L’etude comparative des elements merveilleux dans trois epopees africaines: Soundjata ou I’epopee mandingue, Emperor Shaka The Great: a Zulu Epic et Nsongo’a Lianja: I’epopee nationale des Nkundo
- Authors: Nkaongami, Josue Bosange
- Date: 2017
- Language: French , English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/5590 , vital:20944
- Description: This thesis is a comparative study in Francophone literature which analyses the supernatural factors in three African epics, namely the Sundiata or Mandingo Epic from West Africa by Djibril Tasmir Niane (1960), Emperor Shaka The Great : A Zulu Epic from Southern Africa by Mazisi Kunene (1979), and Nsongo’a Lianja : the National Epic of Nkundo People from Central Africa by Edmond Boelaert (1949). The study analyses similarities and differences between the supernatural figures in these epics and their respective societies using contextual and socio-critical theories. In this thesis it is demonstrated that the presence of supernatural forces is a sine qua non condition for the existence of the epic in the sense that : “the essential mark of the heroic personality in many African folk epics is its reliance on supernatural resources” (Okpewho 1979 : 119). This study shows that in Africa, supernatural forces play vital roles in the society and therefore dominate the African oral epic traditions. Furthermore, the study is significant in the sense that it tries to describe the worldview, especially the religious and cultural beliefs of the particular society or group that produces the epic. The thesis is made up of six chapters. In the first chapter, I outline the study’s subject matter, its aims and objectives, its significance, its assumptions and methodology. In the second chapter, I examine the impact of supernatural devices on the lives of the epic heroes Sundiata, Shaka, and Lianja, the predictions and divinations about their births, childhoods, exiles or epic journeys, their ascension to the throne as well as their genealogies and deaths. Such analysis allows one to identify the supernatural factors surrounding each stage of the life of the heroes, and to understand further the importance of supernatural forces in the communities and institutions where the heroes exercise their powers. In the third chapter, I discuss the typology of the supernatural forces in the heroic epics Sundiata, Shaka and Lianja, using Greimas’s theory of actants. I divide the characters into protagonists, accessories and opponents. In the fourth chapter, I examine the sources of the supernatural forces prevailing on Sundiata, Shaka, and Lianja. The chapter shows how supernatural agents act on the epic heroes and how these supernatural beings make or mar them in the course of the narratives. In the fifth chapter, I investigate the supernatural factors acting on the heroes’ opponents, and in chapter six, I examine the supernatural forces and heroism of the women in the three epics. In the conclusion, I demonstrate that this analysis of supernatural factors enables us not only to appreciate their place and function in the three African epics under study, but also opens a window onto the culture of the Mandingo, Zulu, and Mongo People’s : their activities, beliefs, taboos and the rules which organise their respective societies. , This thesis is presented in two parts: French and English.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2017
- Authors: Nkaongami, Josue Bosange
- Date: 2017
- Language: French , English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/5590 , vital:20944
- Description: This thesis is a comparative study in Francophone literature which analyses the supernatural factors in three African epics, namely the Sundiata or Mandingo Epic from West Africa by Djibril Tasmir Niane (1960), Emperor Shaka The Great : A Zulu Epic from Southern Africa by Mazisi Kunene (1979), and Nsongo’a Lianja : the National Epic of Nkundo People from Central Africa by Edmond Boelaert (1949). The study analyses similarities and differences between the supernatural figures in these epics and their respective societies using contextual and socio-critical theories. In this thesis it is demonstrated that the presence of supernatural forces is a sine qua non condition for the existence of the epic in the sense that : “the essential mark of the heroic personality in many African folk epics is its reliance on supernatural resources” (Okpewho 1979 : 119). This study shows that in Africa, supernatural forces play vital roles in the society and therefore dominate the African oral epic traditions. Furthermore, the study is significant in the sense that it tries to describe the worldview, especially the religious and cultural beliefs of the particular society or group that produces the epic. The thesis is made up of six chapters. In the first chapter, I outline the study’s subject matter, its aims and objectives, its significance, its assumptions and methodology. In the second chapter, I examine the impact of supernatural devices on the lives of the epic heroes Sundiata, Shaka, and Lianja, the predictions and divinations about their births, childhoods, exiles or epic journeys, their ascension to the throne as well as their genealogies and deaths. Such analysis allows one to identify the supernatural factors surrounding each stage of the life of the heroes, and to understand further the importance of