who suffers as one acpursed in his own and in others' eyes. Al: on life had bee: without escape freely decisio place a mother' outside clearly SELVesl or mere life.": Dakar \ accept Ablr 1. She is cOnfor: Which disfig She Se 121 vAlso present in Sadji's novel is a fatalistic outlook on life inspired by Islam. "Maimouna, being a child of man, had been placed under the control of a heredity of sadness without cause and a frailty without reason."10 She cannot escape the destiny which awaits her, yet she alone must freely make the decisions which lead her to disgrace. These decisions also contravene Moslem ideas of the young woman's place and duty in society. She pays no regard to her mother's wishes and attempts to choose her own partner outside her religious group, despite her brother—in—law's clearly stipulated desires. ". . . destinies fulfill them— selves, some projects fail and others succeed. Fatalists or merely resigned, the Blacks drink from the bitter cup of life."11 Rehanna accepts the conventions of the society in Dakar while Maimouna does not. Had she been prepared to accept the offers made by Galaye she too would have presum- ably lived happily in Dakar. The fates destroy her because She leaves her mother without reason and then refuses to conform to the conventions of the bourgeois community in which she has chosen to live. She suffers disgrace and disfigurement to expiate her crimes. Returning to Louga she sets up her own stall in the market and begins to u 1°Abdoulaye Sadji, Maimouna (Paris: Presence Africaine, 1958), p, —' " 11 - Ibid., p. 154. discove: without has low sufferi Th society origins and the with a temporz Faye be narrat at the Protec his gu Oblige Sellin in a c Protec for ty ditior on to apprEI their hater This 122 discover the charm of the crowds and the odors of real life without tenderness or illusion and to love it as her mother has loved it, to accept it repleat with its struggles, its suffering, its miseries and its humiliations. The second type of community found in modern urban society is that formed around common interests, ethnic origins or occupations. The group arrangement is very loose and the relationship more democratic. They are often formed with a View to overcoming material difficulties and may be temporary as well as long range. Le débrouillard by N.G.M. Faye best describes this kind of living situation. The narrateur has run away from home to escape cruel treatment at the hands of his father. Arriving in Rufisque, he is protected by a vendor in the market whose husband becomeSv his guardian. He is well treated as a part of the family. Obliged to flee further, he spends his days in Saint Louis selling photos-and the nights with a group of adventurers in a certain corner near a factory. This corner provides protection from the cold and one can rent a place to sleep for twenty—five francs a night. Needless to say, the con- ditions are not the best and there is much thieving. Going on to Dakar, Faye finds lodging with a mason and becomes his apprentice. The larger group of working men take him under their wing and provide for his Spiritual as well as his material needs, teaching him what they know of the Koran. This episode in particular demonstrates a modern form of African concept Cou optimism be patie able to Starting he later tunity 1 become < career 1 While t] Reichen film, 'h is 6 ha for him PrOgres Wh African Séiéfl invom with be Cohside AfriCan chahCe analYZe 123 African solidarity that continues to follow the traditional concept of community. Courageous and resourceful, Faye faces life with great optimism. Six years of precarious existence teach him to be patient in suffering, wise in his dealings with others, able to adapt to any situation in which he finds himself. Starting out as an errand boy, street vendor and bill poster, he later becomes a mason's apprentice, Offered the oppor- tunity to join a boxing club, he excels in this sport to become champion of French West Africa. Taking his boxing career to Paris he adjusts perfectly to that society as well. While there he meets and becomes a friend of Francois Reichenbach who makes him the star and hero of the French film, "Un coeur gros comme ca," the story of his life. Faye is a happy man who advances joyously in the world that is for him a friendly one. Cultural conflict does not block progress and achievement for him. While Maimouna deals with relationships between Africans of the same family group, Nini, Mulatresse du Sénégal by the same author is concerned with relationships involving people of mixed descent in their social contacts with both Africans and Eur0peans. Half-castes are often considered outsiders, outcasts, not accepted as part of the African or the European communities and having very little chance of really belonging to either. Sadji attempts to analyze the psychology of this type of alienation caused by racial e nulatto several black tr able to attain ' she wil though well-in would 1 sector Kg to many is upor Prevai] Dakar, lives w Karim e Prodigz with p: hEans ; ShiPS. create W in tra 0CCasi 124 racial ambiguity and prejudice. He also describes the mulatto sector of Saint—Louis. These people are cast into several categories based on the color of their skin, from black to very creamy coffee, Some of the characters are able to identify with Africans and others, admittedly few, attain their ends in the European community. Nini decides she will marry a Euopean or she will not marry at all even though she receives a sincere proposal from a prominent and well—intentioned African. Rejected by the European she would like to marry, she also refuses assimilation into a sector of African society where she might find happiness. Karim by Ousmane Socé deals with the experiences common to many young men in modern urban centers whether the stress is upon the more traditional concepts of social behavior prevailing in Saint—Louis or the bourgeois attitudes of Dakar, Rufisque and Gorée. In Saint—Louis, where Karim lives with his parents, Wolof customs are generally observed. Karim enjoys living according to inherited ideas of the noble prodigality of warrior heros who, upon returning from war with pillage and slaves to sell, were reputed to have ample means for maintaining beautiful women and liberal friend— ships. But living in Wolof style on a clerk's salary creates problems. When Karim falls in love with Marieme, he courts her in traditional Wolof style, buying her clothes for special occasions, paying griots for evenings of entertainment at w l her hox her ea: drawn . desire franc five f confus right is bac credit later ends u courti E fortur and, w Now he Then n gallar who s1 backgI ofaS to re; ties a dahci Cehte 125 her home, even paying for minor expenses such as repairing her earrings. Then, discovering there is a rival, he is drawn into the traditional diamelé or spending duel in his desire to win her. When his rich rival presents a 1,000 franc note to the presiding griot, Karim counters by passing five franc pieces rapidly around the room hoping that in the confusion there will be no calculation of the amount. He is right and momentarily applauded. But the 1,000 franc note is backed by a coffer of gold and Karim, confronted by creditors on every hand, is forced to retire defeated. He later marries Marieme in traditional Wolof style; his rival ends up in prison because of the huge debts he incurred in courting her. But in the meantime, Karim goes to Dakar to make his fortune as quickly as possible. He boards with his uncle and, with his help, secures a job translating invoices. Now he leads an impeccable life for a couple of months. Then meeting a delightful young widow he returns to his- gallant, liberal ways and is almost ruined. The teacher who shares his room encourages him to forget his Wolof background because he can no longer act within the framework of a society that does not exist anymore. So Karim begins to read and assimilate new costumes: western suits, flashy ties and a colonial casque; and new customs: ballroom dancing, swimming, movies, sidewalk cafes. Discussions center on the changes that everyone is experiencing, the conflic mean fo _K_a in desc interes and ind traditi live ir Se social modern tribul; the cm tified POstal intend for th himSel 0ffiCe Civil smpd robbed illust tack c 5 is So 126 conflict between the old and the new and what these changes mean for the future. Kggim is a novel about social change. Socé delights in describing social behavior as he observes it. He is also interested in social behavior as a revelation of group values and individual morals in the milieu heavily influenced by traditional ideals and among the educated and those who live in the bourgeois sector of modern society. Several authors share further insights into some of the social problems confronting individual and kinship groups in modern society. Le mandat by Sembene Ousmane relates the tribulations of a tradition orientated citizen of Dakar in the complex world of city administration. He can be iden- tified in any city situation. Dieng's son has sent him a postal money order worth 20,000 francs. Part of the sum is intended for his father and the rest is to be kept in store for the son's eventual return to Dakar. Unable to defend himself and lost in the bureaucracy, he is buffeted from one office to another throughout the city, abused verbally by civil servants and finally relieved of the money by a pre— sumed friend who after cashing the money order claims he was robbed. The author denounces venality and nepotism and illustrates the absurdity of a system which demonstrates lack of technical organization and reasonableness. Sembene Ousmane also denounces the parasitism which is so common in an urban situation where relatives distort custom the sit of peop part of approac The tal money r future S: on cust indivie the re; wester young] gainfu Establ ing to mother member his si 10119 b mates‘ F his br Outcry brothe 127 custom through lack of understanding or of power to change the situation. On the one hand, Dieng is beset by all kinds of people from the sector in which he lives who want their part of the 20,000 francs or a loan. They all use the same approach, traditional solidarity and African brotherhood. The tabulation of their demands would exceed the sum of the money order. On the other hand, Dieng uses the potential of future cash to extend his credit at local merchants. Sidiky Dembele in Les inutiles continues the attack on customs of kinship that cause personal anxieties for individuals in the urban situation. He shows how these are the result of the dual aSpect of a life trapped between western ideas and the moral imperatives of tradition. A young Malian successfully completes his education and finds gainful employment in one of Abidjan's commercial firms. Established in the city, he lives fairly comfortably accord- ing to modern standards. As he sends money regularly to his mother, news of his success gradually spreads to the many members of the family who attempt to exploit him, especially his sister who is married to a Moslem priest. It is not long before he has to care for all his relatives and their mates. Following the suggestions of his supervisor, he offers his brother a job as a laborer. This sparks a general outcry of indignation and he is accused of degrading his brother. He is also obligated to provide hQSpitality for everyo he is they c and ga to the l ridder the fc a hybr misfit l Sociel 128 everyone coming to Abidjan from his native village because he is the only one from the area living in the city. When they come they take possession of his house, leaving trash and garbage everywhere and even expect him to pay their way to the cinema. Life becomes impossible for him. Impoverished and debt ridden, he rebels not so much against his family as against the foreign system. He reproaches them for having made him a hybrid, a capricious, weak and wavering person, a social misfit, The tragedy of alcoholism among the educated in modern society is dramatized in Mamadou Gologo's autobiography, Le rescapé de l'Ethylos. During his last six months in medical school, Douglas, as Mamadou Gologo calls himself in the story, meets Fatou, a beautiful Mauritianian, who introduces him to alcohol; he quickly succumbs to alcoholism. As a young medical officer in the military, no one notices his plight. Following his military stint, he is assigned to one post after another, unable to conquer the problem. He fathers a child, gets into trouble with white leadership in the medical profession and finally his own people lose con— fidence in him. He sees corruption and malpractice within the profession but is powerless to do anything about it because of alcoholism. When he attempts to rally support against certain injustices in the community, the people laugh at him. \ D attemp that c done t proble returr fruh a year Littl medic local tion. espee hlar: 129 Douglas not only describes his downhill experience but attempts to analyze the personality involved and the factors that caused his downfall. He often suggests what might be done to prevent alcoholism or to help someone with this problem. He credits his mother's faith in him and his return to Islam as important factors in his cure. His family stood by him as he sat in the village for more than a year. People would stop to visit and to encourage him. Little by little he begins again to treat people who need medical advice. His brother helps locate an opening in a local clinic that enables him to return to public life. Mamadou Gologo includes some history in Le rescapé de l'Ethylos. He chooses to begin the story of his life with the mythical origins of his native village of Ségou in Mali. When he is assigned to Douentza, a rural center set on the summits of several hills, he explains the reason for this geographical location and gives a little history of the area. Later he recalls the history of Sissoko, Capital of Kene— dougou which is now a province, but at one time had been the center of an empire. This city still bears the marks of the French conquest in 1898. Considerable description is devoted to Douglas' educa— tion. Commenting on his education within the family group, especially the influence of his parents and an uncle, he then describes his experiences in European schools, partic- ularly at William—Ponty. He hesitates for a long while before e of hum01 into thl He comp. had bec Se in mode system limitat In the not onI to pro nism. Situat Often demand aSpira eratiC Wife c most E I t0 1 Shlte< \ 1 130 before deciding on medicine as a career. With a good sense of humor, he recalls the embarrassing days of initiation into the medical profession and life as a student and intern. He compares methods used in medical education with those he had become accustomed to in the regular schools. Several authors write about the problems of marriage in modern society: abuse and corruption within the dotal system and the need for a re—evaluation of the kinship limitations restricting the choice of a marriage partner. In the play Trois prétendants , . . un mari, Guillaume Oyono not only describes scenes from modern living, but also tries to prove to his contemporaries that the dot is an anachro— nism. Its continuance creates absurd and embarrassing situations and debases humanity, The dotal system all too often drives young men to extremes trying to meet the demands made by the girl's family and encourages greed and aspirations for an easy life among those of the parent gen— eration. When Juliette learns that she is to become the wife of the suitor who offers the largest dowery and the most gifts to the members of the family, she demands, "Am I to be sold to the highest bidder? Am I not to be con— sulted about a marriage that concerns me?"12 René Philombe in his novel, Sola ma chérie attacks the dotal system and the crimes it engenders: prostitution, 12Guillaume Oyono, Troispprétengants . . . un mari (Yaounde: Editions CLE, 1964), pp. 17—18. marria to mar Tsangc in E3} instax realr novel and p: invol detai The i use m kinsh Partr Kinsf With hembe raise The . of k Stor the rOle l3l marriages of convenience and alcoholism. Sola is forced to marry Nkonda, a rich old planter, because her finacé, Tsango, cannot produce the necessary sum of money. Dori in Tanta Bella becomes a prostitute. Young men in several instances turn to alcohol because their dreams cannot be I : v realized. Joseph Owono in the first part of his biographical novel, Tanta Bella, presents a study of the different trends and practices in both traditional and modern situations involving the dotal system. The custom is discussed in detail and suggestions are made for reforming practices. The ideas involve ways of curbing abuses and rendering its use meaningful to adherents. Dieudonné Mutombo in Victoire de l'amour challenges kinship restrictions that would limit the choice of life's partner. The setting for the novel is Léopoldville (now Kinshasa). Aristide, a Mukongo, meets and falls in love with Marie—Louise, a Muluba. While some of the family members involved work to reconcile the two families, others raise questions and doubts and attempt to maintain tradition. The scenes permit readers to think about the whole framework 0f kinship and its relevance in modern cities. Voltaigue by Sembene Ousman is a collection of short stories dealing with some of the problems of modern Africa: the clash of culture, the conflict of the generations, the role of women and the new middle class as well as the corrup de la Senega Dakar. people that h the ur trois men i1 amy. women is ab girls kille dismi marri force criti "Pris eVide Educ; milie Vide skil 0ft 132 corrupt practices within the Moslem leadership. "Un amour de la Rue Sablonneuse" attacks marriages of convenience in Senegalese society. The story is set in a back street in Dakar, The aura Ousman creates around the life of ordinary peOple contrasts with the ways of the new social classes that have risen with independence and gives added effect to the underlying theme of the book. In "Souleymane" and "Ses trois jours" the author assails the egotism and hypocrisy of men in certain sectors of society and their abuse of polyg— amy. In “La mere" he depicts the influence and power of women in society. A mother speaks out against a chief who is abusing his power by not showing respect for the young girls of the Village. When the chief demands that she be killed his chief executioner refuses to obey and the people dismiss their leader. In “Lettres de France" a young Woman married to an old man protests the role women are often forced to fill in society. "Mahmoud Fall" and "Communauté" criticize practices among leaders of the Moslem religion and "Prise de conscience" warns against the elitist attitudes evident among those of the new middle class. In Mission terminée Mongo Beti reveals how European education not only alienates the African from his traditional milieu, but, in the case of Jean-Marie Medza, fails to pro— vide the values, the intellectual ability and the social skills that would be useful as guides in the strange world of transition and change. Medza has just failed his oral exams southe his e: villa side the w himse games real have brute unrei of U resi: alte SCho ther refl and own he 1 imp} the the 133 exams for the baccalaureate and returns to his home in southern Cameroon for a rest and to review once more for his exams. His uncle sends him on a mission to Kala. The villagers here have lived for generations untouched by out— side influences. Their ways are set and their attitude to the world unalterable. Medza finds it difficult to orient himself meaningfully to their world; he cannot play their games or dance their dances; his education seems to have no real usefulness for him in this context. That traditions have lost their meaning is expressed in his fundamentally brutal attitude toward traditional ways and prejudices, his unrelenting laughter and insistence on the physical nature of things. Nothing is sacred to him anymore. Mongo Beti emphasizes the futility of the villagers' resistance to change. At the same time, he shows that the alternative being offered, European education, has nothing to commend it either. He has assimilated certain ideas from school and other contacts with Europeans, but behind them, there is no basic attitude toward life; his ideas do not reflect a stable, cogent set of values. As he enters more and more into the life of Kala and feels more ashamed of his own inexperience compared to that of the boys his own age, he becomes more bitter about the educational system that has imprisoned himT Each day his resentment mounts. He sees [the school as a giant ogre "swallowing young boys, digesting them slowly, vomiting them up again sucked dry of all their youthf is sli his dc playim H'n_-i-r'n’-(¢ A His d1 else z His h.