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University of Tennessee, Knoxville TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange Doctoral Dissertations Graduate School 12-2003 Reading the colonial Christian mission : Postcolonialism and Liberation Theology in novels by Mongo Beti and Renʹe Philombe Tracy Parkinson Follow this and additional works at: https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_graddiss Recommended Citation Parkinson, Tracy, "Reading the colonial Christian mission : Postcolonialism and Liberation Theology in novels by Mongo Beti and Renʹe Philombe. " PhD diss., University of Tennessee, 2003. https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_graddiss/5169 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. It has been accepted for inclusion in Doctoral Dissertations by an authorized administrator of TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. For more information, please contact [email protected]. To the Graduate Council: I am submitting herewith a dissertation written by Tracy Parkinson entitled "Reading the colonial Christian mission : Postcolonialism and Liberation Theology in novels by Mongo Beti and Renʹe Philombe." I have examined the final electronic copy of this dissertation for form and content and recommend that it be accepted in partial fulfillment of the equirr ements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, with a major in Modern Foreign Languages. Karen Levy, Major Professor We have read this dissertation and recommend its acceptance: Accepted for the Council: Carolyn R. Hodges Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School (Original signatures are on file with official studentecor r ds.) To the Graduate Council: I am submitting herewith a dissertation written by Tracy Scott Parkinsonentitled "Reading the Colonial ChristianMission: Postcolonialism and Liberation Theology in Novels by Mongo Beti and Rene Philombe." I have examined the finalpaper copy of this dissertation for formand content andrecommend that it be accepted in partial fulfillment of the requirements forthe degreeDoctor of Philosophy, with a major in Modem Foreign Languages. We have read this dissertation and recommend its acceptance: &,u�� 0.\b� r-= ftP-}-- a"'- ()______ A,IMl "-k'T""' . Acceptance for the Council: Vice Provost and Studies READING THE COLONIAL CHRISTIAN MISSION: Postcolonialism and Liberation Theology in Novels by Mongo Beti and Rene Philombe A Dissertation Presented for the Doctor of Philosophy Degree The University of Tennessee, Knoxville Tracy Scott Parkinson December, 2003 11 Copyright© 2003 by Tracy Parkinson All rightsreserved. 111 DEDICATION This dissertation is dedicated to my wife, Pam. Without her love, patience, and support it would never have been completed. IV ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to thankmy dissertation director andgraduate advisor, Dr. Karen Levy. She has been a guide, a mentor, and a friendsince the firstday I beganmy studies at the University of Tennessee. I would also like to thankthe current andformer members of the Departmentof Modem ForeignLanguages and Literatures who have challenged, inspired, and encouraged me, especially Dr. Christine Holmlund, Dr. John Romeiser, Dr. Greg Kaplan, andDr. Odile Cazenave. I wish to thankDr. April Morgan forgraciously being willing to serve on a committee outside her department. I am gratefulto the AppalachianCollege Association for awarding me a John B. Stephenson Fellowship, allowing me to takeleave frommy facultyposition and dedicate the past yearto the completion of this dissertation. V ABSTRACT This study examines three Camerooniannovels written in French in the mid­ twentieth century,Le Pauvre Christ de Bomba and Le Roi miracule by Mongo Beti and Un Sorcier Blanc a Zangali by Rene Philombe. Each of the three novels deals with the presence of European Christian missions in Cameroon during the colonial era and each one portrays a missionary priest as a principal character. Making use of insight fromboth Postcolonial literary and cultural theory and Liberation Theology, this work explores the representation of these priests, their relation to the colonial endeavor, and their relations with those whom they encounter. By way of such a reading, the dissertation also explores the often-ignored parallels between Postcolonialism and Liberation Theology. Furthermore, these readings underscore the continued relevance of the questions and challenges raised by the novels, the theory, and the theology. VI TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction .................................................................................................. 1 Chapter 1 : The Priests .............................................·.................................. 20 Chapter 2: The Native Population: Colonized and Evangelized ............ 