supernatural forces in the communities and institutions where the heroes exercise their powers. In the third chapter, I discuss the typology of the supernatural forces in the heroic epics Sundiata, Shaka and Lianja, using Greimas’s theory of actants. I divide the characters into protagonists, accessories and opponents. In the fourth chapter, I examine the sources of the supernatural forces prevailing on Sundiata, Shaka, and Lianja. The chapter shows how supernatural agents act on the epic heroes and how these supernatural beings make or mar them in the course of the narratives. In the fifth chapter, I investigate the supernatural factors acting on the heroes’ opponents, and in chapter six, I examine the supernatural forces and heroism of the women in the three epics. In the conclusion, I demonstrate that this analysis of supernatural factors enables us not only to appreciate their place and function in the three African epics under study, but also opens a window onto the culture of the Mandingo, Zulu, and Mongo People’s : their activities, beliefs, taboos and the rules which organise their respective societies. , This thesis is presented in two parts: French and English.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2017
Transgression and transcultural blending: reading the work of Adelaide Fassinou
- Authors: Ishaya, Nandi Salome
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Fassinou, Adélaïde, 1955- -- Criticism and interpretation , Fassinou, Adélaïde, 1955- -- Jeté en pâture , Fassinou, Adélaïde, 1955- -- Modukpè, le rêve brisé. , African literature (French) -- History and criticism
- Language: French , English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/7500 , vital:21266
- Description: In Adelaide Fassinou’s novel Jete en pature (“Thrown to the lions/wolves”), the female character Fifame declares that “novels/books have sides that one is attached to. The lives of people roll pass our eyes. Some stories resemble ours” (JP, 147). Fassinou herself says: By reading this book dear friend, the stories of all these women who lived nowhere except in my imagination, may be like yours. But the fiction in which they themselves moved makes it so close and we share in their tragedy (MRB, 7). The above comments reflect the idea of sociocriticism which opines that a literary work could be a representation of the society of its author. This goes to say that real events can feed literary imagination more and more. Also, Fifame continues that “a book/novel is a path marked by steps, falls, and races towards a future that is bright or a bleak” (JP, 147). The verbs which connote ‘bright’ and ‘bleak’ in this comment unveil the writing idea/conception which Fassinou adheres to. “Bright” in our opinion could connote the gains of cross cultural blending, the precise outcome/result of modernity. “Bleak” on the other hand could refer to the violation of certain cultural values and or better still to transgressive attitudes in a society that is in the process of radical transformation. As such, transgression and cross cultural blending are the focal points of our discussion in this research. We have chosen to analyse some literary works of Adelaide Fassinou, a beninoise who came into the literary scene at the threshold of the new millennium, in 2000. It could then be said that Fassinou belongs to a new generation of African writers, the writers of the new millennium. The title of her first novel is revealing. Its title, Modukpe, le reve brise could imply that man always has a dream but in the course of time, this dream could be broken due to one factor or the other. In Fassinou, the lack of the realization of dreams could be the result of our vision of the world where new ideas oppose tradition to the extent that modernity is seen simply as a transgression of the laws of tradition. Admittedly, it is transgression in the fictional novel, a transgression against tradition and or nature because “nature has its laws”. The life experiences of man especially the female gender, “A whole lifetime is not enough to speak about it” And the story of being “Thrown to the lions” is one of such experiences. Reading Fassinou’s work, one vi could note that she presents enough social problems which reflect the notion of transgression. As a result, for the woman to liberate herself, the author who represents the woman, resorts to writing “Poems of love and brambles” of “Her exiles and her loves” because it is needful to speak so as to feel better within oneself. This action of breaking the silence by the woman constitutes in itself a transgression because, in the culture of the author, the woman should be reduced to silence. Fassinou has the urge to show that cruelty in the home, inflexible will, excessive masculinity and insensibility could lead to rebellion, dissatisfaction and violence which could affect the whole society. In view of this, to love one child above the others could compromise family cohesion. It is in this regard that suicide formed part of the theme of this research. This could represent the image of national violence provoked by tribalism and geopolitics which could be noticed in many countries on the African continent. For most critics, the transgression of traditional values is due to cultural blending because this blending is seen as the evolution of the society and the culture which represent a society that finds