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Independence
Acquired-
Hope or
Disillusion-
ment?
MildredMortimer
* Reproducedwith permissionfromMildredMortimer:
JourneysThroughtheFrenchAfricanNovel
(Portsmouth,NH: HeinemannEducationalBooks,Inc., 1990).
35
36 I Researchin AfricanLiteratures
[Eighthutsstillstanding,justthat,theirwallscrackedfromroofto ground,
theirfire-blackenedthatchat leastfive yearsold. A lot thereto plaster
and roofbeforethe rainsreallystarted.The stableacrossthe waywas
empty,and the greathut wherehorseshad been tetheredhad by now
forgotteneven the smellof horse-piss.Betweenthe twostoodthe small
hut forgoats,thatnowcontainedall in all:threebilly-goats,twonanny-
goats and a kid, scrawnyand smelly,intendedas offeringsto Balla's
fetishes.As forhumanbeings,thereweren'tmanyable-bodiedworkers.
Fourmen,twoof themold,andnine women,sevenof themold women
whohadsomehowmanagedto avoiddying.(73)]
This descriptionof a deteriorating,depopulating,ill-nourishedworldis similar
to Ousmane Sembene'sportrayalof the city of Thies in Les Boutsde boisde
Dieu, for both its tone and its emphasisare upon visual images that denote
poverty.WhereasThies is a cemeteryfor industrialsociety'srottingandrusting
debris, Togobala is a ghost town. Kouroumacompiles an inventory that
highlights paucity: eight huts, six animals, thirteen villagers. He contrasts
Togobala'semptinesswith Abidjan'sdense populationand animation.This is
evident in the marketwhere Fama'swife Salimata sells her wares. Here the
accumulationof soundsaddsto the animation:
Partoutgrouillaitet criaitl'animation
dumatin,surle quailestravailleurs
debarquantse hataient,les piroguiers et les pecheurss'affairaient
et les
40 I Researchin AfricanLiteratures
[Themorningwasaliveandhummingwithactivity:on thewharf,workers
who had just landedwerehurryingoff, boatmenand fishermenwere
alreadybusy,womenhawkedtheirwares.Frightened bythe uproar,
clouds
of batsandweaver-birds
rosescreechingfromthe palmsandmango-trees
clusteredaboutthe whitebuildings.(31)]
By simulatingthe filmingandrecordingof sightsandsoundsin city and village,
Kourouma,like Sembene, becomesthe cameramancreatinga social documen-
tary.Moreover,as witness and narratorof events, he emergesas a griotas well.
Although Sembene depicts feats of heroismand becomes the praise-singerof
the people, Kouroumapulls together the various elements that form the
portrait of a tragic figure. K.R. Ireland compares Fama, the disinherited
Malinke prince, to Hamlet, the melancholy prince of Denmark,but he states
that, although Hamlet has the capacity to set things right, Famahas neither
the will nor the abilityto do so (79). Once Famais strippedof his illusionsand
learnsthat corruptionis not confinedto the city butpermeatesthe countryside
as well, he can choose only one formof escape-death.
Examiningthe structureof the novel, we note that each partof it revolves
arounda death and the ritual of burial:IbrahimaKone, Lacina, the sorcerer
Balla, and finally Fama.The Malinke prince'strajectoryleads to lucidity and
to reconciliation with death when he finally admits that in all aspects-
biological, political, economic, social-his life is plagued by sterility. His
marriage is barren. The ruling political party will not admit him. He is
economically unproductive;he lives fromSalimata'searningsas soup vendor
in the market.In other words,the princehas become a social outcast,a begging
"vulture"at social gatheringssuch as funerals.5
Finally,Fama'sfate is to be the last of his line. In this vein, his constant
reference to "batarddes batardises"(16) [Damn all the bastards!(9)] when
speakingof the presentrevealshis alienationfroma worldin which his family's
past glory has been forgotten. Salimata and Fama are both victims of the
present,living in povertyin a poorAfricanneighborhood,presumablyTreich-
ville in Abidjan. Unable to produce an heir, they cannot envisage a future.