117 Chapter 3: Women in the Novels: The Doubly Oppressed.................... .169 Conclusion ............................................................................................... 211 Works Consulted ...................................................................................... 219 Vita.................................................................................. .........................224 1 INTRODUCTION L'equivoque nait de la simultaneite de l'evangelisation et de la colonisation. Le meme pays nous a envoye et le soldat et l' administrateur et le commen;ant et le missionaire apotre. Parfois ils ont voyage dans le meme bateau. -Archbishop Jean Zoa (qtd. in Philombe, Sorcier 5) This study will explore, based on readings of novels by two Cameroonian authors, Mongo Beti and Rene Philombe, the simultaneous questions raised by the quote above, cited in Philombe's novel, Un Sorcier blanc a Zangali, and underscored by the content of the novels themselves. As do the novels to be studied, the quote (cited in preface to the text of the Phil om be novel to be studied here) exposes a disturbing connection between the imperialism and oppression of the colonial movement in Africa and the mission of conversion on the part of Western Christianity. Using three novels by these two authors as points of departure (Le Pauvre Christ de Bomba and Le roi miracule by Beti and Philombe's Un sorcier blanc a Zangali), this study will examine, through a shared perspective of postcolonial theory and liberation theology, parallel movements of the late twentieth century, the relations and conflicts between the personal tasks of the soldier and the missionary, forexample, as well as the relation of the broader tasks of evangelization and colonization. Perhaps, in fact, the goals and tasks, like the boat of the quote, tie the missionary much more closely to those others with whom he arrives than anything in his faith or mission that might distinguish him fromthem. In fact,it must be noted that the 2 stated policy of association of the French governmentof the early twentieth century, claiming that "colonizers and colonized would retain their separate cultural identities while collaborating forthe mutual benefitof all concerned"(Hargreave 185), would seem completely at odds with evangelicalgoals of conversion. WESTERN CULTURE AND THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH IN AFRICA: THE MISSION CIVILATRICE These novels fromCameroon make a particularlyrelevant choice forsuch a study not only fortheir obviously relevantcontent but also forthe colonial history of Cameroon. Occupied by Germany prior to the arrival of the French, it has a particular colonial history as essentially having been colonized and then recolonized. German sovereigntyover Cameroon was declared after the signing of a treaty between indigenous chiefs andthe German governmenton July 12, 1884. Afterthe First World War, administration of the Cameroon was designated by the League of Nations to France and, in some smaller areas,England in 1919, afteralmost 35 years of German rule. Thus 1919 saw the end of German colonization of Cameroon and the beginning of French (or, in certain areas, English) colonization; Cameroon is recolonized ("History of Cameroon," screen 1). Ruled essentially by a dictatorship of Ahmadou Ahidjo forthe firsttwenty-three years of its "independence," Cameroon serves also as a prime example of the continued effectsof colonization even afterindependence. Ahidjo became Cameroon'sfirst president upon independence of French Cameroon in 1960 {The southern, predominantly 3 Christian, part of British Cameroon would join French Cameroon to formthe Federal Republic of Cameroon in 1961, with the predominantly Muslim northernpart becoming part of Nigeria.) and managed to outlaw all political parties other than his own by 1966 ("History of Cameroon," screen 1 ). Notably, this was a governmentvocally opposed by both Philombe, fromwithin Cameroon, and Beti, living in exile in France. Beti himself referredto Ahidjo as a dictator, while Philombe was arrested on at least fouroccasions and charged with "endangeringstate security" (Beti, "Philombe" 22). Even followingthe resignation of Ahidjo, his successor, Paul Biya, overcame a coup attempt in 1984 and was re-elected in two single-candidate elections followed by a third re-election in an election "which was considered seriously flawedby internationalobservers" ("History of Cameroon," Worldrover, screen 1). Biya remains president, and2002 parliamentary elections saw complaints of fraudfiled by fifteendifferent opposition parties ("History of Cameroon,"screen 1 ). Finally, the presence of the church in Africais, of course, at the heartof the novels to be considered in the followingchapters. It is also important to remember that Africanhistory does not begin

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