“A Luta Continua!”: A brief review of the poetry of Lusophone Africa.

First carried by Cameroon Tribune of Friday, February 13, 1987.

Mention the name Agostinho Neto to any sober Cameroonian and he or she would likely tell you, and rightly so, that he was the first President of the People’s Republic of Angola, whose untimely death in 1979 came as a shock to the progressive world – and to the other world as well. Mention Marcelino dos Santos and those who followed the recent events in Mozambique would likely tell you that he is the hefty-looking, eloquent, middle-aged man, with a snow-white goatee, who was in charge of organizing the funeral services of the late Mozambican President Samora Machel, whose plane was shot down killed in enemy territory late last year (1986).

But tell those same Cameroonians that both Agostinho Neto and Marcelino dos Santos are two outstanding Lusophone (i.e. Portuguese-speaking) poets and you would either have eye-brows raised in amazement, or shoulders shrugged in indifference because Lusophone literature is still to a large extent an uncharted territory to many English-speaking Africans.

The following is a bird’s-eye view of the most popular genre in Lusophone African literature today: poetry, and the reasons for its predominance. But first of all, let’s see why Lusophone literature is so little known in Africa today.

The first important reason is one of language. Unlike English and French, Portuguese is not widely learnt outside the countries where it is spoken. And since works of Lusophone African writers were hardly ever translated into English or French, many of such writers remained virtually unknown to the outside world.

The second reason is political in nature. The works of African writers were often banned in Portugal and its colonies and the writers themselves were either persecuted, imprisoned or driven into exile. The few available original works were usually published in limited editions mainly in Socialist countries, or in such left-leaning African countries as the Tanzania of Mwalimu Julius Nyerere, the Guinea of Sekou Toure or the Algeria of Houari Boumedienne. Thus, unlike their English and French-speaking counterparts, Lusophone African writers remained largely unknown even in Portugal and its colonies.

Yet a written literary tradition in the former Portuguese colonies dates back a long time. From its inception, the literature reflected the African rejection of Portuguese rule. It was thus a literature born and nurtured in a war situation, hence the predominance of poetry over prose. In war times, poetry, because of its concise form, has always proven to be a more convenient form for communicating pressing statements and releasing pent-up feelings than the novel or the short story whose complex form and length require more concentration and a much calmer and peaceful environment. Accordingly, to better appraise the development of Lusophone poetry in Africa, a brief survey of Portuguese colonial rule and African reaction to it, are indispensable.

Poetry and the colonial situation Resistance to the Portuguese dates back to their arrival in Africa in the 15th century. Poets make constant references to such prominent historical figures as Rainha Jinga, a 17th century Angolan Queen, who led her people in revolt against the Portuguese (see, for example, Neto’s poem “Hoisting the Flag”). Constant reference is also made to Gungunyana, Mozambique’s best known traditional leader, who organized the last localized war against the Portuguese in 1898. These revolts were, however, crushed by the superior might of the Portuguese army.

Like all colonial powers, Portugal was mainly interested in exploiting the colonies for her own benefit; but unlike the other powers, however, Portugal was extremely backward and this backwardness affected the colonies as well. Whereas in British and French colonies, educated Africans were already playing a prominent role in politics as far back as the 18th century, it was not until the early part of the 20th century that an urban elite composed mainly of mulatoes, Asians and a few Africans – “assimilados” – began to emerge in Portuguese colonies. Between 1910 and 1926 a liberal Portuguese Republic tolerated political associations and publications. Angola, the most developed of the colonies, took the lead with such publications as A Voz de Angola Clamando no Deserto (The Voice of Angola Crying out in the Wilderness) and O Futuro de Angola (The future of Angola) in which such men of talent and learning as Jose de Fontes Pereira and Cordeiro de Matta openly questioned the legitimacy of Portuguese rule in their country.

The poetry of that period already showed a preoccupation with the sufferings of the people although the criticism of Portuguese rule was usually vague and couched in religious terms. The language of such poetry was reminiscent of the language of classical European poetry. A good example is Rui de Noronha, the prolific, skilled and powerful Mozambican poet who wrote poems (e.g. “Rise and Walk”) in the style of the Italian sonnet.

The rise of reactionary forces The hopes of progressive political and literary forces were bashed by the Salazar coup d’état of 1926, which set up one of the most reactionary and ruthless dictatorships in Europe. All over Europe and Asia, forces of progress were engaged in an increasing struggle with emergent fascism with its institutionalization of racism and terror. In Portuguese colonies, forced labour and its slave wages were being enforced with ruthless efficiency. In reaction, many poets made of forced labour a recurring theme in their poetry (e.g. Neto’s “Departure for forced labour”).

In Mozambique, Africans were, and are still, being recruited for labour in South African mines where they work as virtual slaves for low wages, coming back home old and broken, with lungs eaten by mine dust. By the way, the mine is a powerful leitmotiv in the literature of Southern Africa, especially that written by blacks (see, for instance, Peter Abraham’s novel Mine Boy).

The influence of the two world wars Lusophone poetry, like Negritude poetry in Francophone Africa, received a shot-in-the-arm from the Second World War. Everywhere in Europe and Asia, fascism was in retreat before the massive drive of the forces of progress. Anti-colonial struggles were emerging in Africa and Asia as patriotic forces picked up the word “freedom” and glued it forever on the lips of oppressed and colonized peoples.

Lusophone poets reacted to this trend by freeing their poetry from the constraints of conventional European poetry. They adopted the freer and more varied form of the Surrealist writers, Negritude poets, Latin American writers and North American black writers and jazz musicians.

For the first time ever, poets began to incorporate African culture into their poetry through the use of African words and expressions. Agostinho Neto, Angolan poet, and Jose Luandino Vieira, Angola’s best known novelist and short story writer, set the tone in this respect with their extensive use of words and expressions from Kimbundu, the language of the Luanda region.

In Guinea Bissau and Cape Verde Islands, such poets as Kaoberdiano Dambara, Gabriel Mariano and Sampadjudo even began to write in the their native language, Creole, quite a defiance to the Portuguese tendency to denigrate African languages. Poets now tended to compare the past history of Africa (especially slavery) to the present colonial situation, thus revealing to the world the brutality of the colonial system. Such re-awakening emphasized African values, which the poets increasingly reasserted as they presented the African situation as part and parcel of a world-wide struggle by progressive mankind against the forces of obscurantism and repression.

Comments

[ppi claims]

I was suggested this blog by means of my cousin. I'm no longer positive whether this submit is written through him as nobody else recognise such targeted approximately my problem. You are incredible! Thank you!

[franking machine]

Hi, I do think this is a great web site. I stumbledupon it ;) I may come back once again since I bookmarked it. Money and freedom is the best way to change, may you be rich and continue to guide other people.

[แปลเอกสาร]

Link exchange is nothing else but it is simply placing the other person's webpage link on your page at suitable place and other person will also do same for you.