‘ Part Which settj by Pe 1964 134 ”13 youthful essence, mere skeletons. For Medza, his youth is slipping away at the price of education forced on him by his dominating father while other children his age are playing games. Medza concludes: . . . if I went on as I was doing, against my natural bent, I should never be truly myself, or have any real individuality. I should never be anything but a point of View, a myth, a zero— like abstraction with which my fellow human beings could play at will, indifferent to my own desires or pleasures.1 His dual education has helped him to understand something else as well, something he had been unaware of in his youth. His has been . . . a journey which enabled me to discover many truths. Not least among these was the discovery . . , that the tragedy which our nation is suffering today is that of a man left to his own devices in a world which does not belong to him, which he has not made and does not understand. It is the tragedy of man bereft of any intellectual compass, a man walking blindly through the dark in some hostile city. . . Mongo Beti concentrates much of his description to that art of the traditional environment, the peer group, in which the child becomes a social being. It is in this setting that Jean—Marie Medza receives his second education. 13Mongo Beti, Mission to Kala, Translated from the French 0y Peter Green (London: Heinemann Educational Books, Ltd., 1964), p. 58, ' 1”Ibid., p. 63. 151bid., p. 181. ,___. Readers impact villagt and thl social into t ipates marrie his Un local toward F Charac reigne Write: ancier distrj is in faith as fez tion 3 a rob feare infer Vehic he do 135 Readers are given the opportunity as well as observe the impact that someone with a European education has on simple village folk, their reactions to Medza's presence among them and the problems of communication created by their differing social backgrounds. In addition, along with many glimpses into traditional customs and courtesy, young Medza partic— ipates in traditional wedding celebrations when the chief marries his seventh wife. Medza's mission is to retrieve his Uncle Niam's wife who has run off and is living with a local trader. The process includes insights into attitudes toward adultery within the traditional context. Finally, Mongo Beti has included some of the best characterizations of local indigenous administrators who reigned during the colonial period that modern African iwriters have shared with their readers. Described as an ancient leecher, he marries the prettiest girls in the district and is always looking for others. His position is influential and his power is enhanced by traditional faith in the absolute authority of the family head as Well as fear of colonial retribution. The colonial administra- tion flatters him and in return he obeys their commands like a robot. In the days of the forced labor gangs he was feared because he would betray fugitives and act as an informer. He uses the traditional tribal hierarchy as a vehicle for intrigue and flouts the laws and customs when he does not need them. His methods range from . . . amiable blackmail, which invokes friendship, clan—brotherhood, honor, and those patriotic sentiments which demand that every decent citizen should support his sovereign if the latter is in danger of losing face to outsiders to pure intim— idation, threatening sanctions of every kind against his wretched victim.1 In reality, the appointed chief's threats have very little bluff about them and coupled with help and advice from administrative superiors form a new system of oppression. Since studies in the different areas of the social sciences include the area of South Africa and Apartheid, two autobiographies have been included here as invaluable background on the subject. The first, written by Ezekiel Mphahlele, is entitled Au bas de la deuxieme avenue;16 the other, by Albert Luthuli, is Liberté pour mon peuple!17 Both selections present personal anecdotes relating expe— riences in an apartheid society as well as social comment on the system. In unfolding the stories of their lives, the two authors have skillfully laid bare many facets of life in South Africa which have hitherto not been revealed or have at most/been poorly reflected by authors who have had to project themselves into situations which these men have personally experienced. 151bid., p. 126 16Ezekiel Mphahlele, Down Second Avenue, Translated fromo the English by Hubert de Cointrin (Paris: Presence Africaine, 1963}. 17Albert John Luthuli, Let my people go!, Translated by Hugnette Boussand (Paris: Buchet—Chastel, 1963). 137 Ezekiel Mphahlele's earliest recollections are those f the little tribal society on the Maupaneng reserve where Lis grandmother, "as big as fate, as forbidding as a mountain, :tern as a mimose tree"18 dominated the scene. Here he :Xperienced the physical hardships imposed by poverty, the Larsh discipline of unenlightened elders and the tyranny of Larassed schoolmasters. For a brief while he was afforded :he opportunity to savor the history, the traditions and the :ustoms of his people. His mother's sudden appearance changes the course of avents for him and, at twelve, his life begins anew in ‘retoria. Here things are much worse. His drunken father, riolent towards his mother, is thrown into prison. His mother Las to be taken to the hospital and the children go to live 'ith their grandmother and Aunt Dora on Second Avenue. The wo of them earn their living by brewing illicit liquor and aking in white people's washing. The events in the author's ife reveal a pattern in which insecurity, frustration, fear nd violence are interwoven. Whole neighborhoods would be eveled and the people moved to a new location. Police inter~ ention and arrests are a constant threat; curfews and passes, part of daily routine. Somehow Aunt Dora manages to put Ezekiel through the ocal primary school and he enters St. Peters High School in 18Mphahlele, Down Second Avenue (Berlin: Seven Seas Jblishers, 1962), p. 9. 138 Johannesburg. From there he goes on to Adams College where he qualifies as a teacher. His career is shortlived when he is put out of his job because of his opposition to the new Bantu Education Act. He sets out to find other outlets for his talents only to discover that educated "Kaffirs" are not highly prized in the white world of commerce and industry. With the help of friends, some of them white, he survives a very lean period and then finds relatively congenial and rewarding ocCupation on the staff of the magazine Drum. But South Africa has become too stifling for a mind groping for expression. Having become a graduate and, therefore, employ— able elsewhere, he leaves South Africa to teach in Nigeria. Among his last memories of South Africa Ezekiel Mphahlele records his visits to the Union Buildings at Pretoria to ‘ wrest a passport from reluctant officialdom. He writes: During those weeks I simply felt the beating of the great wings of official power, ridden either with in- difference or positive hate. There were no harsh words like those Pass or Post Office clerks use. Here the show of power was deliberate, sure and silently arrogant. ’ Mphahlele shows clearly how racialism permeates all strata of isociety, and that Abdool the Indian storekeeper is no more welcome there than the writer. ‘ Albert Luthuli dedicated his life to building a non— Iracial South Africa. The early chapters of his autobiography 1 191bid., p. 209. Tm— 139 reveal his deep affection for his family, his pride in his Zulu heritage which he sketches as far back as Chaka and his deep—felt religious convictions. Most of his tafie is con— cerned with activities dating from 1935 when his people elected him chief of Groutville in Natal until June, 1959 when he was served with the latest of a series of bans which had restricted him almost continuously to the vicinity of Groutville since he had become president of the African National Congress (ANC) in 19521 A postscript written after Sharpeville and the ensuing state of emergency brings the study through 1960. Documents added as appendices are Luthuli's statement of November, 1952, when the government dismissed him from his position as chief because of his sup— ‘port of the non-violent Defiance Campaign against discrimina- itory laws; the Freedom Charter adOpted by the ANC in 1955; 1and his undelivered statement at the time of his trial for ‘burning his pass book following Sharpeville. Relating the history of apartheid as he experienced Fit, the author speaks out against land apportionment, housing {in urban areas, labor practices, education and segregation in ipublic life. As chief in Groutville, he observed naked ‘poverty for the first time and began his campaign against the [biases in land distribution where the average white farmer ‘operates 375 acres against six acres that a black farmer may yCultivate. He wonders what happens to six acres when his :eight children inherit it. The economic situation is rendered 140 more difficult when the government places quotas on produc— tion and sugar cane is left to rot in the fields. Further— more, rural folk cannot get the credit they need for development and those sent out to demonstrate new methods prove to be slack in their responsibility, uncooperative and indifferent. Cattle culling is practiced in direct opposi— tion to tradition: cattle are the only wealth in which rural Zulu people believe. The ANC cries give us back our land and there will not be too many cattle. Housing schemes are discussed, especially resettlement legislation which in the name of slum clearance gives the government power to seize the property and rights of urban Africans and to move and to resettle them in predetermined areas such as Sophiatown. Labor legislation keeps Africans from sharing in economic :planning and makes strikes illegal. Africans are barred from i iholding skilled jobs in industry. , The Bantu Education Act came into effect in 1954. fiuthuli compares the new progressive ideas with the education he received and criticizes plans to equip African children for the life which white South Africans decree they shall live. i Ft is his claim that the overall effect of the system is not i l Education at all, but political. African doctors, lawyers and teachers have proved themselves able to absorb not only @éarning but western culture in less than 2000 years. Now this poses a threat to white supremacy. 141 The Bantu Self—Government Act that created territorial apartheid is discussed as well. Luthuli compares this new era in politics to a return to the feudalistic systems of Chaka's generation. The Bantustan Act divides South Africa horizontally. The white parliment is at the top; beneath, they have created an authoritarian state governed by one man, the Minister of Bantu Administration and Development, assisted by such men as the Minister of Justice and the Minister of Bantu Education. There is no suggestion of demo— cratic rule. Early in his career, Chief Luthuli established the Grower's Association in an effort to bring about change in government policies regarding sugar farmers in the Groutville area. It was his first but not his last experience in getting African people to act in union to correct some of the evils they had to endure. He was active in the ANC from its incep— tion until it was banned in 1960. Local boycotts against Bantu education, buses, potatoes and other government actions l ere often effective. The Defiance Campaign was organized as F nationwide non—violent protest against a system of unjust l and oppressive laws. The main target was discrimination as bracticed in public places. Systematic disobedience was Called for in railway stations, waiting—rooms, post offices, >ublic~Seats, train accommodations, wherever "Europeans Only" ras practiced. When legislation extended the need for paSSes :0 include women, demonstrations errupted in many centers. 142 The freedom Charter, adopted by the ANC in 1955, attempted to give new meaning in the South African setting to such words as democracy, freedom and liberty. If the Charter is examined it will be seen that free— dom means the opening up of the opportunity to all South Africans to live full and abundant lives in terms of country, community, and individual. Luthuli supported the drive for an international economic boycott in the hopes that this would bring about a peaceful settlement of the situation in South Africa and pave the way for the realization of his dream, a non-racial South Africa. Organizing resistance to Apartheid policies was not easy and Luthuli not only discusses the strengths of the programs pursued, but points to some of the problems the ANC faced. Some groups of Africans championed apartheid. Acclamation of resistance at mass meetings did not necessarily lead to re~ sistance in practice. The Paramount Chief of the Zulu did not maintain a consistent stand on the issues. ,Apathy was extensive, especially in rural areas where people had learned ito be satisfied with little. It was very difficult to main— tain unity among the different racial groups even though all were experiencing discrimination. The Coloreds could never make up their minds which world to live in. They find themselves debarred from living as whites. They refuse to make common cause with Africans, and this refusal comes from adherence to the same race hierarchy which causes the white to reject them. Their confusion isolates them unhappily. In other 20Albert John Luthuli, Let M Peo 1e Go' (London: Collins, 1962), p. 159. 143 words, they have become the victims of the very atti— tude the Congresses will not accept——the belief that South Africa contains several worlds which may be graded as superior and inferior. Our struggle is to build one South Africa embodying all simply as fellow— citizens.21 The Pan-Africanist Congress (PAC) was later formed and this raised the question again: Did their Africa for the Africans mean Africa for the aboriginals? If so their appeal would be explosive. Luthuli believes that a racially exclu— sive resistance is the wrong reply to a racially exclusive oppression. The author also comments on the theoretical nature of the sympathy received from certain white people who tend to shout loudly but take no action. A final problem that needs confrontation is the fact that Africans are still basically ignorant of the workings of a political system. Describing society as experienced in the present, ‘writers have pictured its social stratification, the modifica- tion of kinship groups particularly in urban situations and the evolution of a new middle class elite. They have drama— tized the clash of cultures and the conflict between tradition and modernity, the conservatism of the older collective society and the desire for individualism and progress on the lPart of the younger generation. In so doing, they have presented their readers with many of the issues that need to ‘be discussed as well as the problems that must be resolved. -—_—__ 211bid., pp. 134—135. VI MODERN LITERATURE DEALING PRIMARILY WITH CULTURAL CONFLICT, THE CONSEQUENT PSYCHOLOGICAL AND PHILOSOPHICAL DISRUPTION AND PROPOSALS FOR RENEWAL Some of the writers included in this chapter are concerned more specifically with the problem of conflict caused by impact with another way of life than they are with showing the situation and the social problems created. Their works deal with the psychological and philosophical issues created by the incursion of a strange culture into the hitherto self—contained world of African society and the disarray in the African consciousness that has followed. Other writers challenge their people to struggle against the state of mind which so many years of colonialism has imposed on them and to take the initiative in renewal and ebuilding. Ten novels, three plays and one narrative have been elected for study under this heading. Bernard Dadié, ole Soyinka and Seydou Badian have written the drama: 145 Monsieur Th6g6+gnini, Le lion et la perle1 and La mort de Chaka. Novels analyzed are Sous l'orage by Seydou Badian, Le chant du lac by Olympe Bhely-Quenum, L'aventure ambigué by Chiekh Hamidou Kane, Les bouts de bois de Dieu, O pays, mon beau peuple! and L'harmattan by Sembene Ousmane, Kocoumba, l'étudiant noir by Ake Loba, Africa Ba'a by Rémy Mvomo, Dramouss by Camara Lays and Violent était le vent by Charles Nokan. Sembene Ousmane has written a long narrative, Vehi—Ciosane which is referred to in this chap— ter. It may be argued that several works already examined in earlier chapters could be included here. It has been difficult at times to make a decision regarding the place— ment of a few of the books analyzed and inclusion under a given heading is the researcher's preference. Chinua Achebe's reconstruction’of Ibo society in Le monde s'effondre, analyzed in chapter four, is directed at revealing the forces at work both inside and outside traditional society that prepared the way for its eventual disintegration. Ferdinand Oyono's Le vieux negre et la médaille, chapter five, demonstrates the complete lack of mutual understanding and consequent incompatibility of the two societies: African and colonial. biongo Beti's Mission terminée, 1Wole Soyinka, The Lion and the Jewel (London: Oxford University Press, 1963); Translated into French by Jacques Ehuto and Philippe Laburthe—Tolra (Yaoundé, Editions CLE, 968). 