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The two phases of women in african literature
The two phases of women in african literature
Different cultural beliefs and practices
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Tradition and Customs in So Long A Letter by Mariama Ba
Tradition and customs very often hold an important position in ones life and culture. The novel So Long A Letter, by Mariama Ba, is based on the Senegalese culture and shows how important tradition is in Africa. The novel is a series of letters written by a recently widowed woman, Ramatoulaye, to her best friend Aissatou. The transition through the many grieving stages and traditional mourning events are explained, as well as a woman?s place in a Senegalese society and family.
According to Muslim tradition, which was the dominant tradition in Senegal, when Ramatoulaye?s husband, Modou, passed away, she had to mourn over her loss for three months. During this time, friends and family members gathered in her house to accompany her. One of the traditions, which she wasn?t too fond of, was having to give up her possessions and belongings as gifts to her in-laws, as well as her deceased husband?s personal secrets. This whole process was a way of giving up herself as a person. ?Beyond her possessions she gives up her ...
...eedom was found and cultural boundaries were not shattered, simply battered, the narrator’s path was much preferable to that of her sisters (those who conformed to cultural boundaries). Through this story we can see how oppression in certain cultures changes individuals differently, creates tension between those who do not wish to be subjugated and those doing the subjugating, and we see the integral opposition between the path of Catholicism and that of curandismo.
In the novel Segu, Maryse Conde beautifully constructs personal and in depth images of African history through the use of four main characters that depict the struggles and importance of family in what is now present day Mali. These four characters and also brothers, by the names of Tiekoro, Siga, Naba, and Malobali are faced with a world changing around their beloved city of Bambara with new customs of the Islamic religion and the developing ideas of European commerce and slave trade. These new expansions in Africa become stepping stones for the Troare brothers to face head on and they have brought both victory and heartache for them and their family. These four characters are centralized throughout this novel because they provide the reader with an inside account of what life is like during a time where traditional Africa begins to change due to the forceful injection of conquering settlers and religions. This creates a split between family members, a mixing of cultures, and the loss of one’s traditions in the Bambara society which is a reflection of the (WHAT ARE SOME CHANGES) changes that occur in societies across the world.
In Burial Rites Agnes undergoes extreme abuse and wakes up with seemingly no reason to live. Regardless of this situation, Agnes remains unyielding in her values, identity and beliefs, refusing to be dehumanised by society; “I will hold what I am inside, and keep my hands tight around all the things I have seen and heard, and felt.” It is through this stoicism and self-empowerment that Agnes emerges as an unsuspecting role model in the text. Kent establishes how it is also the kindness and generosity of others that ultimately gives Agnes a reason to live. Specifically, Agnes’ passion for life is renewed through her cathartic, confessional story-telling to Toti. Toti, unlike the biased majority of society, does not “pluck at [Agnes’] words like birds” and instead is an empathetic, understanding listener. Furthermore, despite initial hostility, Margret and her family grow to understand and empathise with Agnes and ultimately become very close with her, becoming “tearstreaked” in the days leading up to her death. Kent uses symbolism in the form of a brooch given to Agnes by the Jonsdottir family to illustrate the final, compassionate acceptance of her humanity. Overall, the author demonstrates to the reader how women like Agnes can stay strong in the face of adversity by remaining resolute in their beliefs, as well as the importance of treating others with understanding and
Storytelling has a special importance in culture throughout the African continent; Anansi the spider in Ghana, is one great example of an African fable that teaches children important lessons including respect for elders, the importance of wisdom, and the importance of culture. These stories have been retained and perpetuated by oral tradition, despite the western emphasis on written records; African tribes have preserved history and culture well thorough oral historians. The translator, D.T. Niane, explains the validity of oral history well by stating that written text can contain inaccuracies as well (xv). The importance of the oral aspect of djelis method relays the information in a personal manner, as Djeli Mamoudou Kouyate states, “writing lacks the warmth of the human voice,” therefore by creating a written text of an oral story it “does violence” to it (xvi). I was raised in an African community, here in DC and was lucky enough to attend Djeli performances by family friend, Djimo Kouyate, and later his son Amadou. Although I do not speak Manding, Djeli Djimo Koyate, performed the music in such a way that I was able to relate and...
“The Harem Within” is a life story that portrays Mernissi’s childhood experiences while growing up in her family house in Fez, Morocco. Fatema Mernissi was a daughter of wealthy landowners and agriculturalists family. Even though she was raised in indulging and a privileged neighborhood, detached from the poverty most Moroccans experienced, her childhood was spent in the limits of her household shape. Mernissi was raised in a “classical domestic harem”, which abides of extended family and was designed to keep the women sheltered from men outside of the family and the public in general. Occasionally, this exceedingly limitation nurtured feelings of frustrating separation and isolation. Mernissi’s upbringing in this habitat influenced her progress as a scholar and writer.