With no successor,the barrencouple is cut off from the promise of modern-
ization and westernization;in fact, their situation portends increasedaliena-
tion for this Malinke prince whose upbringing,comportmentand worldview
renderhim anachronisticand obsolete in the new era. For this reason, Fama
speaksof "une vie qui se mourait,se consumait dans la pauvrete,la sterilite,
l'Independance et le parti unique!" (29) [a life that was dying out amidst
poverty and barrenness,Independenceand the one-partysystem! (18)].
His wife Salimata adjustsbetter than he does to modem life in the city.
Her moring chores take her to the market,where she sells her waresand buys
MildredMortimer I 41
Thus, dreamsprovide the illusion of power and glory that have been denied
by reality.In Fama'simagination,he becomesSouleymane,the founderof the
dynasty,not the last of the lineage. At the same time, dreamsfree him from
his prisoner'scell, allowinghim to ride freely.They also granthim the respect
MildredMortimer 1 43
of his people-a respect that eluded him in life. The vision of the white horse
appearsforthe last time asFamalies close to death. "Famasurun coursierblanc
qui galope, trotte, sautilleet caracole.IIest comble, il est superbe"(204) [Fama
on a white chargergallops,trots, leaps and prances.He is radiantand fulfilled
(135)]. Fama'sescape through imaginationis escapist, but it is also strategic.
An aid to survivalin prison, the vision of the white horse is a key element in
his final journeytowarddeath.
Several intercessorsappearin the novel. The sorcererBalla, the griot
Diamourou,and Fama'sfriend,Bakary,all attemptto guide and counsel Fama,
but he refusesto heed their advice. Although Balla adviseshim not to return
to the capital, he does so and is subsequentlyarrested.Upon Fama'srelease
fromprison, Bakarywarnshim to stay in the capital.Famaneverthelessleaves
for the village and is mortallywoundedby the sacredcrocodile at the border
crossing.
In prison, Famarecalls Balla'swordsbut explains why he cannot heed
the intercessor'sadvice:
[Balla'swordswentunheeded,becausetheybouncedoffthe eardrums of
a manluredon byhis fate,the fateordainedforthe lastof the Dumbuya.
(117)]
[Thecolonialperiodoutlawedandkilledwar,butfavouredtrade;Inde-
pendenceruinedtrade,and therewasno sign of war.So the Malinke
species,tribes,landandcivilization,wasdying:crippled,deaf,blind...
andsterile.(13)]
In addition, Famais the victim of a corruptelite that has lost touch with the
people: "Ces jeunes gens debarquesde l'au-dela des mers ne pensent plus
comme des negres"(172) [These young men back frombeyond the seas don't
think like Africansany more ( 114)]. Thus, Kouroumasatirizesboth the victim,
Fama,and the society in which he is socially and economically marginal.
44 I Researchin AfricanLiteratures
An articlereflectingthwartedidealismand frustration,"Latraverseedu
desert"is eloquent and subversive.The allegoryis not at all obscure;Mourad's
readers can easily discern the Algerian War in the episode of the desert
crossing.Furthermore,his criticism is double-edged.Mouradcasts blame on
the leaders who sacrifice themselves unnecessarily,and on the people who
follow blindly.If the martyrsshow too much courage,the people do not show
enough:
[A deserter,whatis that?
It is someonewholivesin the desert,saidMourad.
Ordiesthere?
It'sthe samething.(127)]
This play on wordssuggeststhat deserteurrefersboth to the nomads who are
facing extinction and to the urban-dwellingAlgerian technocratswho have
abandonedthe ideals of the Algerian revolution. Mouradbelongs to neither
group,but the term appliesto him as well; he is a "deserteur"in the sense that
he has been profoundlytransformedby his experience in the desert.