146 chapter five, underlines the alienation that European education imposes on students when it fails to take into consideration African social and cultural values. Monsieur Thégé-gnini is a comedy of contrasts and conflicts as African and European cultures clash on the continent. Drawing materials from the slave trade era and the early contact with trading posts on the coast of Benin, Bernard Dadié dramatizes the humorous incidents as well as the more serious problems that the European presence on the continent engenders. African values and expectations are compared with European values and demands when the white tradersicome-to Th6g6—gnini's office to arrange trade agreements. A scene set in a Europeanized city offers opportunity to discuss the issues of European individuali— zation as opposed to the African concept of community. In a dream, Monsieur ThOgO-gnini, who has been to Europe and represents the man who is partially Europeanized, envisions himself dressed as African royalty yet with a revolver on his belt and a rifle in his hand. Seeing himself as half thite and half black, he dialogues with himself as to whether he is Black or White. If cultural contact has caused him to question his ring 4. A. dentity, as the court official in charge of international ;rade, Monsieur ThOgo—gnini has taken advantage as well of iis powerful position to monopolize, for his personal gain, l l learly every agricultural product from the area and also i t l 147 appropriated the best lands, the forests and the fishing grounds. Making agreements with the local people for their produce, he refuses to honor them with payments for goods delivered. He has become a corrupt, dishonorable agent with so much power that he defies anyone to bring him to justice. But N'zekou is that citizen who never gives up. He has been in prison so much of the time for trying to claim the money Monsieur ThOgo—gnini owes him that, according to him, he might as well have been born there. Now once more, in a Europeanized courtroom scene, N'zekou is on trial. Though Monsieur ThOgo-gnini has bribed certain citizens to give false testimony, justice prevails as the president of the court strikes out against the self-seeking, corruptive forces that have penetrated society and demands a return :0 the values of mutual self respect and freedom. Le lion et la perle by Wole Soyinka is also a hilarious remedy in which the manners and customs of both the old .frica and the new are satirized. Soyinka presents the onflict of the new order with the old over social customs uch as marriage and the struggle between progress and radition. The new order in society is represented by the illage school teacher, Lakunle, who opposes the practices 5 the old order as represented by Baroka, Bale of Ilujinle Lakunle does not like to see a girl going about half- .ked and detests the idea of bride price in marriage. He 148 has plans to modernize the village and improve living standards for his people. Baroka, on the other hand, will not let the strangers run rail tracks through or near Ilujinle. Lakunle feels that he has sworn against progress. But the Village blacksmith is making a printing press for i 3 the old chief. Perhaps progress is to emmanate from traditional culture; foreign ideas are to be adapted to and produced by the African milieu as opposed to imposition from exterior sources. Wole Soyinka touches upon many of the cultural, politi- cal, social and religious aspects of village life among the Yoruba. He describes some of the functions and activities of a village head. As seen in the play, vil— lagers are ushered into the chief's presence by a palace attendant and prostrate themselves or kneel before him when they greet him using a special form of address. Whenever he travels from his home, he is accompanied by his wrestler and some attendants. (Wresting is one of the traditional sports of the Yoruba as well as of the Ibo.) The chief lives in a palace richly decorated with animal skins and rugs. He is influential and takes as many wives as he leases. When he dies, his latest wife, usually known as he favorite, becomes the first and senior wife of the new hief. The play also demonstrates how when a man in tradi— ional Yoruba society wants inspiration, he calls on his 149 ancestors who can answer prayers and grant requests. The festival of the rain is mentioned, at which time prayers and sacrifices are offered to the god of rain to insure plenty of it. Music, drumming and dancing are an integral part of all exciting and emotional situations, the'means of expressing feelings. Some of the marriage customs are shown. Lakunle loses Sidi because he refuses to pay the bride price. Baroka takes her without much formal or personal wooing which is his privilege as a chief. During courtship an intermediary takes messages to and from the couple involved. This role is played by the chief's senior wife in Soyinka's play. The beginning of the wedding ceremony is described at the end of the play. The elders give their blessings to the couple on the eve of the ceremony. Then the women escort the bride to her husband's house amidst singing and dancing. The play portrays the customary polygamous life of a chief, who often maintains a harem in his house, both for help and for enjoyment. Bribery and corruption are not unknown in Yorubaland. In order to stop the construction of the railway through the village, Baroka presents the government surveyor responsible for the work with kola and money. The surveyor takes the money and yields to the chief's demand. Some mention is made in the play to the gods of the Yoruba. The people believe in their power to protect human 150 life. They are to be respected; none is to joke with the name of a god. A girl in the play is given a playful slap on the bottom by another girl because she blasphemes against the sun saying “Oh, Sidi, you looked as if, at that moment, “2 A girl swears by the sun himself had been your lover. Ogun, the god of iron, saying: "Ogun strike me dead if I lie.“3 Worshipped by those who work with iron, he can protect, he can also destroy when offended. Many of the economic crops and natural resources of Nigeria are mentioned as Baroka shows Sidi a series of postage stamps. He is suggesting to her that he honor her beauty by printing stamps bearing her likeness. He speaks of groundnuts, the chief product of Northern Nigeria; palm trees and palm products, the chief product of the Eastern Region; cocoa and farmers hacking pods, a reference to Western Nigeria where cocoa is the main agricultural product. The play pictures hawkers wandering up and down shout- ing their wares. They travel from place to place and at night sit by their wares with oil—lamps beside them. Markets are pictured with merchants setting themselves up in their stalls. . 2Wole Soyinka, The Lion and the Jewel (London: Oxford University Press, 1963), p- 11- 3Ibid., p. 11. 151 Focusing on marriage customs, Seydou Badian in Sgus l'orage continues with the conflict of Western and African ideologies. In Bamako, two young students love each other secretly. But the girl's father wants her to marry an old man who already has two wives and is rich. The daughter refuses. As a result of this scandal, the village is divided into two camps: the younger generation who fight for a new era in which individuals can decide their personal destinies and the older people who defend custom as the basis for traditional society, the sum of the wisdom and experience of the ancestors and the guarantee of group solidarity. The solution is to be found in compromise. Young people who love each other are to be allowed to marry; but they are to respect their elders, obtain their accord by means of negotiations, convincing them with patience rather than revolt. Conducting themselves rationally, with moderation and tolerance, they are to demonstrate that changing particular practices will not destroy the social foundations of the family. Synthesis instead of opting for modernity and reject— ing traditions is the preferred course of action. In building'modern Africa, the elders should not insist on continuing in full power nor should the young people reject traditions. The younger generation must evaluate and revise the traditional structures in ways that will allow freedom to grow and at the same time guard communal values. 152 The young people must understand and appreciate traditional values if they are to act intelligently in bringing about compromise. Consequently, Badian arranges for Kany and her brother to spend some time in the natal village learning about their people and criticizes modern education for neglecting traditional values. Life in a fishing village is compared to life in the modern urban situation: the ritual sacrifice of a rooster on the eve of the annual hunt is made as it has always been made; the lizard is protected as the family totem; the boat festival is replete with tests of physical strength and show of power over the occult forces of the universe. The villagers' attitudes toward city dwellers reveal their opposition to change. The author also criticizes the abuses of polygamy and fetishism with its retinue of superstitious practices. When Kany's brothers and uncles are called together for their approval of the marriage, one brother, Birami, refuses his part of the kola because he knows that Kany will never accept this kind of arrangement. She and Samou have gone to a diviner and sealed their love with the blood pact in defiance of the elders:’ An uncle joins Birami in opposition and this opens the way for interested parties to work out a‘compromise. I The conflict between the forces of enlightenment and those of fear dominate Olympe Bhély-Quénum's novel Le chant 153 du lac. As the story opens the clash is represented as one between the generations: the young people opting for free— dom and modernization in opposition to their parents who remain too much chained to the past with its superstitions, its priests and chiefs who use fetishes and religious rites as a means of dominating others. An ensuing election campaign helps to clarify the issues. One party supports tradition and the ideology of the East; another, Christian values and Western rationalism. A third, organized by Ounehou, who represents the nobility that fell into dis— grace for their earlier economic and political dealings with Europe, would bring together the best that both tradition and the modern world have to offer. The gods of the lake will continue to be respected as long as they do not interfere With the development of industrial fishing in the area. The students, skeptical of all political parties, Observe the electioneering with cynical detachment, sure that all the politicians are demagogues and liars who will ruin the country. One of their number, Kouassi, remarks: "Neither the West nor the East will succeed in destroying Africa; its ruin is threatened by the moral anarchy and the petty mentality of the African himself."“ The lives Of the Villagers are dominated by fear, fear of the two “Olympe Bhely— Quénum, Le chant du lac (Paris: Presence Africaine, 1965), p. 72. 154 : gods be the lake on which Wésé is situated, gods of legendary origins. While the students place hopes in Ounéhou's com— promise party, they cannot understand why the politicians of Wésé do not seek to rid the people of their fear of these gods. There can be no progress as long as fear enslaves them and chains them to their past. The conflict erupts in ernest as students and citizens of Wésé are trapped on the lake during a violent storm. The gods sing during the storms and are known to claim their'victims from among those who are on the lake at that time. Students and villagers at first dispute the existence of the gods. The people in some canoes resign themselves to their assumed fate, others struggle valiantly. The rest vacillate between the hope of victory and the fear that they are to be the next victims. Mrs. Ounéhou and her boatman meet and kill the gods of the lake, a pair of huge water ......i As the Story ends the conflict is still a part of the Scene, but fear has lost a little of its power to enslave at least some of the villagers. The victory over the death— dealing gods marks a moral conversion, a liberating experi- ence that frees at least the Ounéhou family and her boatman from fear and sets them on a new path toward a new humanism founded on faith in the ultimate value of human life itself. L'aVenture ambigué by Cheikh Hamidou Kane is the story of Samba Diallo's search for a compromise between traditional 155 Islam and the materialist philosophy of Europe. He is to try to assimilate European culture in a way that does not destroy his own fundamental beliefs. The novel attempts to analyze the essential consequences of assimilation. Samba Diallo symbolizes the point of contention, the per- sonality in whom the two conflicting ideologies war. This is how he states the problem for his friends in Paris, the Pierre-Louis's: I am not a distinct country of the Diallobé facing a distinct Occident, and appreciating with a cool head what I must take from it and what I must leave with it by way of counterbalance. I have become the two. There is not a clear mind deciding between the two factors of a choice. There is a strange nature, in distress over not being two.5 and the Martials: It may be that we shall be captured at the end of our itinerary, vanquished by our adventure itself. It suddenly occurs to us that, all along our road, we have not ceased to metamorphose ourselves, and we see ourselves as other than what we were. Sometimes the metamorphosis is not even finished. We have turned ourselves into hybrids, and there we are left. Then We hide ourselves, filled with shame.6 Samba's adventure is his movement from a oneness of things, a sense of wholeness made possible through his religious faith into ambiguity as he attempts to assimilate and synthesize the two cultures. 5Cheikh Hamidou Kane, Ambiguous Adventure, translated from the French by Katherine Woods (Toronto: Collier- Macmillan Canada Ltd., 1969), p. 140. 6Ibid., p. 104. 156 The Word of God flowed pure and limpid from his fervent lips. . . . He contained within himself the totality of the world, the visible and the invisible, its past and its future. This word which he was bringing forth in pain was the architecture of the world——it was the world itself. His movement from the totality of the Word to his silences in the new school and on to Paris is a movement from full— ness to emptiness. And in the broader context, this move— ment, this adventure is that of a complete way of life, of a people, of a culture. It dramatizes the dehumanization of Spirit and proclaims, perhaps presages a deepening alienation from self. We are no longer living. We are empty of substance, and our head devours us. Our ancestors were more alive. Nothing separated them from themselves.8 The Diallobé are faced with the gradual but inevitable encroachment of European values. In earlier days foreign intrusion was rejected and stoutly opposed. During the colonial period Moslem communities were permitted a certain amount of religious and political autonomy by the adminis~ tration. They were not treated like pagans and their beliefs, though considered erroneous, were respected. Now their attempt to come to terms with European civilization is a voluntary act. The objective appraisal of their faith 7Ibid., p. 5. 8Ibid., p. 144. 157 when faced with its possible disintegration allows them to be critical of both European values and their own. The central debate is Whether the fullness which the Moslem faith gave to the Diallobé is enough to withstand the incursions of those Who conquered "without being in the right."9 We reject the foreign school in order to remain our- selves, and to preserve for God the place He holds in our hearts. But have we still enough force to resist the school, and enough substance to remain ourselves?10 The chief of the Diallobé, Samba's uncle, the Most Royal Lady, the chief's sister and Tierna, the religious teacher represent the different sides of the debate and are each symbolic of a pattern of life. Tierna, from whom Samba learns the fullness of the spiritual life, is the embodi— ment of Islamic tradition, the visible manifestation of one of the many arguments in the adventure: spirit versus matter, death versus continuity. What Islam teaches the children . . . is God. What they forget is themselves, their bodies, and the futile dream which hardens with age and stifles the spirit. So What they learn is worth infinitely more than what they forget.11 The Royal Lady is the complete antithesis of Tierno in form and, in idea, diametrically opposed. Born of a 91bid., p. 33. mIbid., p. 9. ”Ibid., p. 31. 158 noble line, she represents the epic traditions of the Diallobé, the vital force, the physical continuity of her lineage. She argues that since the country has been con- quered by those who know how to "join wood to wood," the people must now learn the art. Knowledge of how to "join wood to wood" equals the control of matter and the acquisi- tion of the power to develop a better life for the living. She insists that “the time has come to teach our sons to live. I foresee that they will have to do with a world of the living, in which the values of death are scoffed at and bankrupt."12 Her brother, the chief, with whom she consults fre— quently about the fate of the Diallobé, is at once the picture of purity and of stability. Though he claims "I am a poor thing, that trembles and does not know. . ."m he is ". . . the landmark and the recourse. . ."w to whom his people turn for direction in this their hour of ambiguity. Caught in the dilemma, the chief suggests that "He who wants to live, who wants to remain himself, must I! 15 compromise. Then he ponders: If I told them to go to the new school . . . they would go en masse. They would learn all the 12Ibid., p. 25. 13Ibid., p. 33. 1“113151., p. 28. 15Ibid., p. 9. 159 ways of joining wood to wood which we do not know. But, learning, they would also forget. Would what they would learn be worth as much as what they would forget? I should like to ask you: can one learn this Without forgetting that, and is what one learns worth What one forgets? On the other hand If I do not tell the Diallobé to go to the new school, they will not go. Their houses will fall into ruins, their children will die or be reduced to slavery. Extreme poverty will be entrenched among them, and their hearts will be filled with resent— ment.16 The question raised concerns the corruption of the spirit by material power. The teacher has heard that "in the country of the white man, the revolt against poverty and misery is not distinguished from the revolt against God."17 New and better housing is necessary but "within those dwellings we must save God.“leFor the Royal Lady it is not a question of life and death. There is no choice between the "this" and the "that"; the one must be destroyed in order to preserve the other. For the present the physical continuity of their children can be assured only through sacrifice of the spiritual. Her argument is prag— matic; sometimes it is expedient to destroy in order to preserve. 15Ibid., pp. 30, 31. "Ibid., p. 10. 18Ibid., p. 10. 160 . . , remember our fields when the rainy season is approaching. We love our fields very much, but what do we do then? We plough them up and burn them: we kill them. In the same way, recall this: what do we do with our reserves of seed when the rain has fallen? We would like to eat them, but we bury them in the earth. . . . My opinion . . . is that our best seeds and our dearest fields——those are our children. The novel offers many dialogues and discussions of interest in the social sciences, particularly to courses in philosophy. Observing the splendor of the declining day, Paul Lacroix, director of the new school, and the chief of the Diallobé discuss the philosophies of Islam and European science:20 the end of the world and the coming of truth versus the discovery of truth through science. The knight, Samba's father, and Samba discuss the relation of work to living.21 One may work out of necessity, work to preserve the species, work to accumu- late in the belief that in multiplying riches one multiplies life, or work out of a mania for working. The teacher and the chief debate the needs of the body and the needs of the soul.22 Kane is critical of Western values. It is the knight who articulates the dilemma of the Western world, of its problems and observes that the West has effected '9 Ibid., pp. 42—43. m Ibid., Part one, chapter 7. 