The book, a feminist anthem in its own right, presents to the reader, Nnu Ego, a love child from an open affair by a woman who refuses to be bound by the chains of marriage, is the reincarnation of a slave girl who was killed by her father before she was born. Nnu Ego’s mother, Ona is an unconventional Igbo woman. She chooses to have an affair with a wealthy local chief who proposes marriage to her. She refuses the marriage proposal, because “he married a few women in the traditional sense, but as he watched each of them sink into domesticity and motherhood he was soon bored and would go further afield for some other exciting, tall and proud female” (Joys of Motherhood 10). She chooses not to be an addition to his harem, but content to be his mistress as long as he meets with her in her father’s
Africa between 1913 and 1930. Her letters that are compiled to make up the book
In Half of a Yellow Sun, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie attempts to use history in order to gain leverage on the present, to subvert the single story stereotypes that dominate many contemporary discourses on Africa. Written in the genre of historical fiction, Adichie’s novel transcends beyond mere historical narration and recreates the polyphonic experiences of varying groups of people in Nigeria before and after the Civil War. She employs temporal distortion in her narrative, distorting time in order to illustrate the intertwining effects of the past and present, immersing deep into the impact of western domination that not only catalyzed the war, but continues to affect contemporary Africa. In this paper, I will analyze her portrayal of the multifaceted culture produced by colonialism – one that coalesces elements from traditional African culture with notions of western modernity to varying degrees. I will argue that Adichie uses a range of characters, including Odenigbo’s mother, Ugwu, Olanna and Kainene, to each represent a point in a spectrum between tradition and modernity. Through her juxtaposition, she undermines the stereotypes that continue to characterize Africa as backwards and traditional, proving instead that colonialism has produced a cross culture where the two are intertwined.
Chinua Achebe analyzes a culture he is not accustomed with. The Madwoman in the attic theory comes into play as a westerner writing about “savage Africa”. Things Fall Apart provides an important understanding of Africana identity and history for those in the West who may be unfamiliar with African culture. Achebe tackles female identity within this book with delicacy keeping with the Ibo view of female nature in the background of the story but the forefront of the reader’s mind. A discussion of womanhood must touch upon manhood because they operate as a complementary, opposing, and equal entity.
Pandurang M., Bartels A. – African Women Novelists, Re- Imaging Gender, Pencraft International, New Delhi, 2010 Print.
Years after their marriages fall apart through polygamy and feelings of betrayal, when Modou experiences an unexpected heart attack and is unable to be saved, Ramatoulaye decides to write letters to Aissatou who is now in the United States with her four sons. In these letters, she talks about their memories together before they were separated from one another as well as providing Aissatou with news about her current life. She first writes about Modou’s death and the forty day funeral of her late husband, but soon moves on to their lives as being married women. Keeping the main idea of the story in mind, Bâ has her talk about their marriages, starting with Aissatou. Ramatoulaye recalls how Mawdo and Aissatou were madly in love but their marriage was never accepted by the groom’s family as she was “a goldsmith’s daughter” while he was a nobleman (Bâ, 2008, p. 17). Therefore, Mawdo’s mother did everything in her power to separate the two, one of which included marrying him off to her brother’s daughter, Young Nabou, meaning that Aissatou would have “a co-wife” (Bâ, 2008, p. 31). This forced Aissatou to leave him as she did not want this lifestyle. Three years after this incident, Modou married Binetou, their daughter’s best friend without Ramatoulaye having any knowledge of it, yet choosing to stay with Modou as a
Throughout the centuries, the roles of Nigerian women have continuously evolved. During the pre- colonial era, women in Nigerian tribes were not only child bearers and wives, but also free adults. They played critical roles in food preparation, weaving, pottery, and the economy. However, the impact of British rule in Nigeria made a significant shift from the pre-colonial to the post- colonial era. The influence of the Catholic Church, Western style education, patriarchal government and modern ways of making money took a major toll in a woman’s role in society. In Chimamanda Adichie’s novel, Purple Hibiscus, Mama Beatrice and Aunty Ifeoma are dynamic female foils who represent opposite sides of spectrum in post- colonial feminism. Mama epitomizes the product of colonialism, while Aunty Ifeoma challenges the British influence and growing power of men.
While in exile in France Léopold Sédar Senghor wrote a beautiful poem called Black Woman. This poem revolves around Senghor love, definition and praise of a natural black woman. In Senghor’s life and poetry women are viewed in a higher status, are held in high esteem and regard. Senghor poem is more than an individual black African woman, she is an antecedent of his race and thus a symbol of the African race. He takes pride in his race and in this poem especially Senghor completely showed his love and respect for the black woman. Senghor uses an accumulation of metaphors to show his love for African women, and how African black women by portraying them as being beautiful, comforting and emphasis on the black woman’s physical beauty.
The small African village located on the bank of the river Niger has a story of its own, that only the old and wise are able to des...
My favourite text is a play titled “Anowa” by Ama Ataa Aidoo which was published in 1969. This book was first given to me by my father on my twelfth birthday. Although I was disappointed initially because I was expecting something “girly” on my birthday, I liked it when I read it because of the moral lessons it portrayed and the language used in the play. However, I got a deeper understanding of the test after I did a post-colonial and a feminist analysis of the text. In my post-colonial analysis, I saw that in a sense Anowa represents the beauty of the formal African society which was destroyed as a result of colonialism.