itself at the cross roads. Transgression in Fassinou’s works is the demystification of certain traditional beliefs. The transgression of some characters leads to bitter and traumatic experiences. Be that as it may, the author recommends/advocates, through her writing, a way of escape: hope. It shows through the representations made by the author that determination to overcome the challenges faced and the decision to put a cross on past bitter experiences are strong indications for individual transformation which would lead to the desired transformation and development of Africa. Transgression and cultural blending in the works of Fassinou are not limited to thematic study; it is also about the transgression of standard language codes and the mixing of languages. The second part of this thesis is devoted to the stylistic study of Fassinou’s works. As such, we are going to equally study formal aspects of Fassinou’s writing as a symbol of transgression and transcultural blending. , Dans le roman Jete en pature d’Adelaide Fassinou, le personnage feminin, Fifame, declare que « les livres ont un cote attachant. Ils deroulent sous nos regards la vie de personnes qui nous semblent si proches que nous nous identifions a elles. Certaines histoires ressemblent a la notre » (JP, 147). Fassinou elle-meme dit : En lisant ce livre, chere amie, tu feras egalement tienne I ’histoire de toutes ces femmes qui n ’ont vecu nulle part, sauf dans mon imagination. Mais la fiction dans laquelle elles se meuvent nous les rend encore plus proches st nous faitpartager leurs drames (MRB, 7). Ces propos refletent l’idee de la sociocritique qui indique qu’une reuvre litteraire pourrait etre une representation de la societe de son auteur(e). Ceci revient a dire que des evenements reels peuvent alimenter de plus en plus l’imagination litteraire. Aussi, poursuit-elle, « un livre est un chemin jalonne de marches, de chutes et de courses vers des lendemains qui chantent ou qui dechantent » (JP, 147). Les verbes « chanter » et « dechanter » dans ces propos devoilent la conception de l’ecriture a laquelle Fassinou adhere. « Chanter », a notre avis, pourrait denoter les gains des croisements des cultures, le resultat meme du modernisme. « Dechanter » pour sa part pourrait renvoyer a la violation de certaines valeurs traditionnelles et ou mieux encore aux attitudes transgressives dans une societe en pleine mutation. Ainsi donc la transgression et le metissage culturel constituent le point central de la discussion de cette recherche. Nous avons choisi d’analyser quelques reuvres litteraires d’Adelaide Fassinou, une ecrivaine beninoise qui est entree sur la scene litteraire au seuil du nouveau millenaire, en 2000. Par ce fait, on dirait que Fassinou appartient a une nouvelle generation d’ecrivains : les ecrivains du nouveau millenaire. Le titre du premier roman de Fassinou est revelateur. Il s’institule Modukpe, le reve brise, qui implique que l’homme a toujours un reve mais au cours du temps, ce reve pourrait etre brise. Chez Fassinou, ce manque de materialisation de reves serait le resultat de notre vision du monde ou les conceptions nouvelles rivalisent avec la tradition au point que la modernite soit simplement vue comme une transgression de lois de la tradition. C’est certes la transgression dans l’univers romanesque, une transgression contre la tradition et / ou la nature car « la nature a ses lois ». Et les experiences vecues par l’homme et surtout par la femme, Toute une vie ne viii suffirait pas pour en Parler. Et l’histoire d’etre Jete en pature est l’une de ses experiences. En lisant l’reuvre de Fassinou, on peut constater qu’elle presente assez de problemes sociaux qui renvoient a la notion de la transgression. Il en resulte que, pour se liberer, l’auteure qui represente la femme, recourt a ecrire des Poemes d ’amour et de ronces, de [S]es exiles, [s]es amours car il faut parler pour se sentir bien en soi-meme. Cette action de briser le silence par la femme constitue aussi en elle, une transgression car dans la tradition de l’auteure, la femme devrait etre reduite au silence. Fassinou a besoin de montrer que la cruaute au foyer, la volonte inflexible, la masculinite excessive et l’insensibilite conduisent a la revolte, au mecontentement et a la violence pouvant affecter toute la societe. Eu egard a cela, aimer un enfant au-dessus des autres compromettrait la cohesion familiale. C’est ainsi que le sujet du suicide fait partie de cette recherche. Ceci pourrait representer l’image de la violence nationale provoquee par le tribalisme et la geopolitique qu’on pourrait remarquer dans plusieurs pays sur le continent africain. Pour la plupart des critiques, la transgression des valeurs traditionnelles est due au metissage culturel car ce metissage est vu comme une evolution de la societe et de la culture qui represente une societe qui se trouve a la croisee des chemins. La transgression dans l’reuvre de Fassinou est la demystification de certaines croyances traditionnelles. La transgression de certains personnages conduit aux experiences ameres et traumatisantes. Quoi qu’il en soit, l’auteure preconise toujours, au moyen de son ecriture, une voie de sortie : l’espoir. Il transparait des representations que fait l’auteure que la determination pour surmonter les defis et la decision de mettre une croix sur les experiences ameres du passe sont des indications fortes pour la transformation individuelle qui amenera a la transformation et au developpement tant desire de l’Afrique. La transgression et le metissage culturel dans l’reuvre de Fassinou ne se limitent pas aux etudes thematiques ; il s’agit egalement de la transgression du code langagier standard et du melange des langues. La deuxieme partie de cette these est consacree a une etude stylistique de l’reuvre de Fassinou. Pour cela, nous avons etudie egalement les aspects des aspects formels de l’ecriture de Fassinou comme symbole de la transgression et du metissage culturel.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2017