3 Ibid., Part one, chapter 9. 2 Ibid., Part one, chapter 3. 161 . . . man's slavery amid a forest of solutions . . . the West is possessed by its own compulsion, and the world is becoming westernized. Far from men's resisting the madness of the West at the time when they ought to do so in order to pick and choose, assimilate or reject, we see them, on the contrary, in all latitudes, a-quiver with covetousness, then metamorphosing themselves in the space of one generation, under the action of this new egotism which the West is scattering abroad.2 Western values of efficacy and expediency do not allow people to dig into the heart of matters. Material greed shuts out concern for anything other than the superficial, throttles the spirit and destroys. The F001 is a product of this distruction. Samba and his friends in Paris dis— cuss the fissure and the consequent hybridization of African culture.”' The Royal Lady explains to her people why it is necessary to learn from the European “the art of conquering without being in the right."25 Vehi—Ciosane by Sembene Ousman severely criticizes the resistance and egotism of those sectors of society that choose to remain traditional. Inertia and indifference to modernity lead to complete social and moral disintegration in the Cayor community depicted by the author. While there are values such as social obligation and responsibility, social equality, social cohesiveness and social cooperation 23 Ibid., p. 64. % Ibid., Part two, chapter 5. 5 Ibid., Part one, chapters 3 and 4, p. 33. 162 so precious to society that they must be carefully guarded and not rejected in the name of modernization, there are other values that should be abandoned. Change and progress will come only if the people are willing to reflect on their situation and do something about it. For Ousmane the African must accept the innovations which technical pro— gress imposes on him. He must assimilate them in his own way. If his traditional social pattern is incapable of dealing with them, then he must broaden his horizons by borrowing ideas from elsewhere, testing them and adapting them to his needs. Utilizing the events of the 1947 Niger—Dakar railway strike as a background, Sembene Ousmane in Les bouts de bois de Dieu attempts to show how people can change their situation by acting independently and responsibly to achieve their goals. The action takes place in the workers‘ homes whether in Dakar, Thiés or Bamako, within the framework of their everyday lives. Events which the people have taken for granted are disrupted and given new significance as a result of the strike. Gradually they realize that their lives are governed by forces outside their control which are not concerned with their welfare. As the situation worsens, they are forced to accept responsibility for privations and to seek ways of overcoming them. Ousmane attempts to demonstrate the various ways in which they become aware of their imposed inferiority and how they 163 oppose their pride and will to the brute force used against them. As they learn to look at their situation objectively, they begin to analyze it dispassionately and to oppose tendencies toward passive resistance. Ousmane makes the workers' development from ineffectual disunity to solidarity and an awareness of their individual responsibility the central theme of his novel. Though they have a strong leader in Bakayoko, there is no idealism or solidarity at the beginning of the strike. Penda, the prostitute, Doudou, a militant trade unionist with selfish ambitions, Awa, the snobbish wife of a foreman, N'Deye Touti, a young schoolgirl who prefers Europeans to Africans and others all find that the strike helps them to transcend their individual problems, to forget their private feuds and attempts at expressing their self—satisfaction. But it is only when the last petty difference is resolved and the workers together with their womenfolk are united in the common cause, aware of their responsibility and willing to accept the consequences of their actions, that the triumphant meeting takes place in Dakar. Non—violent tactics prove to be more productive than violent demonstrations. Whenever violence is used by the strikers it fails to achieve anything and leads to more violence, as shown in the efforts of the employers and administration to break the strike. Tiemoko, responsible 164 for dealing with strike breakers, discovers the power of moral condemnation rather than brute force over the workers. Isolating Diara, one of the deserters, and putting him on trial before his fellow workers in Bamako, he reinforces the solidarity of the group and insures that others will not follow his example. Shanty—town in Dakar is typical of shanty—towns in any large metropolitan area. The setting is pitilessly accu— rate. The voracious flies which share the workers‘ breakfast and the foul washing-up water in which the utensils are soaked, the children's runny noses, all are part of their lives. But despite the squalor, these homes have a significance which goes beyond the purely social considerations involved in the workers' struggle. The details Ousmane gives not only emphasize their poverty but also those things which they cherish: children, community, mutual respect, language and tradition. No excuses are made for the flies and the filth. They are the workers‘ responsibility. Although prevailing conditions have forced them to live in shanty—town, it is up to them to bring about the necessary changes. 0 pays, mon beau peuple! by the same author describes one man's courageous and difficult efforts to develop a modern and independent economic enterprise. Oumar Faye, a man educated through military experience abroad rather than 165 in the assimilationist school in Senegal, returns to his conservative Moslem village in Casamance with ideas for economic development and a white bride. He wages war on two fronts. Lethargy must be eliminated from the African milieu and traditional practices changed and up—dated. Self—interests and greed on the part of racist European traders must be combatted as well. He and his wife build their dream house up river. Here the younger generation, aware of the need for change, meet with them as together they discuss the future of their village and their nation. Although it was the ardent desire of all of them to live with no concern for tomorrow, the country-— awakening from its lethargy——was dragging the youth along, like sludge in the river. Their personal future, and that of their people, exacted more of them each day. They began to aspire towards an Africa in which they would no longer have to live out a drama provoked by the conflict of two races on their soil.26 Violating precedent in this fishing village, Faye returns to the soil with definite goals. He sets out to increase the productivity of the Casamance, a potential rice basket for Senegal, by introducing modern agricultural methods, wresting the profits of peasant labor from the local European company and placing responsibility for price controls and the exploitation of the land under indigenous administration. He successfully builds up a rice seed bank 26Sembene Ousmane, O pays, mon beau peuple! (Paris: Amiot—Dumont, 1959), p. 46. 166 and gains the support and good will of the peasants by supplying dried fish to ward off famine. But he is an aggressive person and his fists make him the main target of the European community. When he proposes the establishment of a rice cooperative and a marketing board to his more progressive friends, one of them betrays him to the company and he is mysteriosly and brutally murdered. Though dead, his ideas do not die. The criminal arms which beat him down were deceived. It was not in the tomb that he lay but in the hearts of all men and women. -He was present in the evening when the fires were lit in the rice fields. . . .-He preceded the sowing of the crops, he was present dur— ing the rainy season and he kept company with the young people at harvest time.2 Both Faye's venture in O pays, mon beau peuple! and the events of the Niger—Dakar railroad strike provide back— ground and setting for fruitful discussions of human relations in labor and industry and the development of economic and agricultural enterprises. Interracial marriage is another theme in Sembene- Ousman's O pays, mon beau peuplel When Faye returns to Casamance, a conservative Moslem village, with a white bride, his father, imam of the local Mosque, refuses to have anything to do with him unless he renounces his wife. Reactions are varied from both the Black and the White communities. 27Ibid., p. 234. 167 Isabelle, Faye's European wife, establishes herself in the community through the help of his eccentric mother. She helps at first out of maternal compassion. Then, as the two learn to understand each other, concern develops into love. The pipe—smoking sorceress initiates Isabelle into the mysteries of local plants and native oneness with nature and the constant struggle for survival. She also doctors the girl in the hopes of gaining a grandchild. When Oumar is murdered, Isabelle decides to stay in the village to continue her husband's mission of modernization. The important part that women play in Sembene's novels provides many useful insights both into their changing role in Africa and into the abiding esteem they have always held in the eyes of men and which they are now translating into increased status and prestige. Education may have left Mongo Beti bereft of any intellectual compass in his world, but Kocoumbo, in Ake Loba's Kocoumbo, l'étudiant noir, gradually becomes a mature man who understands his responsibilities to his people. Kocoumbo confronts the problem of cultural progress and the need to correlate this with the needs of Africa. Europe offers him knowledge, but not a way of life. His friend— ship with Durandeau shows him the evils of adopting the exterior trappinge of French civilization in order to become influential; a politician with no concern but for 168 his own welfare. Abdou has the right aims but they are based on communistic ideals and do not emanate from a specifically African viewpoint. When he returns to Africa, he will be considered an outsider because he has adopted a philosophy which means nothing to the people he will treat as a doctor. The knowledge Kocoumbo gains must be adapted to the conditions prevalent in Africa. The philosophy becomes quite clear. Kocoumbo must avoid assimilation. This explains his isolation and loneliness in Paris. He must examine everything in the light of his way of life and refuse to participate in anything which goes against it. Most of all he must not form any deep attachment with an alien culture. Aké Loba's description of the life of African students in Paris is harrowing and realistic and reflects little credit on either Africans or French. The attitudes of the different characters represent typical means of dealing with the fundamental contradiction between their life in- Africa and their expectations of Europe, their vague and naive ideas about life in Paris, the comfort and easy paths to academic success and the reality of the situation once they arrive. No sense of solidarity develops among the students or between them and their homeland. Except for Durandeau, Abdou and Kocoumbo, most of them have become 169 rootless individuals. They drift helplessly and cynically from day to day. Durandeau has assimilated French culture and is at ease in Paris. Abdou plans a medical career in Africa even though his communistic ideology may alienate him from his own people. Kocoumbo's goal is to remain African and adapt the knowledge and skills he learns to the needs of his country and its people. Rémy Mvomo continues the theme of Africa's future when, in Afrika Ba'a, he dramatizes the potential for renewal and progress that lies with today's educated young people. Kambara, a young man from the village of Afrika Ba'a with a secondary education, decides that the only way out of the miserable existence in his village is to go to the city. Once there he discovers that misery is a part of city life as well. Unemployment is high; it is only after months of searching for a post in the administration that Kambara is lucky to find work as a household servant. Tormented by the conditions around him and realizing that something must be done to reverse the current trend to discouragement and dispair, he returns to Afrika Ba'a where he applies the knowledge and skills he has acquired to revitalize the life of his people. Utilizing modern methods of organization and administration and building on traditional principles of social obligation and responsibility, cohesiveness and cooperation, while combatting egoism and customary practices, 170 Kambara succeeds in restoring prosperity and dignity to Afrika Ba'a and its inhabitants. Kambara describes living conditions and the psychology of people both in Afrika Ba'a and Nécroville. In the Village houses stand vacant and delapidated, people lack ambition, and the ground has been exploited until it yields very little. Dispair reigns; the people spend their time . . . killing themselves in the fields, drinking, gossiping, spying out secrets, looking for excuses to hate or to make others jealous and sleeping with women.28 Food is in short supply and disease and death are everywhere. The city 1 . . . debases the noble, humiliates and depersonalizes those who are competent, entices the pure and corrupts the honest.29 The administration practices favoritism, nepotism and tribal- ism. Kambara also discusses problems which occur in these settings. Parasitism is forced on young men because they cannot find work. Prostitution becomes a means of income for Fedh who thus utilizes his sister. Young people like Kambaba and Ada, Koli and Esther live together while they attempt to get enough money together to pay the required dowry. Education brings wrong attitudes toward work. m Rémy Médou Mvomo, Afrika Ba'a (Yaoundé, Editions CLE, 1969)! p. 18. 29 Ibid., p. 74. 171 Kamara refuses to seek employment at the local sawmill because he has an education and because the men there would wonder why he was doing manual labor when he had been to school. When he undertakes to rebuild his village, he discovers that unifying the people in a common cause is a difficult, but not impossible undertaking. Nation building is another area that demands intelli— gent leadership as well as awareness of the issues on the part of decision—makers from all sectors of the population. Taking the Referendum of 195830 in French Colonial Africa as a point of departure, Sembene Ousmane in L'harmattan studies the atmosphere in which the referendum took place. The different pressures brought to bear upon the local popu- lation in this novel and their reactions are meant to convey the impression of a typical situation as well as to indicate specific political and social issues. On the one hand, the local government backed by the colonial power employs various tactics, from generous concession to the population to intimidation of its opponents, in its efforts to secure a favorable result. On the other hand, a group of young radicals mount a campaign for independence against the referendum. m Referendum in which the people of French West Africa decided on a new constitution presented by General DeGaulle Which called for a French Commonwealth of Nations. 172 Through his main characters, Ousmane examines the different social classes and shows how their reaction to the campaign is conditioned by their social position and interests, as well as by their degree of understanding of the issues involved in the referendum. The political question is seen to be determined by a multitude of social and personal factors, largely independent of any reasoned approach, except in the case of the radicals. In ignorance the masses act only in accordance with their estimation of where true power lies. The professional class, when they cannot identify with the authorities, are unable to make common cause with the radicals, whom they consider extrem— ists. The picture that emerges is one of a general state of incomprehension between the various groups, due to the prejudices and the divergencies in their attitudes. Seydou Badian's play, La mort de Chaka, concentrates on two post-independence problems: the need for national unity once political freedom has been won and the role of the all-powerful almost messianic leader. The action of the play begins several days before Chaka's death and is mainly concerned with the arguments for and against his assassination. The play takes the form of a debate between the opponents and the supporters of Chaka's rule. Both factions recognize that Chaka has built a great nation. The dispute revolves around the need to continue the 173 policies that have brought the nation into existence. The generals maintain that Chaka has gone beyond the bounds of reasonable and necessary action. Notibe and Ndlebe insist that the leader must be revered and trusted whatever he does. The dramatic focus of the play is the impending war against the armies of the south. Chaka plans to continue the fight until all danger to the nation has been removed. The generals are content with what has already been achieved. They want to enjoy the life of ease which has led to the downfall of the tribes they have defeated. They are thinking only of themselves and forgetting the nation. Chaka says: Even here, among my own people, I have put to death the cowards and the waverers because, you see, man is an animal with two heads. One is named Greatness, the other Mediocrity. Greatness is born out of sacrifice and suffering. Mediocrity grows on idle- ness, indifference and pleasure.31 Badian lays great stress on the need for national discipline. It is Chaka who emerges as the incarnation of the high ideals that have enabled him to create the Zulu nation. Chaka sees himself as the symbol of all that is best in African aspirations and he declares that other Chaka's will emerge to continue the work. n Seydou Badian, La mort de Chaka (Paris: Presence Africaine, l96l), Act III. 174 Chaka's assassination is shown to be a betrayal, not only of the leader but also of the nation. And in prophe— sying the arrival of the whiteman, Chaka looks forward to the post-colonial period and modern African leaders when he tells his people before he dies: Believe me, whatever happens, you will have the foundations of the society we have already created to give you the light and guidance you will need in order to come through the long, long night we are about to enter. But I, Chaka, am convinced that, thanks to the virtues of my people, at the end of that hight they will find a new dawn, a bright and spotless dawn which will shine with honor, dignity and glory.32 The ambition for personal power and glory characteristic of Mofolo's Chaka has given way in Badian's play to the ideal of dedication to the cause of the African peoples in search of freedom. Camara Laye wrote Dramouss “in order that African ways of thinking re—integrated and restored . . . , may be a new ll 33 force——not aggressive, but fruitful. Depicting events in Guinea following the loi-cadresq and during the early 32 Ibid. 3 Camara Laye, Dramousse. Translated from the French by James Kirkup under the title A Dream of Africa (London: Collins, 1968), p. 8. 