Space and Narrative in the Work of Tierno Monénembo
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A Thesis Submitted for the Degree of PhD at the University of Warwick Permanent WRAP URL: http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/81193 Copyright and reuse: This thesis is made available online and is protected by original copyright. Please scroll down to view the document itself. Please refer to the repository record for this item for information to help you to cite it. Our policy information is available from the repository home page. For more information, please contact the WRAP Team at: [email protected] warwick.ac.uk/lib-publications Nomads’ Land: Space and Narrative in the Work of Tierno Monénembo Hannah Grayson Thesis submitted for PhD French Studies School of Modern Languages and Cultures University of Warwick February 2016 1 Contents Acknowledgements ................................................................................................. 5 Abstract ................................................................................................................... 6 List of abbreviations ............................................................................................... 7 Introduction ............................................................................................................. 8 Tierno Monénembo............................................................................................... 8 Reading nomads .................................................................................................. 14 Framing space ..................................................................................................... 18 Overview of thesis .............................................................................................. 31 Chapter One: Re-writing history Peuls (2004) and Le Roi de Kahel (2008) ... 35 Introduction ......................................................................................................... 35 Peuls in literature ................................................................................................ 38 Ethnography .................................................................................................... 40 Theory ............................................................................................................. 48 Rewriting Peul history ........................................................................................ 56 Genre ............................................................................................................... 58 Orality ............................................................................................................. 64 Nomadism ....................................................................................................... 71 Recasting past figures ......................................................................................... 75 Man of his time ............................................................................................... 77 Knowledge seeker ........................................................................................... 78 Becoming Peul ................................................................................................ 80 Conclusion: Past-Present .................................................................................... 83 Chapter Two: Contesting space around dictatorship Les Crapauds-brousse (1979) and Les Écailles du Ciel (1986) ................................................................. 86 Introduction ......................................................................................................... 86 Backdrop of instability ........................................................................................ 89 Discourses ......................................................................................................... 100 Spectacular and subtle gestures .................................................................... 105 Greed ............................................................................................................. 107 Violence ........................................................................................................ 110 Tactics of disappearance ............................................................................... 113 2 Resistance ......................................................................................................... 123 Escapism ....................................................................................................... 127 Imagination ................................................................................................... 130 Togetherness ................................................................................................. 134 Spaces of dissent ........................................................................................... 135 Conclusion ........................................................................................................ 141 Chapter Three: Survivors and Storytelling L’Aîné des orphelins (2000), Cinéma (1997) and La Tribu des gonzesses (2006) ............................................ 144 Introduction ....................................................................................................... 144 Rwanda ............................................................................................................. 149 Nganang’s écriture post-génocide ................................................................ 149 Global cry ..................................................................................................... 153 Performing stories ................................................................................................. 171 Community ................................................................................................... 172 Staged speech ................................................................................................ 181 Using space ....................................................................................................... 183 Playing .......................................................................................................... 184 Parallel metamorphoses ................................................................................ 185 Drama............................................................................................................ 194 Self-conscious ............................................................................................... 196 Conclusion ........................................................................................................ 198 Chapter Four: Ruptures and Remembering Un Rêve utile (1991), Un Attiéké pour Elgass (1993), Pelourinho (1995), and Le Terroriste noir (2012) .......... 202 Introduction ....................................................................................................... 202 Suffering and loss ............................................................................................. 209 Lost home ..................................................................................................... 212 Lost past ........................................................................................................ 214 Lost people .................................................................................................... 218 Inscribing loss ................................................................................................... 219 Language ....................................................................................................... 221 Space ............................................................................................................. 226 Remembering .................................................................................................... 233 Subjects respond ........................................................................................... 238 Conclusion ........................................................................................................ 247 CONCLUSION: Monénembo ............................................................................ 252 3 Monénembo as Peul: rewriting history ............................................................. 256 Monénembo as orphan: writing loss ................................................................. 260 Monénembo as exile: writing distance ............................................................. 265 Monénembo as nomad subject: writing movement .......................................... 269 Bibliography ........................................................................................................ 272 Primary literature published by Monénembo ................................................... 272 Works on Monénembo ...................................................................................... 273 Other works consulted ...................................................................................... 276 4 Acknowledgements Heartfelt thanks goes to my supervisor Pierre-Philippe Fraiture whose attentive reading, and encouragement and guidance at every stage, have been invaluable. I am thankful to the University of Warwick for funding this research and for providing opportunities for teaching and professional development. I am grateful to colleagues at Warwick for their ongoing support. It has been a pleasure to work alongside Cathy Hampton, Nick Hewlett, and Susannah Wilson, and I am indebted to Sylvia Howell and Marion Imber