La Traverseecontinues a literarytraditionthat began in the nineteenth
century when French writers found inspiration in a Saharan odyssey that
became a metaphorfor spiritualdiscoveryand transformation.The crossingof
the Saharastill servesas a metaphorforself-discoverybecausemen andwomen
todayneed to retain the vision of a worldin which the eternalexists. Wedded
to the notion of a returnto the desertis the romanticimage of the wandering
nomad and the dream of recreatinga life of freedom in a region of limitless
space. Mouradsharesthis dreamwhen he undertakeshis Saharanodyssey.By
the end of his voyage,however,he is vanquishedboth physicallyand spiritual-
ly.He is defeatedphysically(succumbingto the fevercontractedin the Sahara)
becausethe desertis, as W.H. Auden wrote,the Omegaof temporalexistence:
powerful,limitless,indifferentto man (71). He is conqueredspirituallybecause
he refusesto compromisewith a society that embraceshypocrisyand political
repression.His disillusionmentconfirmed,Mourad,like Fama,loses his will to
live.
Hope or Disillusionment?
When stripped of their illusion, Kourouma'sFama and Mammeri's
Mouradboth choose the sameformof escape,death. In the courseof his travels
54 I Researchin AfricanLiteratures
NOTES
1 See Vatin(1984).
2 As an example of this reversal,Michelman points out the negative imagery
of the sun, "lessoleilsdes Independances malefiques," as beingin contrastwith the
traditionally beneficialsun (93). Ironically,Kourouma is returningto a negativeuse
of sun imagerythat recallsa similaruseof sunimageryin a classicalcolonialisttext,
PierreLoti'sLeRomand'unSpahi.
3 As Schikoraexplains:"Death,in Africanontology,represents a journey,a
passing on and,at the same time, rapprochement withthose who preceded one in time.
Havingonce existed,a beingneverceasesto exist"(196).
4 Fora discussionof timein the novel,see Ireland.
5
CallingFama"lasterilitefaitehomme,"M'Lanhoro viewsthe harmattan, a
dry,sterile Saharanwind,as a metaphorforFama'scondition(52).
6 Fora studyof animalimageryin the novel,see Chemain,35-55.
7 The protagonist's insistenceupon predetermined fate leadsOhaegbuto
considerhima tragicfigure-"livreaudestinhostile,implaccable, quil'ecrase" (255).
8 Julienmakesa similarpoint in discussingthe workof BiragoDiop,who
frequentlymakesuse of the followingtechniquesof oralart:dialogue,repetition,
questioningthe narratee,listing,songsandrefrains, etiologicalendings.She explains
that Diopdoesnot incorporate all theseelementsinto everytale. His successlies in
the selectionof techniques(3).
9 Josephbelievesthatthenarrataire (receiver)is not a readerbuta listenerin
anoralsituationsuchasa dialoguebetweentwoisolatedpersonsora gatheringaround
agriot(71).
10See Schikora,Lavergne, Sellin,andEmeto-Agbasiere fora discussionof the
roleof proverbsin the novel,andFinnegan(esp.390-425)fora generaldiscussionof
Africanproverbs.
11Finneganattributes frequentcomparisons withnatureto ruralculturerather
thanto somemysticalaffinitywithAfricanfloraandfauna(405)
12 Sellin concludesthatthiskaleidoscope effectis dueto the Africanwriter's
predilectionfor episodes:"Recemment cette predilectionpourl'episodique semble
avoirassumeune formeplusou moinsautochtoneou l'ontologieafricainel'emporte
surlatraditionfran.aisesousuneformetoutefoisromanesque ouauparavant l'Africain
MildredMortimer 1 55
WORKS CITED
Vatin,Jean-Claude."Pourunesociologiepolitiquedesnouveauxdesenchantements:
a proposd'unelecturede La Traversee de MouloudMammeri." Annuairede
dunord21 (1982):841-839.
'Afrique
. "Desertconstruitet invente,Saharaperduouretrouve:le jeudesimaginaires."
Revuede l'Occident Musulman et delaMediterranee
37 (1984):107-31.