3“Felix Houphouet-Boigny of Ivory Coast was instrumental in drafting this law which facilitated the transformation of the French Colonial Empire into the French Union in 1946. Under the law, France granted to each territory a consider- able degree of local self—government. Territorial Assemblies and Councils of Ministers began to assume many of the powers formerly exercised by the French. 175 early years of independence, Laye contrasts the unemployment, the poverty, the corruption and the lack of political power on the part of the citizenry with the eloquent speeches made at the African Democratic Assembly35 meetings. He remarks on the futility of the proposals made by the orators and the terrible demagoguery each represents. . . . in order to establish a workable social system, there must be more concrete action, honest activity, and less speechifying, more respect for the opinions of others, more brotherly love.36 The regime they now support is built on spilt blood and the burning of villages, a regime of anarchy and dictatorship, a regime of violence. While they should and do condemn the evils of colonialism, they are betraying the ideals of their own party, socialism and African traditions. Thence his urgent appeal to the youth of Africa. . . . to speak out with a greater, a much greater voice in the long process of the total restoration of our native ways of thinking——those ways of think— ing that in order to resist the ravages of time and temporary fashion must of necessity draw their essential force from the historical truths of our respective civilizations, and in African realities.37 “ The most widely supported of the new political parties which emerged following the establishment of the French Union in 1946. Under the leadership of Houphouet-Boigny it was an inter-territorial party. % Laye, A Dream of Africa, p. 145. ”Ibid., pp. 7—8. 176 Presenting African values and thoughts as opposed to those of the new regime Laye offers the young people of Africa the Opportunity for objective criticism which he trusts will be profitable to them and to the future of their nations. Charles Nokan in his novel, Violent était le vent, continues the discussion of political ideology and national development following independence. Selfish interests divide the leaders. The political system, anxious for material conquest, has spawned a privileged class while the masses are pauperized. In France, Kosia has assimilated the best from western culture. Returning to his country, he and other young people struggle to eliminate the egoism inherent in the capitalistic system they have inherited while conserving the virtues of progress. Kotiboh repre— sents the colonial experienqe and the new elite who resist the social reconstruction necessary for the well being of the whole group. Whether thesis and antithesis can be harmonized in synthesis is an issue of prime importance to Africa today. Since students in secondary education will become leaders within a few months or years at the most, this synthesis demands serious consideration and study in the social sciences. Who will take the initiative? What are the possible courses of action in a given local and national situation? Perhaps an understanding of the conflict, its 177 problems and challenges will provoke discussion leading to guidelines for action. VII SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS Modern African literature has been studied for resource materials which secondary social science teachers in Zaire may draw upon to enrich their students' learning experi— ences. Novels, biography, drama, short stories and recorded legend have been assessed for content relating to historical African kingdoms and early colonial history and society. Cultural traditions regarding government and law, family and kinship, economy and labor, religion and magic among such ethnic groups as the Malinke, the Ewe, the Fulani, the Tucolor, the Ibo, the Yoruba, the Wolof, the Ashanti, the Kongo and the Zulu are interestingly depicted. African writers also describe the transforma— tion of traditional society and explore the present experience discussing many of the current problems and issues. Literature appears to be available that can be used as a tool in the social science curriculum. Whether thesis and antithesis can be synthesized is an issue of prime importance to writers from modern African nations. Should traditional cultural values and social customs and practices provide the basic structures for 178 179 society? Should this thesis be totally rejected in favor of antithesis, the adoption of European or exterior ideologies and technology? Some writers return to tradi- tional cultural values and social structures in their quest. Others are concerned with the present experience and the transition of society. All raise the question, can or should the best from the two cultures be harmonized in the search for cultural-foundations for modern African nations? This issue and the problems related to it represent current concerns for Zaire. That is why secondary curri— culum in the social sciences includes the study of the essential structures of traditional society in the local situation and in related societies in Africa and the com— parison of traditional and modern situations, the problems and conflicts represented by both the old and the new and their clash in the formation of new African states. It is hoped that through critical thought and study a more har- ‘ monious acculturation may be affected. Writers have made an excellent contribution to this study. Their works can, therefore, be used to enrich the educational experiences of students in the social sciences. The assumption underlying the study is that the humanities, particularly literature, and the social sciences complement each other. Man finds himself thrust into a world to which he must respond in order to survive. 180 Sometimes, he seeks control of this world in order to use it for his survival. At other times, he merely attempts to establish some kind of relationship with it. His life consists of a series of confrontations, his seeking to know when to act and which of the possible actions to make to the confronter. This story of man's attempt to establish himself in this world, the forces affecting him, his wrestling with decisions, the action which results from his decisions and the effects of the action upon him and his world constitute the content of the social sciences. one can view man acting in his world through the factual knowledge about land, time, place and man. These facts can provide an objective description of the event or person, but they fail to give the reality which teachers and students of the social sciences often say is needed. Reality demands more than the factual, objective statements concerning events and people. An experience is needed by which a person of another place is able to participate in the action of the event. If, in some way, individuals can participate in the ongoing action of recorded events, they can catch a glimpse of the thoughts, feelings and reasoning of other men. The student of social sciences can see the recorded events with some semblance of totality only after he has explored both the external and the internal parts of the events. 181 Literature can help to fill this need. It can be used in social education primarily because of the social prob- lems which are presented, the imaginative presentation of an historical period or the life of people in another culture, its power in arousing interest, the human relation- ships portrayed or the revelation of motives and forces which cause people to behave as they do. Social education thus becomes greatly enriched; and as the significance of the problems studied is made more obvious, they become more challenging. Literature for literature's sake has no place in social education, but literature when used as a measure for understanding social forces and human behavior can have a definite and important role to play in the social sciences. Research indicates that reading literature does effect change in knowledge, attitudes and behavior. It appears to stimulate and direct the reader's imaginative, intellectual and emotional activity. It sensitizes him to life and affects conceptions and judgments. Reading and discussion can direct reflection and action as students study issues and seek solutions to individual and social problems. The socializing effects of this reading are evidenced in increased objectivity and better integration of the reader in his world. Sensitivity to a unit can often be developed through a book. Novels, plays, poems, biographies and travel books 182 can all be used to set the stage for the study of a particular unit, to stimulate curiosity and to arouse con- cern about an area to be studied. Several days may profitably be spent in free reading, not to gather data or to get a solution to a problem, but rather to raise issues and to arouse interest. Unless all students read the same book, this experience lacks the commality con— sidered essential for a good initiatory experience. If, however, the books read deal with the same historical period or culture, the same general problem or topic, a discussion of the problems and issues raised in a number of books may be even more valuable in broadening the scope of study and discussion. Literature is equally effective during the develop— mental phase of study in keeping interest high, in exploring customs and modes of living and in making the culture, period or problem really live. Literature of all kinds could be used. Mofolo's Chaka, Naine's Soundjata, Hazoumé's Crepescule des temps anciens,and Boni's Doguicimi contribute to the study of feudalistic systems. Ibo, Malinke and Ewe cultures presented by Achebe, Laye and Ananou are examples of the cultures African writers have depicted. Sadji, Socé and Ousmane describe modern society in their novels. Oyono's Le vieux negre et la médaille, Boto's Ville cruelle and Matip's Afrique, nous t'ignorons! 183 might be used with profit in intercultural relations. Cultural conflict and alienation are represented by Badian's Sous l'orage, Bhély—Quénum's Chant du lac, Dadié's Climbié and Kane's L'aventure ambigué. Situations in fiction which illustrate issues, com- munity or urban problems, social, economic or political questions could be used to initiate discussion or to stimu- late further thought on a given topic. The philosophical dialogues presented in Cheikh Hamidou Kane's L'aventure ambigué and the arguments in Seydou Badian's Chaka would provide ideas for debate. Raising questions that will help students to identify the issues involved, to clarify the relationship of these issues to present actualities, to take a stand on the issue, to analyze the consequences of that stand and to determine the action they would take if they were in the position of decision-maker, will also increase intelligent interpretations, understandings of complexities and personal convictions. Teachers could use literary selections to illustrate their lectures, both to add interest and also to clarify points. Interdisci— plinary discussion groups could also be organized to bring out educational, psychological, sociological, historical and philosophical insights. Small groups could explore a variety of solutions for situations portrayed in literature. Selections could be made from fiction materials for role playing, dramatizations and oral reading. The plays included in this study provide drama related to French colonization, the conflict of culture and the problems created by this conflict as well as the challenge con— fronted by leaders of new African nations seeking to establish national unity. Students could draw upon ideas from Crepescule des temps anciens, Doguicimi and Mofolo's Chaka to write some of their own creative drama depicting life under feudalistic systems of government. Materials presented in Climbié, Karim, Ville cruelle, Maimouna and Nini, mulatresse du Sénégal offer suggestions for creative dramatics related to current situations in Zaire. Sola ma chérie, Les inutiles, Le mandat and Le rescapé de 1'Ethylos suggest themes and current social issues that .could be the subject of creative role playing and dramatics in the classroom, Students who participate in the action of events by means of creative dramatics can begin to comprehend that recorded facts are more than mere objective or descriptive statements. These facts came into existence through the action of persons, who, at the moment, stood confronted by their particular world. They can discover that man's response to his confronter is affected by forces in his world and by his own thoughts and feelings. Perhaps 185 creative dramatics in the social sciences can allow the stu— dent to become aware of his relationship to the men of the past, present and future. The seemingly unique contribution of creative dramatics to the social sciences is its provision for an opportunity for the student to assume the role of another person, and to discover his possible thoughts, feel— ings and actions. Materials from chapters three and four can be easily included in curricula already being utilized in history and sociology classes. Ideas from all of the chapters could pro— vide materials for enriching existing curricula in teacher education, philOSOphy and sociology. Some of the issues demonstrated could lend focus to discussion groups organized out of several courses of study or to units of study that teachers in the social sciences might wish to organize co— operatively, The literary works cited in this study have been included because they can be used to enrich the social science curricula. Care should be exercised, however, in selecting those titles which are considered acceptable read— ing within the schools. Teachers using literary materials should be aware that while certain students may derive considerable benefits from reading literature, others perhaps would gain more from other learning activities. The impact of reading is the result of numerous interacting variables: the nature of the situation, he reader's revious ex eriences and ex ectations and his P P . P 186 personality and value system. Readers tend to select and remember materials whichisupport their social attitudes; they may take away from reading mainly that which they brought to it. This implies the need for guidance in interpreting and evaluating reading materials. At times students may need assistance in acquiring competence in drawing rational and accurate conclusions, in achieving a broadened viewpoint and in learning to read critically materials which either rein— force or contradict previously established points pf View. Also, when using literature, the teacher should remember that writers may leave out important factors; literature cannot be a substitute for factual, scientific study of the issues. Some teachers will be better able to utilize literary materials than others. Teacher education programs should help interested students to use literature effectively as a tool in the social sciences. Students studying literature may learn how to read with understanding and how to evaluate a piece of writing as a work of art. Teacher education should be concerned with the way the reader structures what to look for in a book, the way the student learns to recognize the attempt of creative writers to address themselves to important universal or social problems, the way in which points of View are either espoused or questioned. The concern should not be with the student's accepting the values of the author but with their developing the capacity to understand Why fictional characters adopt certain attitudes and persist 187 in certain behaviors. Students should learn to look for the consequences of holding certain attitudes, values or principles, raise questions of how institutions interact to affect persons, how conflicting loyalties, as between job and family, produce situations requiring the adoption of principled action before these loyalties can be put into proper perspective for a solution, how characters come to grips with contemporary dilemmas or how they find or fail to find lasting values for their lives. Teacher education programs will also need to familiarize these students with the potential effects of using literature in the social science setting as well as its limitations in the classroom situation. Students should set up some guide— lines for its use. They should develop some introductory methods and suggestions for experimentation with literature as a tool for enriching the educational experience. Interested teachers should be encouraged to experiment at the secondary level with the ideas presented in this study. It is recommended that experimental studies be con— ducted at higher levels as well and the results of these experiences be reported. The entire field of reading and its effects on concepts, attitudes and behavior is open for exploration in Zaire. The critical bibliography contains materials that will be useful both to teachers in the different areas of the social sciences and to those in programs of African literature. 