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University Microfilms International 3D0 N THE NARRATIVES OF BERNARD DADIE AND BIRAGO DIOP: AN EXAMINATION OF THEIR MYTHOLOGICAL AND COSMOLOGICAL FRAMEWORK AND AN ANALYSIS OF SELECTED STRUCTURAL ASPECTS Item Type text; Dissertation-Reproduction (electronic) Authors Tollerson, Marie Sherrod Publisher The University of Arizona. Rights Copyright © is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the University Libraries, University of Arizona. Further transmission, reproduction or presentation (such as public display or performance) of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author. Download date 23/09/2021 15:32:00 Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/10150/289247 INFORMATION TO USERS This was produced from a copy of a document sent to us for microfilming. While the most advanced technological means to photograph and reproduce this document have been used, the quality is heavily dependent upon the quality of the material submitted. The following explanation of techniques is provided to help you understand markings or notations which may appear on this reproduction. 1.The sign or "target" for pages apparently lacking from the document photographed is "Missing Page(s)". If it was possible to obtain the missing page(s) or section, they are spliced into the film along with adjacent pages. This may have necessitated cutting through an image and duplicating adjacent pages to assure you of complete continuity. 2. When an image on the film is obliterated with a round black mark it is an indication that the film inspector noticed either blurred copy because of movement during exposure, or duplicate copy. Unless we meant to delete copyrighted materials that should not have been filmed, you will find a good image of the page in the adjacent frame. 3. When a map, drawing or chart, etc., is part of the material being photo­ graphed the photographer has followed a definite method in "sectioning" the material. It is customary to begin filming at the upper left hand corner of a large sheet and to continue from left to right in equal sections with small overlaps. If necessary, sectioning is continued again—beginning below the first row and continuing on until complete 4. For any illustrations that cannot be reproduced satisfactorily by xerography, photographic prints can be purchased at additional cost and tipped into your xerographic copy. Requests can be made to our Dissertations Customer Services Department. 5. Some pages in any document may have indistinct print. In all cases we have filmed the best available copy. University Microfilms International 3D0 N. ZEEB ROAD. ANN ARBOR, Ml 48106 18 BEDFORD ROW. LONDON WC1 R 4EJ, ENGLAND 79<m93 TOLLERSON, MARIE SHERROD THE NARRATIVES OF I3FRMARD L.ADIE AND BIRAGC DI DP : AN EXAMINATION UF THEIR MYTHHLDG1CAL AND CDS MDLOfr ICA L FRAKEWDRK AND AN ANALYSIS UF SELECTED STRUCTURAL ASPECTS. THE UNIVERSITY 0F ARIZONA, PH.D.t 19 78 University Microfilms International 300n zbEBHOAQ. ann arbor, musk* © 1978 MARIE SHERROD TOLLERSON ALL RIGHTS RESERVED THE NARRATIVES OF BERNARD DADIE AND BIRAGO DIOP: AN EXAMINATION OF THEIR MYTHOLOGICAL AND COSMOLOGICAL FRAMEWORK AND AN ANALYSIS OF SELECTED STRUCTURAL ASPECTS by Marie Sherrod Tollerson A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of the DEPARTMENT OF ROMANCE LANGUAGES In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY WITH A MAJOR IN FRENCH In the Graduate College THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA 1978 Copyright 1978 Marie Sherrod Tollerson THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA GRADUATE COLLEGE I hereby reconnend that this dissertation prepared under my direction by Marie S, Tollerson entitled The Narratives of Bernard Dadie- and Birago Diop; An examination of their mythological and cosmological framework and an analysis of selected structural asnects be accepted as fulfilling the dissertation requirement for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Kcivw Oct. 20, 197e Dissertation Director Date As members of the Final Examination Committee, we certify that we have read this dissertation and agree that it may be presented for final defense. F a —% lo 11U1L Final approval and acceptance of this dissertation is contingent on the candidate's adequate performance and defense thereof at the final oral examination. STATEMENT BY AUTHOR This dissertation has been submitted in partial fulfillment of requirements for tin advanced degree at The University of Arizona and is deposited in the University Library to be ctade availnb]e to borrowers under ru3.es cf the Library.. Brief quotations from this thesis arc. allovrble without special, permission, provided that accurate acknowledgment of source .is m.;nie. Requests for permission for extended quotation fror: or reproduction of this manuscript in whole or in part may be granted bv chc copvright hoJder. r > . " ! tf SIGNED: -/"(tltc' / '*• ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I wish to thank Dr. Birago Diop and the staff of Mr. Bernard Dadie who took time from busy schedules to reply to my letters. Thanks are also due the staff ol the library at the University of