- Authors: Ishaya, Nandi Salome
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Fassinou, Adélaïde, 1955- -- Criticism and interpretation , Fassinou, Adélaïde, 1955- -- Jeté en pâture , Fassinou, Adélaïde, 1955- -- Modukpè, le rêve brisé. , African literature (French) -- History and criticism
- Language: French , English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/7500 , vital:21266
- Description: In Adelaide Fassinou’s novel Jete en pature (“Thrown to the lions/wolves”), the female character Fifame declares that “novels/books have sides that one is attached to. The lives of people roll pass our eyes. Some stories resemble ours” (JP, 147). Fassinou herself says: By reading this book dear friend, the stories of all these women who lived nowhere except in my imagination, may be like yours. But the fiction in which they themselves moved makes it so close and we share in their tragedy (MRB, 7). The above comments reflect the idea of sociocriticism which opines that a literary work could be a representation of the society of its author. This goes to say that real events can feed literary imagination more and more. Also, Fifame continues that “a book/novel is a path marked by steps, falls, and races towards a future that is bright or a bleak” (JP, 147). The verbs which connote ‘bright’ and ‘bleak’ in this comment unveil the writing idea/conception which Fassinou adheres to. “Bright” in our opinion could connote the gains of cross cultural blending, the precise outcome/result of modernity. “Bleak” on the other hand could refer to the violation of certain cultural values and or better still to transgressive attitudes in a society that is in the process of radical transformation. As such, transgression and cross cultural blending are the focal points of our discussion in this research. We have chosen to analyse some literary works of Adelaide Fassinou, a beninoise who came into the literary scene at the threshold of the new millennium, in 2000. It could then be said that Fassinou belongs to a new generation of African writers, the writers of the new millennium. The title of her first novel is revealing. Its title, Modukpe, le reve brise could imply that man always has a dream but in the course of time, this dream could be broken due to one factor or the other. In Fassinou, the lack of the realization of dreams could be the result of our vision of the world where new ideas oppose tradition to the extent that modernity is seen simply as a transgression of the laws of tradition. Admittedly, it is transgression in the fictional novel, a transgression against tradition and or nature because “nature has its laws”. The life experiences of man especially the female gender, “A whole lifetime is not enough to speak about it” And the story of being “Thrown to the lions” is one of such experiences. Reading Fassinou’s work, one vi could note that she presents enough social problems which reflect the notion of transgression. As a result, for the woman to liberate herself, the author who represents the woman, resorts to writing “Poems of love and brambles” of “Her exiles and her loves” because it is needful to speak so as to feel better within oneself. This action of breaking the silence by the woman constitutes in itself a transgression because, in the culture of the author, the woman should be reduced to silence. Fassinou has the urge to show that cruelty in the home, inflexible will, excessive masculinity and insensibility could lead to rebellion, dissatisfaction and violence which could affect the whole society. In view of this, to love one child above the others could compromise family cohesion. It is in this regard that suicide formed part of the theme of this research. This could represent the image of national violence provoked by tribalism and geopolitics which could be noticed in many countries on the African continent. For most critics, the transgression of traditional values is due to cultural blending because this blending is seen as the evolution of the society and the culture which represent a society that finds itself at the cross roads. Transgression in Fassinou’s works is the demystification of certain traditional beliefs. The transgression of some characters leads to bitter and traumatic experiences. Be that as it may, the author recommends/advocates, through her writing, a way of escape: hope. It shows through the representations made by the author that determination to overcome the challenges faced and the decision to put a cross on past bitter experiences are strong indications for individual transformation which would lead to the desired transformation and development of Africa. Transgression and cultural blending in the works of Fassinou are not limited to thematic study; it is also