188 The content of this study has been prepared with secondary education in mind, but the materials should prove equally valuable to students and teachers in higher education as well. The study represents a mere beginning at bringing to— gether resources of African origins that might be utilized in Africanizing the curriculum, in providing materials which would allow students to study things related to their own experience, giving greater freedom to native intelligence, judgment and creative imagination. Teachers may wish to add new authors and titles. Research should enlarge this study to include materials relating to other areas of the humanities such as music and art, as well as literature, which might be useful as a tool for enriching students' experiences in the social sciences. The list should be enlarged to include literature from other areas in Africa and literature written in English for those institutions using both languages. Research should investigate as well writing by authors other than Africans of Bantu origins for works dealing with the same areas of interest that may prove to be of value. It is also recommended that other reading materials should be added to the fiction library. Speeches and lectures made by Africans on various occasions; historical, sociologi— cal and anthropological documents, monographes and texts; and, political and economic studies done by Africans should be annotated and knowledge of their sources made available to 189 teachers and administrators. Information regarding resources and their origins is not accessible to most of the institu- tions that might be interested in adding to their libraries and media centers. BIBLIOGRAPHICAL ESSAY OF PRIMARY SOURCES Chinua Albert Achebe, born in 1930 in the village of Ogidi, a few miles from the Niger River, belongs to the Ibo people, the largest tribal group in southeaStern Nigeria. His was a Christian family, his father being one of the first Ibo mission teachers. His grandfather was a grown man when the first missionaries came to Ogidi, Taking into consider— ation the memories of an older society which must have been passed on to him, Achebe's personal knowledge Spans three different eras: the pre—mission and pre-colonial time when the old Ibo society was still firmly fixed, the mission oriented era of his parents and the quite different era, emancipated and yet troubled, of his own generation. After his primary education, he entered Government College, Umhahia, and went on to study at University College, Ibadan where he completed his B.A. degree. In 1954, he began to work with the Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation, ultimately becoming Director of External Broadcasting. In 1966, leaving radio work in order to devote more time to his writing, he moved back to the Eastern Region where he planned ‘ to go into a new publishing venture with, among others, 190 191 Christopher Okogbo. When the Eastern Region declared itself independent under the name of Biafra, Achebe threw in his lot with his fellow Ibos. His first novel, ThingeiFall Apart, was published in 1958. In 1960, No Longer at Ease came out; in 1964, Arrow of God and in 1966, A Man of the People. In addition to these four novels, Achebe has published some short stories in periodicals and Chike and the River (1966), a.chi1dren's story about a boy who realizes his ambition to cross the Niger by ferry and succeeds in exposing a gang of thieves. Things Fall Apart has been translated into French by Michel Ligny under the title Le monde s'effondre, and pub- lished by Présence Africaine in 1966. The novel depicts what life was like in Iboland between 1850 and 1900. Achebe attempts to capture realistically the strains and tensions of the experiences of Ibo people under the impact of colonial- ism. Two closely intertwined tragedies present themselves: the personal tragedy of Okonkwo, one of the great men in Umuofia and the public tragedy of the eclipse of one culture by another. David Ananou was born in Togo in the early 1900's. He received his education in mission schools. Le fils du fetiche, publiShed in 1955 (Paris: Nouvelles Editions‘ Latines), narrates the story of two generations of Ewe in Togoland. Daily life with its subtle human relationships and the occult precautions that govern traditional village life 192 are generously retraced for the reader. Dansou's education, his marriage in spite of his father—in—law's opposition, the birth of twins, considered as a great blessing, his recon— ciliation with his father—in-law and the death of the older Sqdji furnish the context for the description of kinship customs and relationships. Seydou Badian, whose complete name is Seydou Badian Kouyaté> was born at Bamako, Mali in 1928. Educated in both Moslem oriented and public schools, he received his doctorate in medicine in 1955 at Montpellier, France. In the early days of political emancipation, he was asked to become Secre— tary for Economic Affairs for the Union of the Sudan. Later he occupied the post of Minister of Rural Economy. He became Minister of Development for the Republic of Mail in 1967. His government responsibilities do not prevent him from grappling with the psychological problems of a society in evolution. He has published a novel, Sous l'orage (Kany), in 1957 (Avignon, Charles Camprous), and in 1963 (Présence Africaine). A play, La mort de Chaka was published by Présence Africaine in 1961- In Sous l'orage, synthesis instead of opting for modern- ity and rejecting traditions is the preferred course of action in building modern Africa. The elders should not in— sist on continuing in full power nor should the young people reject traditions. The younger generation must evaluate and revise'the traditional structures in ways that will aliow 193 freedom to grow and at the same time guard communal values. La mort de Chaka is based on Thomas Mofolo's epic, Chaka. ________i._______ _____ The action of the play begins some days before Chaka's death and is mainly concerned with the arguments for and against _ ‘ his assassination. Badian is concerned with two major inter— } related problems in modern independent African nations: the ‘ need to creat national unity once political freedom has been obtained and the role of the all-powerful, almost messianic leader. Francis Bebey is a composer, guitarist, journalist and broadcaster. He was born in Douala, Cameroon in 1929 and learned to play several instruments before he could read. 1 At the Sorbonne he studied French literature and musicology. He has given concerts in Paris, New York, and London as well as in Dakar, Douala and Yaoundé. He began working as a broad- caster in Cameroon and was later associated with Radio Ghana. He has been with the Information Office of UNESCO in Paris since the early 1960's and is particularly concerned with the extension of radio broadcasting in Africa. He has published materials on the music of Africa and broadcasting in Africa. A number of short stories and poems have been published under the title Embarras et Cie (Yaounde, Editions CLE), In 1968, he received the Grand Prix Littéraire de l'Afrique Noire for his novel Le fils d'Agatha Moudio (Editions CLE, 1967). A third novel, La poupée Ashanti is also to be published by CLE, Mbemba, hero of Le fils dTAgatha Moudip, Opts to remain with traditions and marry the girl his 194 father chose for him while on his deathbed. He also ques— tions certain traditional practices. Mongo Beti also writes under the name of Eza Boto. His real name is Alexandre Biyidi. Born in 1932 at Mbalmayo, near Yaoundé in Cameroon, he was first educated at the local mission school. Expelled when he was fourteen, he went to the lycée at Yaoundé and passed the baccalaureate at the age of nineteen. In the same year, 1951, he went to France on a Scholarship. He studied in the Arts and Letters Faculties of Aix—en—Province and the Sorbonne. After gaining his doctor— ate, he became a university lecturer in literature. He was still a student when he began his career as a writer. Mongo Beti was only 22 when he published his first novel, Ville cruelle (Paris, Editions Africaines, 1954). In 1956 his Pauvre Christ de Bomba (Paris, Laffont), appeared. His prize—winning novel, Mission terminée (Paris, Corréa, 1957), awarded the Prix Sainte—Beuve, was later translated into English under the title of Mission to Kala. His fourth novel, Le Roi miraculé (Corréa, 1958), has also been trans— lated into English: King Lazarus. Ville cruelle describes the double town that evolved in colonial society and the conflict between traditional collec— tivism and rising individualism. Mission terminée reveals how European education not only alienates the African from his traditional milieu, but, in the case of Jean—Marie Medza, fails to provide the values, the intellectual ability and the 195 social skills that would be useful as guides in the strange world of transition and change. Le Roi miraculé describes the demise in the 1940's of the Essazam, a tribe in Cameroon. Olympe Bhély-Quénum was born in 1928 at Cotonou in Dahomey. His father belonged to the royal family of the Quénums which resided at Ouidah. He lived with his parents in this fishing village until he was ten, at which time he began his education in Ouidah. Later he traveled in Dahomey, Nigeria, from where his grandmother originated, Togo and Ghana. He learned English while traveling, so, when he returned to Dahomey, a job opened for him with an English firm. In 1948; he set out for France, fell sick upon his arrival in Marseille and was confined to bed for a year. Once more able to travel, he went to Normandie where he registered at the secondary school in Avranches. Completing his studies there, he read philosophy at Rennes. He was given a grant in 1954 that enabled him to return to Africa to make a study of Palm oil production in several countries including Dahomey. Once more in France, he accepted a position as counselor in a dormitory situation which enabled him to continue his studies at the Normal School. He re— ceived his degree in French literature from Caen in 1958. It was during his studies at Caen that he wrote his first novel, Un piege sans fin (Paris, Stock, 1960). From 1958 to 1961, he taught French, Latin and Greek at local grammar schools while pursuing studies in Greek and philology at the Sorbonne. 196 Upon the completion of his studies he left teaching and took up journalism. A prominent literary critic, he is a member of Presence Africaine, collaborates with Bingo, L'Afrique Actuelle and other journals. He was director and editor of La Vie Africaine from 1965 until it ceased publica_ tion in 1969. During this period, he completed his second novel, Le chant du lac (Presence Africaine, 1965). He lives at Gonesse, just north of Paris, with his wife and four children. The novel, Un piege sans fin, divides into two parts which may be conveniently summarized with two words: crime and punishment. The author develops a picture of daily life with its happy moments, its moments of sorrow as well and shows what can happen to destroy the continuous flow of friendship and community when jealousy and passiOn dominate. Cultural conflict dominates the novel, Le chant du lac. It is first represented as a generation gap, the young people opposing their parents who remain too much chained to the past with its superstitions, its priests and chiefs who use fetishes and religious rites as a means of dominating others. The con— flict erupts in earnest during a storm on the lake in which the gods of the lake are killed. As the story ends, the con- flict is still a part of the scene, but traditions have lost a little of their power to enslave at least some of the vil- lagers. 197 Son of a chief, Nazi Boni was born in 1914 at Bwan in Upper Volta. Starting his elementary education in 1920, he completed studies at the secondary school in Wagadugu, Upper Volta and entered the William Ponty Normal School in Senegal. He started his teaching career in 1931 and for ten years taught in different schools including his alma mater at Wagadugu. In 1941, he became Director of an elementary school at Trechville near Abidjan. 1944 found him active in politics and in 1948, he was elected deputy to the French National Assembly. He founded, in 1955, the M.P.A. (African Popular Movement). President of the Parliment in Upper Volta in 1957, he narrowly escaped an attempt on his life in 1958. He fought for a coalition of his party with that of Léopold Sédar Senghor. Campaigning for election in 1959, he was defeated. Since 1961, he lives in exile in Senegal. One source indicates that he returned to Upper Volta in 1966. His Crépuscule des temps anciens was published by Présence Africaine in 1962. The historical novel related the life and times of the Bwan people in the pre-colonial era. Nazi Boni's ancestor, an old chief narrating the story of his tribe, claims that the history reaches back over a period of two hundred and eighty years. Near the end of the book, the time is 1888, when Captain Binger appeared in Bwan, Upper Volta, to hand the chief a treaty. Then there is a sudden shift to the heroic uprising of the Bwan in 1915. It was one 198 of the many armed rebellions in French West Africa. The history is woven around the main character, Térhé, a great lover and warrior and the leader of his age—group and Kya the Killer, the self—made warrior, whose vocation is to slay stragglers from neighboring tribes. When he gets killed in turn, Lowan, his satanic uncle, visits his fate vicariously on Térhé, whom he hates. Poet, story teller and novelist, Bernard Binlin Dadié was born in the town of Assinie near Abidjan, Ivory Coast, in 1916, of Ashanti stock. He attended the William Ponty Normal School in Senegal after his elementary schooling in the Ivory Coast towns of Grand—Bassam and Bingerville. Twelve years of service with the office of the Inspector General of Education, in Dakar, intensified his interest in African art and folklore. .In 1947, he left his position and returned to Ivory Coast, where he began to play an important role in the political life that led to independence from France in 1960. Since then, he has served his government as Minister of InfOrmation, and in 1963, as Director of Fine Arts and Research. In the latter capacity he has established a theatrical group to which he devotes much of his time and effort. Besides producing a number of playlets during his youth, he has been a regular and prolific contributor to many journals, especially Présence Africaine, with which he became associated at its inception in 1947. He has published several 199 volumes of verse, novels, and folk tales, clearly inspired by both his African heritage and his broader universal concerns. He has published three plays: Béatrice du Congo (Présence Africaine, 1970), Monsieur Thdgd-gnini (Présence Africaine, 1970), and Assémien Déhylé which was originally produced at Dakar in 1936 and subsequently at the Theatre des Champs—Elysées, Paris, during the Exposition of 1937. It has been most recently published in L'avant—scene, No. 343, October 15, 1965. His novels are Climbié (Paris, Seghers, 1956) and Un Negre a Paris (Présence Africaine, (1959). Folktales include Légendes africaines (Segher,-1954), Le pagne noir (Présence africaine, 1955) and Les belles histoires de Kacou Ananzé, in collaboration with André Ter— risse (Fernand Nathan, 1963). Volumes of poetry are Afrique debout (Seghers, 1950), La ronde des jours (Seghers, 1956) and Hommes de tous les continents (Presence Africaine, 1967). The four volumes published by Seghers have been re— printed in a single volume entitled Légendes et poemes (Seghers, 1966). In addition, Dadié has Written a collection of essays on life in the United States, from first—hand observation, entitled Patron de New—York (Présence Africaine, 1964). It was awarded the Grand Prix Littéraire de l'Afrique Noire d'Expression Francaise in 1965. Another volume, La ville ou nul ne meurt (Presence Africaine, 1968), is devoted to Rome. Dadié has published, in collaboration with Francois 200 Joseph Koutoua Amon d'Aby and Germain Coffi Gadeau, a collec- tion of folk plays: Le théatre populaire en République-de Céte d‘Ivoire (Cercle Culturel et Folklorique de COte d'Ivoire, Abidjan, 1966); and is currently preparing a two— volume work, La lutte pour la liberté, to be published by Editions CLE, Yaoundé, Cameroon. Bernard Dadié's autobiography, Climbié, is written in two parts. The first portrays the quality of his childhood experiences; the second his experiences with French assimila— tion policies as a young clerk and later an agitator in Senegal and the Ivory Coast. Monsieur Thdgdegnini is.a comedy of contrasts and conflicts as African and European cultures clash on the continent of Africa. Drawing materials from the slave trade era and the early contact with trading posts on the coast of Benin, Bernard Dadié dramatizes the humorous incidents as well as the more serious problems that the European presence on the continent engenders. Sidiki Dembele comes from Mali. His studies took him to the Normal School in Sebikotane, Senegal. He is now Technical Advisor to the Interior Ministry of the Republic of Mali. His novel, Les inutiles, was published in 1960 by Bingo in Dakar. In his novel, Sidiky Dembele describes the personal anxieties of one who has become a family prey due to the fact that he is caught between western concepts and the impera— tives of the traditional kinship group. Amadou Cissé Dia was born in 1951 at Saint—Louis in Senegal. After completing his medical training in Dakar, 201 he accepted a position as Medical Director of Public Health of Kaolack. In 1959, he began his career in politics and until 1960, served as president of the delegations committee of the Federal Assembly of Mali and Secretary of State for Commerce and Industry for the Republic of Senegal. He has extremely wide experience in government having held no fewer than five different port folios since 1960. At independence he was minister of Commerce and Industry. On May 13, 1961, he was appointed Minister of Health and Social Affairs. Later he became Minister of Technical Cooperation. On December 19, 1962, President Senghor named him Minister for g; .1 the Armed Forces, a post he held until March 18, 1965, when he became Interior Minister. A trusted lieutenant (in the government list of Ministers he ranks immediately after Doudou Thiam, the Foreign Minister) he acts for Senghor when both he and Thiam are out of the country. Since January 1966, Dia and Thiam have been Joint Assistant Secretary—Generals of the ruling U.P.S. (Union Progressiste Senegalaise) party. His play, Les derniers jours de Lat Dior (Présense Africaine, 1965), was presented at the Negro Arts Festival in Dakar. The play dramatizes the opposition of the Kingdoms of Cayor and Baol to the French Conquest of West Africa. Birago Ismael Diop was born in 1906 at Dakar, Senegal. He lived and went to school in the capital of Senegal until 1921 when he left, with a scholarship, for the Lycée Fairherbe in Saint-Louis. After a year Spent doing national service in 202 France, he went to the University of Toulouse where he studied veterinary medicine until 1933. He spent an addition_ a1 year in Paris for further training. It was in Paris phat he met Senghor and collaborated in the publication of L'étudiant noir. He returned to Senegal with his French wife and was posted to the Sudan where he met the family griot, Amadou Koumba. In 1937, after his vacation, he returned to the Sudan and remained there until the outbreak of war in 1939. In 1942, he was again in Paris. After the war he was sent to the Ivory Coast, to Upper Volta, and, from 1950 until 1955, to Mauretania. In 1958, he returned to Senegal and was short— 1y afterwards appointed Ambassador to Tunisia. He has re- turned to private life as a veterinary surgeon in Dakar where he now resides. He has published three volumes of tales: Les contes d'Amadou Koumba (Paris, Fasquelle, 1947 and Présence Africaine, 1961), and Contes et lavanes (Presence Africaine, 1963), for which he received the Prix de l'Afrique Noire in 1964, and a book of poems, Leurres and lueurs (Presence Africaine, 1960). Birago Diop's contes derive from the folktale tradition of Africa. Diop himself disclaims authorship of the tales, ascribing them to Amadou Koumba, the family griot whom he met while in his natal Village. His contribution has been that of transcribing the tales and rendering them into French. In their content and in their form and general feel, they retain an authentic quality that bears out his desire to be con- sidered as the faithful perpetuator of an age—old tradition. Le débrouillard by N.G.M. Faye (Paris, Editions Gallimard, 1964), is the story of the author's life. Born in Senegal, he fled from his cruel father and lived wherever he could find a crust of bread. When someone recognized him, he moved on to Dakar, Camara, Thiarayé or Saint—Louis to avoid being sent home. He worked willingly at whatever job he could find: errand boy, street vender, bill poster and finally mason's apprentice. He was always happy and friendly, ready to serve and honest. He found, in turn, that people are generous. The story of his life demonstrates how when one is re— sourceful and maintains an optimistic outlook on life, one is never truly unsuccessful. After six years of poverty, he accepted an opportunity to join a boxing club. Excelling in the sport, he became the champion boxer of French West Africa. While pursuing his career in Paris, he met Francois Reichen- bach who