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Decolonisation in Mozambican Literature

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Decolonisation in Mozambican Literature Anna Eerika Pöysä DECOLONISATION IN M OZAMBICAN LITERATURE Tese de Doutoramento em Pós-colonialismos e Cidadania Global, apresentada à Faculdade de Economia da Universidade de Coimbra Orientadores: Professor Doutor António Sousa Ribeiro e Professora Doutora Margarida Calafate Ribeiro Coimbra, 2014 Anna Eerika Pöysä Decolonisation in Mozambican Literature Tese de Doutoramento em Pós-colonialismos e cidadania global, apresentada à Faculdade de Economia da Universidade de Coimbra para obtenção do grau de Doutor Orientadores: Prof. Doutor António Sousa Ribeiro e Prof. Doutora Margarida Calafate Ribeiro Coimbra, 2014 ii This thesis is dedicated to Antti, Päivi, Rainer and Vítor. iii iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First and foremost, I offer my sincerest gratitude to my supervisors Professor António Sousa Ribeiro and Professor Margarida Calafate Ribeiro. I am grateful for the discussions, guidance and for providing new perspectives: I have learned a lot from you. I am indebted to Professor Francisco Noa, who supervised my work while in Maputo, shared his knowledge, introduced new ideas and points of view and pointed me to other Professors at the Eduardo Mondlane University who kindly gave me their time: Aurélio Cuna, Lucílio Manjate, Gilberto Matusse and Nataniel Ngomane. I am grateful to Professor Aurélio Cuna for providing me with support and advice throughout my time in Maputo, and for giving me the opportunity to participate in his classes. Thank you to Professor Nataniel Ngomane for the conversations, for giving me the opportunity to participate in his classes and for sharing his contacts. I would like to thank Ungulani Ba Ka Khosa, Paulina Chiziane, João Paulo Borges Coelho and Mia Couto for their time and the interviews given – and for writing the novels which provided the initial inspiration for this work. I would also like to extend my thanks to other Professors, colleagues and personnel at CES. The last but no less important group I want to thank is friends and family from Helsinki to Maputo. v vi This thesis was funded by FCT (Fundação da Ciência e Tecnologia) with a PhD grant (SFRH / BD / 63724 / 2009). vii viii Um homem deve ler de tudo, um pouco ou o que puder, não se lhe exija mais do que tanto, vista a curteza das vidas e a prolixidade do mundo. José Saramago, O Ano da Morte de Ricardo Reis ix x ABSTRACT This thesis discusses the concept of decolonisation in the context of Mozambican literature. The concept has its roots in the debate about how African writers could write literature that would not rely on European models, and had as its central topics the language of African literatures, the role of the African writer and the use of narrative techniques that would be drawn from oral tradition. These perspectives provide a background to the debate regarding Mozambican literature, and to the literary analysis of novels by Ungulani Ba Ka Khosa, Paulina Chiziane, João Paulo Borges Coelho and Mia Couto. Bringing up the questions that emerged in the debate regarding decolonising African literatures provides a new perspective on Mozambican literature, which has not yet been widely discussed from this point of view, although obviously the questions related to colonialism and its continuities have been present in much debate. Moreover, considering decolonisation in the context of Mozambican literature also widens the perception of literary decolonisation. By introducing both postcolonial perspectives and approaches from the social sciences, the work also builds up an interdisciplinary dialogue. In order to discuss decolonisation from a wider perspective, the earlier discussions on it are reviewed and then complemented by a discussion regarding postcolonial theories in the widest sense. The different phases of Mozambican literature are discussed so that the differences between African literatures and their phases become visible, and provide a context for the analyses of the novels. The research reveals that the emphasis has shifted from discussing Western influence towards less dichotomous perspectives. There are processes that diversify the views regarding past and bring up and discuss myths, cultures and traditions that have been disregarded due to colonialism and modernity. At the same time current issues are present, such as globalisation and continuities of colonialism. It also becomes visible that there has been a shift in the role of the writers, related to deconstructing the role of intellectuals and social hierarchy. The analyses reveal that in order to discuss current literatures, such as the Mozambican, it is important not to marginalise the writers through considering them solely as postcolonial or