about the transgression of standard language codes and the mixing of languages. The second part of this thesis is devoted to the stylistic study of Fassinou’s works. As such, we are going to equally study formal aspects of Fassinou’s writing as a symbol of transgression and transcultural blending. , Dans le roman Jete en pature d’Adelaide Fassinou, le personnage feminin, Fifame, declare que « les livres ont un cote attachant. Ils deroulent sous nos regards la vie de personnes qui nous semblent si proches que nous nous identifions a elles. Certaines histoires ressemblent a la notre » (JP, 147). Fassinou elle-meme dit : En lisant ce livre, chere amie, tu feras egalement tienne I ’histoire de toutes ces femmes qui n ’ont vecu nulle part, sauf dans mon imagination. Mais la fiction dans laquelle elles se meuvent nous les rend encore plus proches st nous faitpartager leurs drames (MRB, 7). Ces propos refletent l’idee de la sociocritique qui indique qu’une reuvre litteraire pourrait etre une representation de la societe de son auteur(e). Ceci revient a dire que des evenements reels peuvent alimenter de plus en plus l’imagination litteraire. Aussi, poursuit-elle, « un livre est un chemin jalonne de marches, de chutes et de courses vers des lendemains qui chantent ou qui dechantent » (JP, 147). Les verbes « chanter » et « dechanter » dans ces propos devoilent la conception de l’ecriture a laquelle Fassinou adhere. « Chanter », a notre avis, pourrait denoter les gains des croisements des cultures, le resultat meme du modernisme. « Dechanter » pour sa part pourrait renvoyer a la violation de certaines valeurs traditionnelles et ou mieux encore aux attitudes transgressives dans une societe en pleine mutation. Ainsi donc la transgression et le metissage culturel constituent le point central de la discussion de cette recherche. Nous avons choisi d’analyser quelques reuvres litteraires d’Adelaide Fassinou, une ecrivaine beninoise qui est entree sur la scene litteraire au seuil du nouveau millenaire, en 2000. Par ce fait, on dirait que Fassinou appartient a une nouvelle generation d’ecrivains : les ecrivains du nouveau millenaire. Le titre du premier roman de Fassinou est revelateur. Il s’institule Modukpe, le reve brise, qui implique que l’homme a toujours un reve mais au cours du temps, ce reve pourrait etre brise. Chez Fassinou, ce manque de materialisation de reves serait le resultat de notre vision du monde ou les conceptions nouvelles rivalisent avec la tradition au point que la modernite soit simplement vue comme une transgression de lois de la tradition. C’est certes la transgression dans l’univers romanesque, une transgression contre la tradition et / ou la nature car « la nature a ses lois ». Et les experiences vecues par l’homme et surtout par la femme, Toute une vie ne viii suffirait pas pour en Parler. Et l’histoire d’etre Jete en pature est l’une de ses experiences. En lisant l’reuvre de Fassinou, on peut constater qu’elle presente assez de problemes sociaux qui renvoient a la notion de la transgression. Il en resulte que, pour se liberer, l’auteure qui represente la femme, recourt a ecrire des Poemes d ’amour et de ronces, de [S]es exiles, [s]es amours car il faut parler pour se sentir bien en soi-meme. Cette action de briser le silence par la femme constitue aussi en elle, une transgression car dans la tradition de l’auteure, la femme devrait etre reduite au silence. Fassinou a besoin de montrer que la cruaute au foyer, la volonte inflexible, la masculinite excessive et l’insensibilite conduisent a la revolte, au mecontentement et a la violence pouvant affecter toute la societe. Eu egard a cela, aimer un enfant au-dessus des autres compromettrait la cohesion familiale. C’est ainsi que le sujet du suicide fait partie de cette recherche. Ceci pourrait representer l’image de la violence nationale provoquee par le tribalisme et la geopolitique qu’on pourrait remarquer dans plusieurs pays sur le continent africain. Pour la plupart des critiques, la transgression des valeurs traditionnelles est due au metissage culturel car ce metissage est vu comme une evolution de la societe et de la culture qui represente une societe qui se trouve a la croisee des chemins. La transgression dans l’reuvre de Fassinou est la demystification de certaines croyances traditionnelles. La transgression de certains personnages conduit aux experiences ameres et traumatisantes. Quoi qu’il en soit, l’auteure preconise toujours, au moyen de son ecriture, une voie de sortie : l’espoir. Il transparait des representations que fait l’auteure que la determination pour surmonter les defis et la decision de mettre une croix sur les experiences ameres du passe sont des indications fortes pour la transformation individuelle qui amenera a la transformation et au developpement tant desire de l’Afrique. La transgression et le metissage culturel dans l’reuvre de Fassinou ne se limitent pas aux etudes thematiques ; il s’agit egalement de la transgression du code langagier standard et du melange des langues. La deuxieme partie de cette these est consacree a une etude stylistique de l’reuvre de Fassinou. Pour cela, nous avons etudie egalement les aspects des aspects formels de l’ecriture de Fassinou comme symbole de la transgression et du metissage culturel.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2017
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