later made him the star of the film, “Un coeur gros comme ca," which is the story of Faye's life. Born in 1924 at Koulikoro, not far from Bamako in Mali, Mamadou Gologo attended the village school. Then he continued his basic education at Bamako and Tongeres. He began studies at the William Ponty School without much of an idea as to what he wanted to do with his life. Deciding against teacher education because his brother was a member of that profession, he opted for training as a clerk. But, after twenty-two days 204 of boredom, he asked the director for a transfer to medicine. Upon completion of his medical education, he was attached to the Health Services of French West Africa. His political career began in 1957 when he entered the Information Ministry as Chief of Information Services.' Commissioner of Information I from 1959-1961, he became Secretary of State from 1961 to 1964 and since that year has been Minister of Information and Tourism. Mamadou Gologo is also president of the Union of Journalists of Mali and Vice—President of the International Organization of Journalists, the headquarters of which are in Prague. He is a member of the political bureau of the Soudanese Union, the ruling party. His autobiography, Le rescapé de 1'Ethylos was published in 1963 (Presence Africaine). It is, to a large extent, a“ confession that reviews his years of study and preparation, his professional career which was compromised by alcoholism and his recovery, attributed to a faithful mother and his return to Islam. The book dramatizes the tragedy of alcohols ism among those of the rising middle class, describes the downhill experience, attempts to analyze the personality in~ volved and often suggests what might be-done both to prevent alcoholism and to help someone with this problem. Son and grandson of the ancient kings of Hogbowu, Paul Hazoumé was born in 1890 at Porto—Novo, Dahomey. Upon comple~ tion of his studies at the Normal School of Saint—Louis, Senegal, he taught in several locations: Widan, Abomey, 205 Cotonou and Porto—Novo. From 1937 to 1939 he was the director of research for the Musée de l'homme; then from 1939 to 1947, held various positions with Radio Dahomey. He was a delegate to the eighth U.N.E.S.C.O. General Conference at Montevideo. From 1947 to 1953, he served as counsel for the French Union and for the territory of Dahomey. Laureate of the French Academy, he received the Grand Prix Littéraire de l'Afrique Noire d'Expression Francaise for his monograph Le pacte du sang du Dahomey (Institut d'ethnologie, Paris, 1956). His novel, Doguicimi, brought him an award from the Academy of Colonial Sciences, the Empire award and an award from the French Academy. In Doguicimi, Paul Hazoumé recreates the Dahomey of the early nineteenth century under King Ghezo who reigned about 1835. Ghezo succeeded in widely extending the boundaries of his kingdom, capturing his way to the coast, freeing Dahomey from the tributary yoke of the Yoruba and monopolizing the slave trade in the area. The major part of the action takes place in the capital of the Dahomian Kingdom, Abomey. While tracing this period in Dahomey's history, the novel also describes customs, the traffic in slaves and the practice of human sacrifice which won for these people a notoriously barbaric reputation. The romantic episode that holds the history together is the story of the princess Doguicimi whose princely husband, a valiant warrior, is captured by the enemy and killed. 206 When, after victory, his head is brought home for burial, Doguicimi elects to be buried alive with him so that she may be able to care for him in the new world. Jean Ikellé—Matiba was born in Song—Ndong, Cameroon in 1936. He studied law in Paris and since 1963 has resided in West Germany. The author of several essays on African poli— tics, Matiba has contributed to the German review Aeropag, to Présence Africaine and to the Journal of Modern African Studies. He is also the official representative of Présence Africaine in Germany, and has lectured widely throughout Europe for the Society of African Culture. Matiba's greatest acclaim has come as a novelist. He received the coveted Grand Prix de l'Afrique Noire dlExpression Francaise for his novel Cette Afrique—lal (Présence Africaine) published in 1963. Cette Afrique-lal reviews the colonial history of the Cameroons as experienced by Franz Mohma, hero of the story, who lived through both the German and the French occupations and finally sees independence restored to his country. The hero, born near the end of the nineteenth century, recalls his childhood during the pre-colonial period among the Bassa. Under the Germans he completed his education and worked as a civil servant. He was about to leave for Germany on a scholar“ ship when the First World War broke. During the post-1916 French administration, considered a prominent personality, he met with jealousy and adversity, was ultimately arrested and subjected to forced labor like so many others. As inde— pendence became more and more a possibility, he lead in the movement for freedom and participated in the first elections. The Minister of Telecommunications, Ibrahim Issa was born at Zinder, Niger, in 1922. Formerly a company clerk, he was elected a member of the Legislative Assembly for Zinder in June 1959. General Secretary of the local branch of the P.P.N. (Parti Progressiste Nigerien) in Zinder, on November 23, 1965, he was appointed Minister of Public Health. Since January 15, 1970, he has been Minister of Telecommunications. Grades eaux noires, published in 1959 by Scorpion of Paris, is based on the history of the Garamantes who lived in the region of Air which later became part of the Mali Empire. The story describes the first contacts of these peoples with European traders. Cheikh Hamidou Kane is a Fulani born in 1928 at Matam, located in the northeast of Senegal. The region being pre— dominantly Moslem, he attended the Koranic school until the age of ten when he entered the local French school. He passed his primary school certificate examination three years later and was sent to Dakar to complete his secondary education. Traveling to France, he read Philosophy and Law at the Uni— versity of Paris and trained in economics at the Ecole Nationale de la France d'Outre—Mer. Returning to Dakar in 1959, he began his career as an attaché in the Department of Economic Planning and Development. His novel, L'aventure ambigue (Paris, Vincent Monteil, 1961) was published during his occupation of this post. He became Head of the Karim Gaye Cabinet and was later appointed Governor of the Province of Thies. As an international functionary representing the Ivory Coast, Dahomey, Upper Volta, Niger and Togo he was posted with UNICEF in Lagos, Nigeria for a while. Since 1970, he is attached to the Ministry of Finance in Dakar. The theme of L'aventure ambigue is the conflict between the Islamic faith, which though rigid in its orthodoxy and in- hibiting progress, offers none the less a cultural framework for the highest spiritual experience, and the materialist philosophy of Europe. Camara Laye belongs to the Malinke people and was born tat Kouroussa, Guinea in 1928. He received a Moslem education at the local Koranic school before attending the French school. After obtaining his primary certificate, he went to the Technical College, Ecole Poiret, in Conakry from where he won a scholarship for further studies in France at the Motor Engineering School in Argenteuil on the outskirts of Paris. Upon graduation, he decided to continue his studies in Paris and while earning his living at the Simca factories, attended evening classes. He began to write L'enfant noirg (Paris, Plon, 1953 and Hutchinson, London, Cambridge Univer- sity Press, 1966) in his spare time. Once completed and published, the book was an immediate success, receiving the Prix Charles Veillon. His novel, Le regard du roi was pub- lished in 1954 (Plon). Laye returned to Guinea in 1956 and worked as an engi- neer until 1958, the year of Guinea's independence, when he was appointed Director of the Research and Studies Center of the Information Ministry at Conakry. When his third novel, Dramouss (Plon), was to be published in 1966, Guinea gave Laye the option either of altering the manuscript and remain— ing in his native country, or living in exile if his French publisher brought out the book as written. Laye chose the latter course of action and has since been living in Senegal. L'enfant noir is the autobiography of Camara Laye's childhood in Guinea. The first eight chapters portraying the hero's childhood present an orderly picture of coherent ‘ traditional life and community. The last four chapters describe his growing detachment from the traditional context of African Village life. He moves to Conakry, some 400 miles from his home village on the Atlantic coast of Guinea, where he lives with his father's brother, an educated business man and receives his secondary education at the technical college. After four years, he receives a scholarship for study in France and subsequently sets out for Europe. Dramouss is a continuation of the story Laye began in L'enfant noir. The characters have the same names except for Laye himself who is given no name in the earlier book and calls himself Fatoman in Dramouss. The incidents in the second book clearly relate back to the previous events in the l l \ earlier one. Laye describes the early years of independence, J criticizes the new leaders and challenges young people to reintegrate and restore African ways of thinking. Ake Loba was born in 1927 at Abobo Bacule, a small village just outside Abidjan, Ivory Coast. As one of a family of twelve children, he helped his father on the family plantation until he was eighteen. His father decided to send him to France to acquire more knowledge of agriculture. He worked as a farm laborer in Brittany and Beauce until 1947 when his father died and lack of funds prevented him from continuing his studies. He took a job with an export firm and attended courses in the evening until he had completed his baccalaureate. His first novel, Kocoumba, l'étudiant pgip (Paris, Flammarion, 1960), won the Grand Prix Littér raire de l'Afrique Noire d'Expression Francaise. In 1961, following independence for the Ivory Coast, he began his diplomatic career serving first with the Ivory Coast Embassy in the German Federal Republic and later in Rome. His second novel, Les fils de Kouretche (Paris, Nivelles, 1970), received the Prix Littéraire Houphouet—Boigny. Born in Brazzaville in 1914 of Bakongo parentage, Paul LomamieTshibamba, moved to Kinshasa with his father following the death of his mother. He completed his primary education with great difficulty because there was no one to care for him, Planning a career in the Catholic priesthood, he enrolled in the seminary at Mbata—Kiela, but encroaching deaf~ ness forced him to terminate his studies. In 1933, he 211 directed La Croix du Congo. 1939 found him working for the Department of Public Works. Married in 1942, he lost his two daughters at the ages of five and six. His novel, Ngando (Bruxelles, Deny, 1948), received the literary prize at the Colonial Fair in Brussels, Belgium in 1948. Ngando inter— prets the bantu philosophy of causality which holds that the author of something that happens may not be responsible for the cause that led to the effect. Bantu leader and Nobel Prize winner, Chief Albert John Luthuli was born at Groutville, Natal in 1898 of Zulu stock. Educated at Adams College he qualified as a teacher and later returned to Adams to teach. Elected as the Chief of Grout— ville in 1935, he also served on the Native Representative Council until its abolition in 1946. He became President of the African National Congress in 1952. This organization was banned in 1960. His opposition to the South African Govern— ment and his part in the public burning of passes after the disturbances at Sharpeville lead to a series of bannings which restricted him almost continuously to the vicinity of Groutville. In 1961, the Swedish nominated him for the Nobel Peace Prize which he received in the same year. He was elected Rector of Glasgow University in 1962. He died on July 21, 1967. Chief Luthuli's autobiography, Let My People Go (London, Collins, 1962), translated into French by Hugnette Boussand under the title Liberté pour mon peuplel (Paris, Buchet— 44g__u_. ._ ___ Chastel, 1963), is concerned with his life up to June 1959 when he was served with the latest of a series of bans which restricted him almost continuously to the vicinity of Groutville. A postscript written after Sharpeville and the ensuing state of emergency brings the story through 1960. Jean Malonga, born in 1907 at Kibouende, Congo, was educated in catholic schools and seminaries in Brazzaville. From 1924 to 1949, he served as a male nurse in Brazzaville and at Point Noire. He became an elected member of the French West African Community in the Parliment from 1949 to 1955. Failing re—election in 1955, he was for a while secretary in a Brazzaville hospital before he joined the staff of Radio Brazzaville. He traveled to Paris for a year, 1959-1960, when he studied radio at the Ecole Nationale de la France d'Outre—Mer. He has also traveled and studied in West Germany and Great Britain. Since August of 1963, he serves as director of broadcasting for "La Voix de la Revolution" in Brazzaville. His novel, Coeur d'Aryenne, was published in 1954 (Présence Africaine, Vol. 16: Trois écrivains noirs). La légende de M'Pfoumou Ma Mazono followed in 1959 (Paris, Editions Africaines). Other short stories have appeared in local journals. La légende de M'Pfoumou Ma Mazono relates the mythical origins of Jean Malonga's village in the region of the Bakongo in Central Africa. Coeur d'Aryenne depicts the social stratification of colonial society and the author's 213 hope for a synthesis of the best from both African and Euro— pean cultures. The journalist, Benjamin Matip, was born at Eseka, Cameroon in 1932. He studied Law and Economics in Paris and serves his nation as a lawyer. Besides his collection of African fables and stories published under the title A la belle étoile (Presence Africaine, 1962), he has written a novel, Afrique, nous t'ignorons! (Paris, Lacoste, 1956), and a number of political essays. Afrique, nous t'ignorons! depicts colonial society as seen through the eyes of the author dur— ing the Second World War when the shock of the Nazi invasion of France was felt even in Cameroon. The second son of Christian Basuto, Thomas Mofolo was born at Khojane, in the Mafeteng district of Basutoland in 1877. He spent most of his childhood as a herdrboy at Qomogong in the southern district of Quthing. He attended a village school superintended by the Reverend Lechesa Segoete and at the age of twenty entered the mission school at Masitisi. In 1894, he went to Morija, the central station of the Paris Evangelical Society, to continue his education. He graduated from the Normal School with a teacher's certificate in 1899. He worked as a proof-reader in the Morija Book Depot until this closed down for a time during the South African War. It was here that he began his literary career. He then taught in a school at Maseru until the end of the war when he re— turned to the Book Depot. In 1910, he went to Leloaleng to 214 teach and to learn carpentry. He worked in the mines in Johannesburg for a while and later engaged in recruiting labor for the mines. His next experiment in life was to open a trading post in 1928 at Bakong in Basutoland. This busi— ness along with a mill which he had started in 1916, occupied most of his time until ill health forced him to retire. He died on September 8, 1948 at his home in Teyaleyaneng, Basutoland. I Thomas Mofolo's historical novel gpgkg was originally written in Sotho and published in an English translation in 1931 (F. H. Dutton, Oxford University Press). A French trans- lation by V. Ellenberger was published in 1940 (Gallimard). Since the war two works directly inspired by Mofolo's novel in its French translation have been written by French—speaking African writers: Léopold Sédar Senghor's dramatic poem, EEEEEI and Seydou Badian's play, La mort de Chaka. Mofolo's novel is a combination of historical fact and legend related to the establishment of the Zulu Empire. Ezekiel Mphahlele was born in 1919 in the slums of Pretoria. He attended St. Peter's High School in Johannesburg and after three years there received a teacher's Certificate at Adams College, Natal. He worked in a blind institute as a clerk for four years and completed his B.A. at Fort Hare University College. He then became a teacher of English and Afrikaans, but was banned from this profession as a result of organizing opposition to the Bantu Education Act. He became 215 fiction editor of 2323 magazine in Johannesburg and finally qualified as an M.A. with distinction. In 1957, he went into exile in Nigeria where he taught in a grammar school before joining the Department of Extra- Mural Studies at the University of Ibadan, teaching English language and literature. He then worked in Paris, directing the African program for the Congress for Cultural Freedom. He has lectured in English literature in Nairobi, Denver, Colorado, and Zambia. Mr. Mphahlele has published sevEral short stories, including two volumes: Man Must Live (Cape Town, 1947) and The Livingpand the Dead (Ibadan, Black Orpheus, 1960). In 1959, his autobiography, Down Second Avenue was-published by Faber and Faber, London. This has since been translated into French by Hubert de Cointrin (Au bas de la deuxiemer~ avenue, Presence Africaine, 1963). The account of his life from the early days at Maupaneng to the arrogance of Pretoria might understandably have been a dismal account of persecu— tion, degradation, depersonalisation and final submission to relentless forces; but the author uses his experience to dissect apartheid and lay bare the fabric of life, vibrant and colorful, which exists in spite of it. He has since published The African Image, a book of political literary essays (Faber and Faber, 1962), Dieudonné Mutombo was born in Kinshasa, Zaire. Follow— ing his primary education he trained as a medical assistant 216 and pursues this career today. His novel, Victoire de l'amour was published in 1953 (Leverville, Bibliotheque de lYEtoile). It is cpncerned with the relevance of kinship restrictions on marriage in the modern urban setting. Remy Gilbert Medou Mvomo was born in 1938 at Nkpwang in southern Cameroon. After secondary studies in France, he returned to his country where he worked with programs of in— formal education and participated in the organization of international groups of volunteers working in the region of Dja and Lobo. He began studies at the Faculty of Law in Yaoundé in 1963, but abandoned them to become a journalist. Afrika Ba'a (Yaoundé, Editions CLE, 1969) is an imaginary, but typical village where Kambara, representing the potential for renewal and progress that lies with today's educated young people, applies the knowledge and skills he has acquired to revitalize the life of his people. : Cheik A. Ndao was born in Senegal. As a child, he traveled with his veterinary father throughout Senegal and received much of his education under the palaver tree where he learned the wisdom and the history of his people. He studied at the University of Grenoble and in England. On numerous pccasions he has lectured on African