African writers. The popularity of and interest in the writers reflect a decolonisation when it comes to the attitudes of the readers. Through this analysis, it becomes visible that literature has an important role in diversifying xi the cultural field, dismantling problematic approaches towards African cultures, and questioning the epistemological continuities of colonialism. This, moreover, reveals that decolonisation as a perspective towards discussing Mozambican literature provides a more comprehensive picture of the shifts in literature, but also of the shifts in the relationship between literature and society. The research also contributes to the discussion regarding dismantling the continuities of colonialism by revealing how literature can take part in it in a specific way, by literary means. By introducing new aspects such as epistemological questions to the discussion regarding literature, the thesis provides new views towards not only Mozambican or African literatures, but literature in general. Keywords: Mozambican literature, African literatures, decolonisation, postcolonial studies, colonialism xii RESUMO A presente tese discute o conceito de descolonização no contexto da literatura moçambicana. Este conceito tem as suas raízes no debate sobre a possibilidade de uma literatura africana independente de modelos europeus. Os temas principais deste debate eram a questão da escolha da língua, o papel do escritor africano e o uso de técnicas narrativas inspiradas na tradição oral. A discussão destes temas serve de pano do fundo para uma abordagem da literatura moçambicana e para a análise de romances de Ungulani Ba Ka Khosa, Paulina Chiziane, João Paulo Borges Coelho e Mia Couto. A partir das questões suscitadas no debate sobre descolonização das literaturas africanas, é possível uma perspectivação da literatura moçambicana de um ponto de vista ainda pouco explorado, enquanto obviamente o colonialismo e as suas continuidades têm sido discutidos. Além disso, a discussão do problema no contexto da literatura moçambicana permite alargar a noção da descolonização literária. Baseando-se tanto em perspectivas pós-coloniais como em abordagens das ciências sociais, o trabalho constrói um diálogo interdisciplinar que visa discutir a descolonização a partir de uma perspectiva larga, complementando a revisitação de discussões anteriores com uma discussão sobre teorias pós-coloniais num sentido amplo. A abordagem das várias fases da literatura moçambicana revela as diferenças entre as literaturas africanas e a sua periodização, permitindo a contextualização das obras analisadas. A pesquisa mostra que o fulcro do debate se tem deslocado da discussão das influências ocidentais para uma abordagem menos dicotómica. Há processos que diversificam a visão do passado, chamando a atenção para a necessidade de ter em conta mitos, culturas e tradições que foram ignorados por causa do colonialismo e da modernidade. Ao mesmo tempo, temas actuais, como a globalização e as continuidades do colonialismo, estão presentes. Também se torna visível que houve uma mudança no papel dos escritores, relacionada com a desconstrução da posição dos intelectuais e da hierarquia social. As análises das obras revelam que, para discutir literaturas actuais como a moçambicana, é importante não marginalizar os autores considerando-os exclusivamente como escritores pós-coloniais ou africanos. A popularidade dos escritores e o interesse que suscitam reflecte a descolonização no que toca às atitudes dos leitores. A análise literária demostra que a literatura tem um papel importante na diversificação do campo xiii cultural, em desmontar abordagens problemáticas às culturas africanas e em questionar as continuidades epistemológicas do colonialismo. Isso também revela que usar a descolonização como perspectiva para a discussão da literatura moçambicana oferece uma perspectiva mais abrangente sobre as mudanças na literatura, mas também sobre as mudanças na relação entre a literatura e a sociedade. A pesquisa também contribui para desmantelar as continuidades do colonialismo mostrando como a literatura participa nesse processo de uma forma específica, pelos meios que lhe são próprios. Introduzindo novos aspectos, como as questões epistemológicas, na discussão sobre a literatura, a tese oferece perspectivas novas sobre não só literaturas moçambicanas ou africanas, mas sobre a literatura em geral. Palavras-chave: Literatura moçambicana, literaturas africanas, descolonização, estudos pós- coloniais, colonialismo xiv TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................................... 1 1 BACKGROUND: THEORIES, METHODS AND CENTRAL QUESTIONS .................... 11 1.1 Decolonisation of African literatures: principal questions ................................................. 11 1.1.1 Decolonisation
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