Dakar for their helpful responses to my inquiries and for the materials they so graciously mailed to me. The editor of Oxford University Press was kind enough to permit the copying of the tale "How It Came about. That Children Were First Whipped" from R. S. Rattray's Akan-Ashanti Folktales. I am grateful for his cooperation. Finally, 1 wish to express my appreciation to the members of my committee, Dr. Ingeborg I'ohn, Chairman, Dr. Frank Chambers, and Dr. Jean-Jacques Demorest, for their patient reading of these pages and their many thoughtful comments. TABLE OF CONTENTS Page LIST OF TABLES vi LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS vii ABSTRACT viii 1. INTRODUCTION 1 Purposes of This Study 1 Major Studies Consulted in the Preparation of This Dissertation 4 Organization of This Study 8 2. THE MYTHOLOGICAL AND COSMOLOGICAL STRUCTURE OF THE NARRATIVES 10 The Water Theme 12 Similarities with the Nummo Mythology ... 20 Water as the Giver of Life 25 Water and the Word 30 Water and Death 32 Water as a Dual Symbol 35 Summary of the Water Theme 42 The Death Theme 47 The Origin of Death Narratives 50 Death Came with Disease and the Distorted Message 50 Death as Choice 58 The Non-Origin of Death Narratives 59 Death as Creditor 59 Death as Punishment 65 Summary of the Death Theme 73 The Strange Land Theme ..... 80 Location 83 En Route 86 The Protagonists Arrive 88 The Function of the Strange Lands 92 The Identity of the Strange Lands 96 Summary of the Strange Land Theme 103 iv V TABLE OF CONTENTS (Cont.) Page The Tree Theme 107 The Tree as Treasure Trove X08 The Ancestral Tree 119 The Tree and Death 2.22 Summary of the Tree Theme 126 The Impossible Restitution Theme ^28 Summary of the Impossible Restitution Theme 138 The Chief Protagonists 141 The Hyena 142 The Hare 153 The Spider 160 Summary of the Chief Protagonists 167 3. NEW TRADITION, NEW GRIOTS 169 The Narrative Techniques of Bernard Dadie . 175 Dadie's "Araignee, mauvais phre" 175 The Narrative Techniques of Birago Diop .... 202 Diop's "Bouki, pensionnaire" 202 4. CONCLUSION 224 APPENDIX A: NOTES ON PLACIDE TEMPELS1 CONCEPT OF VITAL FORCE 231 APPENDIX B: A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF BIRAGO DIOP . 243 APPENDIX C: A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF BERNARD DADIE 250 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS 256 SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY 257 LIST OF TABLES Table Page 1. A Table Showing the Attributes of the Strange Lands 97 vi LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Figure Page 1. Some Ethnologies Mentioned in This Study .... 11 vii ABSTRACT / The narratives written by Birago Diop and Bernard Dadie have been the subject of considerable discussion by literary critics. So far, however, there are no critical studies which take into account information provided by the ethnologists whose research has revealed the system of African cosmology and mythology. The objective of this study is to re-examine the tales of Birago Diop and Bernard Dadie in the light of the cosmological and mythological framework provided by the ethnologists' studies and also take into consideration the information furnished by ethnological studies devoted to the oral African folktale. It will be demonstrated i_hat the two authors have remained conceptually faithful to the traditional oral African tale while adding a new dimension to it by clothing it in literary style. The first chapter discusses the purposes and the organization of this study and examines the status of scholarship on the narratives of Diop and Dadie'. In Chapter two, the recurring themes of water, death, strange lands, the tree, and the impossible restitution are traced and analyzed as they appear in the tales of Diop and Dadie. It will be shown that they have the same significance in their written versions as they do both in the oral tales and in the system of mythology and cosmology as presented by the ethnologists. viii The discussion of these themes as found in the stories of the authors establishes that the literary innovations made necessary by the transcribing of the oral tale into writing did not prevent their accurate presentation of basic African concepts. In addition to the analysis of major themes in Diop's and in Dadie's stories, their main recurring characters are studied in detail. The examination of the mythological basis of the chief protagonists serves the same purpose as the discussion of the themes—it helps to demonstrate a relationship between the hare, the hyena, and the spider and African mythology and to show that in their use of these protagonists as well, the authors rendered a true portrayal of African beliefs. Chapter three analyzes in depth Dadie s "Araignee, mauvais pere," comparing it with Rattray's recorded oral version in an effort to understand Dadie's contribution to the new written tradition of African folktale. The chapter also offers a comparative study of Diop's "Bouki, pensionnaire" and the earlier version by Demaison entitled V "Le lion et l'hyene." The techniques Diop employed in uniting the African oral tale and the Western short story are examined.
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