Writers. His collection of poems was crowned with the Senegalese Poets Prize in 1962T While in France he also was successful in theater. He is currently professor at the William Ponty Normal School. L'exil d'Albouri (Paris, Honfleur, 1967) . wad—.2 VJ; .v 217 dramatizes the Wolof resistance to French colonization. Djibril Tamsir Niane, author of Soundjata ou l'épopée mandingue (Presence Africaine, 1960), was born near Kourous— sa, Guinea in 1932. He began his university education at Dakar and completed it at Bordeaux. At one time he was the supervisor of secondary education in Guinea. Later he became Headmaster of the French grammar school at Conakry. Presently, he is one of the best African historians, expert in reproducing the science of the griots. The epic records the oral history of the establishment of the Mali Empire as told by the family griot, Djeli Mamadou Kouyate. ' Charles Nokan, born in 1936, is a young writer from the .11 —-2— Ivory Coast whose semi—autobiographical, semi-poetic Le Soleil noir point (Presence Africaine, 1962) recaptures much of the nostalgia pf an Africa to which so many students think back when they are away from their homeland. This re- flective collection of sketches in prose was written by Nokan when he was a student at the University of Poitiers in 1959. His novel, Violent était 1e vent (Presence Africaine, 1966), continues with some of the same thoughts and discusses in- ternal political ideology and national development following independence. Jacques Mariel Nzouankeu, Head of the penal system of Cameroon, comes from the region of Nkongsamba. Born in 1938 at Manjo, he attended mission primary schools at Ndoungue and at Douala, the high school at Nkongsamba and the 1ycée at 218 Douala. He received his diploma from the School of Adminis- tration in 1963 and his licence in law in 1965. He also holds a diploma from the Institut des Hautes Etudes d'Outre— Mer. He has published a collection of short stories en— titled Le souffle des ancetres (Yaoundé, Editions Abbia et CLE, 1965). The conflict between man and his gods is the basic philos0phy of these four narratives. According to the gods, man's existence should not be reduced to the pursuit of happiness nor his salvation. The man who.seeks perfection does not strive to save his life but to free it in death where he will be promoted to the ranks of the gods. Sembene Ousmane was born in the fishing village of Zinguinchor—Casamance, Senegal in 1923. As a young man, he moved to Dakar where he worked as a plumber, a bricklayer and an apprentice-mechanic. His life was not influenced by the French educational system. Except for his traditional up— bringing, he is a self—taught man. .During the war, he was conscripted and fought in Italy and Germany. Demobilized, he returned to his life as a fisherman in Senegal. It was not long before he returned to France and worked as a docker in Marseilles where he became trade union leader. Now a militant trade unionist with strong feelings about international solidarity, he is concerned above all with the future of Africa. As literary works, his novels are meant to have a social purpose. They demonstrate the way in which 219 Africans should attempt to come to terms with the problems posed by colonialism. His autobiographical novel of Diaw Falla, Le Docker noir, was published in 1956 (Paris, Nouvelles Editions). It was followed by O pays, mon beau peuplel in 1957 (Paris, Amiot-Dumont), Les bouts de bois de Dieu-in.l960., (Paris, Le Livre Contemporain), and L'harmattan in 1964 (Présence Africaine). Ousmane has published a collection of short stories, Voltaique, in 1962 (Presence Africaine) and a single volume containing two long narratives, Vehi—Ciosane and Le Mandat (Presence Africaine, 1966), which won the liter— ary prize at the Dakar Festival. He has turned to making films as well. His screen version of one of his short stories, "La Noire de . . .“ has won several international prizes and established him as a leading African film director. 0 pays, mon beau peuple! describes the courageous but unhappy struggle on the part of Omar Faye, married to a European, to creat a modern independent economic life for his people. The battle is fought on two fronts: against colonial policies and against apathy on the part of the villagers. Les bouts de bois de Dieu shows how Africans can act inde— pendently and responsibly to achieve their goals. L‘harmattan portrays the reactions of the population to the referendum of 1958 in French West Africa. The reactions of the differ— ent social classes were conditioned by their social positions and self-interests. Voltaique is a Collection of short stories that denounce certain social evils in Senegalese society. -a... ..-...— . 220 Vehi—Ciosane describes the consequences of holding on to a decaying life style. Le mandat criticizes the parasitism that results from the abuse of kinship customs in an urban situation and modern bureaucracy. Joseph Owono was born in Cameroon, in the region of Nyang and Sanaga, in 1921. Completing primary school in Yaounde, he graduated from an Agricultural school in the same city in 1942. Head of the Ministry of Agriculture, he was a member of the Cameroonian delegation to the U.N. in 1959. He has served in the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Quai d'Orsay. Since 1965, he has been Ambassador to the United States. He published a study on Le probléme db marriage dotal au Cameroun francais in 1953 and created an association dedicated to the evolution and emancipation of women. His novel, Tante Bella, was published in 1959 (Yaoundé, Librairie au Messager). Tante Bella is composed in two parts. The prologue introduces readers to the society of Yaoundé and discusses African marriage and the need for women's liberation as viewed by Owono and the new elite in the city, both men and women. The novel itself is the biography of the author's Aunt Bella and the life she leads in traditional Cameroonian society where women are considered to be part of the husband's patrimony. Ferdinand Oyono was born in 1929 at Ngoulemakong near Ebolowa, Cameroon. He began his education at the local 221 Primary school in 1939. His mother, as practicing Catholic, left her polygamous husband and supported her children by working as an itinerant seamstress. Oyono obtained his prim— ary school certificate, then went to the lycée at Ebolowa. His father withdrew him from this school in order to send him to France, not wishing to be outdone by a neighbor whose son had just left for that country. Completing his bacca— laureate at the Lycée in Provins in 1950, he studied Law and Administration in Paris. Upon his return to Cameroon, he became Director of the Office of Education at Yaounde. He has been Cameroon's delegate to the United Nations, minis- ter plenipotentiary in Brussels and Ambassador in Monrovia. Since 1969, he has been Ambassador to France. Like Mongo Beti, his fellow countryman, Oyono has written novels in which he laughs both at the colonial administration and missionaries as well as at some of the foibles of his own people. His novels to date, published by Julliard in Paris are: Une vie de boy in 1956; Le vieux négre et la médaille in 1956 and Chemin d'Europe in 1960. Le vieux négre et la médaille demonstrates how European and African attitudes, social values and expectations clash creating misunderstanding and blocking synthesis. Son of a farmer, Guillaume Oyono was born near Sangmelima, Cameroon in 1939. Following his studies at Libamba, he remained to teach in the high school while preparing entrance exams for the Faculty of Arts and Letters of the Federal 222 University of Cameroon. Now on the staff at the University, he dreams of organizing a traveling theatrical group. Trois prétendants . . . un mari,.published in 1964 (Yaounde, CLE), is his first play. The story stems from something that happened to one of Oyono's cousins who got married in almost exactly the same way as is described in Trois prétendants . ... un mari. Oyono just happened to attend the palaver where they arranged the marriage and was interested in the fact that nobody had consulted her at all. When she came back everyone was smil- ing and saying here is your husband. Of course she protested, but went on to marry the man. Oyono tried to argue with his relatives, saying that his cousin ought to have been consulted. The relatives were really amazed at the thought that a woman should be consulted about her marriage because they were only doing it for her own good. Concerned about this situation in modern Africa, Oyono created his play to present the problem to his people. Journalist, poet, essayist, novelist and founder of the first association of Cameroon writers and poets in 1960, René Philombe has never left his country. Born in 1930 at Baschenga, he was struck down by polio in 1955. Interested in literature from an early age, he presented his auto- biography in 1945 and it was published in the school journal "L'Appel du Tam-tam." In 1948, he was named secretary to the local tribunal at Soa where he also participated in the 223 creation of a cultural circle. Since 1959, he signs all his writing with the pseudonymes René Philombe. Philombe is a contraction of his real names Philippe—Louis Ombedé. In 1964, he obtained the Prix Mottart from the French Academy for his Lettres de ma cambuse (Editions Abbia, CLE). Sola ma cherie~(Editions Abbia, CLE) appeared in 1966 and attacks the dotal system and the crimes it engenders: prosti= tution, marriages of convenience and alcoholism. Jean Pliya was born in 1931 at Djougou in northern Dahomey. He began his secondary education there and com- pleted it in the Ivory Coast. After one year of pre—university instruction at the University of Dakar, he attended the Faculty of Arts and Letters at Toulouse from 1953 to 1955 where he received his licence in Geography. He also read history. He taught for some time in the northwest of France. Then, in 1959, returning to Dahomey he was employed in the Ministry of National Education from 1961 to 1963. Following changes in the government in the fall of 1963, Pliya was named Secretary Of Information and Tourism and later became Associate Director of the Cabinet under Colonel Soglo. He received the Grand Prix for Short Stories for his L'arbre fetiche. He has also written an historical play, Kondo 1e Requin (Porto—Novo, Librairie Nationale, 1966) which portrays the French conquest of the Kingdoms of Porto-Novo and Dahomey. Maximilien Quenum, whose real name is Maximilien Quenum Possy Berry, was born in 1911 at Cotonou, Dahomey. His studies, undertaken in mission schools, were completed at the University of Poitiers, where he graduated in Phil- osophy. He taught at Poitiers, Saint—Jean-d'Angily and La Rochelle. Asked to participate in his country's evolu— tion, he was elected Senator in 1955. Later, he became Ambassador at Large for the government of the Republic of Dahomey. He has written about Dahomey in Au pays des Fons, us et coutumes du.Dahomey, published by Larose in 1938. He has $_c_1 written Afrique noire,.rencontre avec l'occident which was published by Nathan in 1961. He has contributed to the knowledge of African traditions with three historical legends in Légendes africaines: uC6te‘dFIvoire, Soudan, Dahomey published in 1946 (Paris, Larose). These three legends deal with the mythological origins of the Ivory Coast, Dahomey and Mali. They belong to the common heritage of all Africanity. Abdoulaye Sadji was born in 1910 at Rufisque, Senegal. The son of a marabout, Sadji attended the Koranic school until he was eleven and then the French State School. In 1929 he received his teaching certificate and in 1932 com- pleted his baccalaureate. Dedicating his life to primary education, he became director of the local school and even- tually of all the state schools in Rufisque. He died in 1961 at the age of 51. Novels he has had published include Maimouna in 1958 (Présence Africaine), Nini, mulatresse du Sénégal in.l965 (Presence Africaine). While Maimouna deals with relationships between Africans of the same family group, Nini, Mulatresse du Sénégal is-concerned with relationships involving people of mixed descent in their social contacts with both Africans and Europeans. Sadji has also written Tounka, nouvelle africaine which was published in 1965 (Présence Africaine), and collaborated with Léopold Sédar Senghor in writing a primary school reader, La belle histoire de Leukeleeliévre. Born in 1927 at Fort—Lamy, Joseph Brahim Seid began his studies in Cairo and completed them in France, first at Lyon where he received his licence in Penal Law, then in Paris where he completed his doctorate in the History of Law and in Roman Law. He also holds a diploma from the Depart— ment of Justice of the Ecole Nationale de la France d'Outre- mer. He served as a magistrate in Brazzaville before begin— ning a diplomatic career as Ambassador to Paris in 1962. Seid‘s collection of stories and fables from the Chad, Au Tchad sous les étoiles,-published in 1962 by Présence Africaine, are set in the Kotoko-Kanem cultural area to the east and south of Lake Chad. Beginning with the legend of the mythical origins of Lake Chad, the volume includes several legends relating the history of this area, several tales from their folklore and ends with a politically orien- tated tale, "Le roi misanthrope" which denounces the two rapid adoption of western democratic ideals of government. W 226 Born at Horokoto, Mali, Fily Dabo Sissoko entered the Normal School at Saint—Louis, Senegal in 1911. In 1913, he was transferred to Gorée. An epidemic of Plague inter- rupted his studies and sent him home to Mali. When World War One broke out, he and a friend volunteered for service. His friend was taken, but Sissoko was too small. When a scholarship that would have enabled him to complete his studies in Bamako failed to materialize, he went to Wagadugu where, after completing teacher education, he taught primary school. He was later assigned to Dori, the city which he Lrecalls in his memoires, La savane rouge (Avignon, Presses Universelles, 1962). He was a leader of the Progressive Socialist Party and took part in the political life of his nation between 1945 and 1958. He has written Crayons et portraits (Mulhouse, 1953) and his poems have been edited in a volume entitled Poémes de l'Afrique noire (Debresse, 1963) He died in 1964. La savane rouge describes several uprisings among the Tauregs of Upper Volta and Mali in 1905, 1915-1916 and 1917 which subsequently were repressed by French and allied African forces Operating out of Timbuktu. He also discusses the psychological and philosophical causes of the revolts and describes the African society before the colonial era. Born in 1911 at Rufisque, Senegal, Ousmane Socé (Diop) was educated at William Ponty and, like Birago Diop, com— pleted studies in veterinary medicine in France. He also 227 read literature. Chief Veterinary Inspector, he served in the French Senate prior to independence. Between 1960 and 1968, he was Ambassador from Senegal to the United States and delegate to the United Nations. He is the founder of the journal Bingo. He published two novels before the second World War: Karim, roman sénégalais (Mouvelles Editions Latines, 1935) and Mirages de Paris (Nouvelles Editions Latines, 1937 and 1965). He has presented his poetry under the title Rythmes du Khalam (Nouvelles Editions Latines, 1962). Karim, roman sénégalais was.reprinted along with a collection of legends and folktales under the title Contes et légendes d'Afrique noire (Nouvelles Editions Latines, 1948 and 1965). Karim is a novel about social change. Socé delights in describing social behavior as he observes it. He is interested in social behavior as a revelation of group values and individual morals in the milieu heavily influenced by traditional ideals and among the educated and those who live in the bourgeois sector of modern society. Wole Soyinka, born of Yoruba parentage in 1935 at Abeokuta, in western Nigeria, was educated at Government College, Ibadan, the University of Ibadan and the University of Leeds in England where he graduated in English Honors. He taught for some time in London. His interest in drama lead him to join the Royal Court Theatre in London where his first play, The Inventor, was presented. The Swamp Dwellers 228 and The Lion and the Jewel were also written and produced there. After returning to Nigeria in 1960, he wrote andther play, A Dance of thngorests, which won the Observer compe— tition and was produced for Nigerian Independence in October, 1960. Three plays of his: The Swamp Dwellers, The Trials of Brother Jere, and The Strong Breed were published by Mbari, Ibadan in 1963. The Lion and the Jewel and A Dance of the Forests.were~published in single editions by Oxford University Press in 1963, The Road, in 1965. His novel, The Interpreters, also.appeared in 1965 (Deutsch). Soyinka has held several posts since his return to Nigeria: Research fellow at the University of Ibadan and Lecturer at the University of Ife. For a short while he made his living as a full—time playwright, producer and poet. As of 1967, he was Director of the School of Drama at the University of Ibadan. His poetry has appeared in Black} Orpheus, Ibadan, and in other journals as well as in anthol- ogies. The Lion and the Jewel, translated into French by Jacques Chuto and Philippe Laburthe—Tolra with the title Le lion et la perle (Editions CLE, 1968), contrasts the present and the past. Wole Soyinka presents humorously the conflict of the new order with the old overzsocial customs such as marriage and the struggle between progress and tradition.. 229 Gerald-Felix Tchicaya U Tam'si was born in 1931 in Mpili, Middle Congo, of Bantu stock. There is considerable variety in the way his name appears. In the poet‘s early works he is usually referred to only by the first part of his surname, which is often spelled Tchikaya. The rest of the name occurs also as U'Tamsi and U'Tam'si. At the age of fifteen he accompanied his father, deputy from the colony, to France where he studied first in Orléans, then in Paris. After his student days he began to develop his literary and artistic talents, writing poetry and producing African folk— lore programs for French radio. Returning to Africa in 1960, he chose to reside in Kinshasa and became a devoted follower of Patrice Lumumba and was the director of his official party newspaper, Congo. He is currently with UNESCO. Tchicaya U Tam'si has published several volumes of poetry: Le mauvais sang (Paris, Caracteres, 1955), Feu de brousse (Caracteres, 1957), A triche-coeur (Caracteres, 1958; Oswald, 1960), Eptiomé (Tunis: Société Nationale d'Edition et de Diffusion, 1962). This volume, with a preface by Léopold Sédar Senghor, was awarded the Grand Prix for poetry at the Dakar Festival of 1966. Le Ventre was published in 1964 by Présence Africaine. He has also compiled and edited a prose collection of folklore, drawn from many sources, entitled Légendes africaines (Paris, Seghers, 1967—1869). 230 Legendes afriCaines is an anthology of oral literature which explains the mythical origins of man, his civilization and early history in Africa. Tchicaya U Tam'si has not limited his choice to one geographical area, but has brought the best of African culture together to illustrate the. history and heritage of all the bantu people. BIBLIOGRAPHY OF SECONDARY SOURCES Aba, Nourredine. 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