what is the literature of Madagascar?
Pre-colonial Madagascar was a complex and vibrant society influenced by various ethnic groups, cultures, and trading networks, home to a mix of ethnic groups, including the Merina, Betsimisaraka, Tsimihety, and Sakalava. The Malagasy people practiced a mix of ancestral worship, animism, and later influences from Islam and Christianity. Indigenous ceremonies and rituals often revolved around family and community, including famadihana, a ritual celebrating ancestors. Social and political structure was quite complex. Various kingdoms emerged, such as the Merina Kingdom in the central highlands, which became politically dominant in the 19th century.
Madagascar's strategic location made it a trading hub, leading to interactions with early European explorers, Arab traders, and the slave trade. The first Europeans to reach Madagascar were Portuguese explorers in the late 15th century, primarily seeking new trade routes. In 1497, da Gama's expedition, while en route to India, noted Madagascar but did not establish permanent settlements. The Portuguese documented their findings and established limited contacts, primarily focusing on trade, which initially involved precious goods like spices, ivory, and slaves. Subsequent explorers, including the Dutch, French, and British, arrived in the 17th century, further expanding European interest in the island. The Dutch were particularly active in the 17th century, establishing short-lived settlements, while also using the island as a base for trade and exploration. French and British interest grew over time, leading to early attempts at colonization. The French established a significant presence in the 18th century and established more formalized colonial rule after the Franco-Hova Wars.
Madagascar's strategic location made it a trading hub, leading to interactions with early European explorers, Arab traders, and the slave trade. The first Europeans to reach Madagascar were Portuguese explorers in the late 15th century, primarily seeking new trade routes. In 1497, da Gama's expedition, while en route to India, noted Madagascar but did not establish permanent settlements. The Portuguese documented their findings and established limited contacts, primarily focusing on trade, which initially involved precious goods like spices, ivory, and slaves. Subsequent explorers, including the Dutch, French, and British, arrived in the 17th century, further expanding European interest in the island. The Dutch were particularly active in the 17th century, establishing short-lived settlements, while also using the island as a base for trade and exploration. French and British interest grew over time, leading to early attempts at colonization. The French established a significant presence in the 18th century and established more formalized colonial rule after the Franco-Hova Wars.
I have readRaharimanana, Revenir (2018)
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I have written... nothing ...
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torture, poverty and vanilla plantations
Revenir is a strange book, built on verbs that appear to resume the life, or rather life challenges or vital steps of Hira: émerger, naître, se regarder, errer, accepter, veiller, lire, se perdre, attendre, traverser, basculer, chanceler, partir, saisir, revenir. Return to what? There is plenty of things, good memories, sensations. It is explained straight in the first sentence of the novel: Belle eau claire sur une mer haute prenant le soleil, se noyer faillir, le vent sur les vagues pour les tremblements des départs, sublime paysage de minerai et d'océan, Hira pose ses pas dans l'eau, l'un après l'autre, lentement, franchit de fines roches, presque lames (p. 9). There is plenty of things to return to: the mother, the happy child, les zébous dans les étoiles (p. 20). Nonetheless, the things are not idyllic sur the island, far from that. The zebus used to stampede on unwanted new-born babies. And the ever-present political problem: la dictature est partout, et c'est en cela qu'elle est dictature, elle est là où elle n'est pas capable d'être, mais nous l'y déposons, nous-mêmes, derrière la porte des chiottes au-dessus de nos épaules, dans la chair de nos peurs, dans nos ombres qui nous font face, dans les pensées qui nous habitent (p. 39).
I check the Global Democracy Index 2020 published by "The Economist": Madagascar, hybrid regime, rank 85, score 5.70. It could be worse, much worse. But it is the dictatorship to which Hira (and Raharimanana) return. That of the hero's father, that of the earlier years of independence, that of 1972, that of 1984. The painful question to ask is that of disillusionment, of the historical mistake: Il voit un pont. Il y va. Pont des Martyrs ! Quels martyrs ? Tombés pour consacrerun futur dictateur ? (p. 88). The answer that is perhaps only too obvious does not leave the martyrized souls in peace. The oneiric style of the text is there only to denounce la rage, the anger beneath:
Hira se relève de son lit de sable, il prend le vent léger qui soufle sur sa joue et lui aussi s'envole, lentement, torpillé dans le dos par les grains de sable regrettent le poids de son corps. Il s'appuie sur le vent léger et rejoint ses compagnons qui flottent au-dessus du pont. Ainsi donc, vous avez été massacrés ici par un énième dictateur...
Oui, disent les martyrs du pont, allons-nous-en ! (p. 88-89).
All this happens in Bamako, but it does not matter, it could be Antananarivo. It is a common destiny, a forgotten destiny: Ils viennent de pays sans nom. Ils viennent de villes sans nom. Ils viennent d'un quartier, d'une rue, d'une ruelle, d'une impasse sans nom. D'une impasse sans mémoire. D'une impasse innomable. Eux-mêmes n'ont plus de nom. Ils n'ont pas de nom pour se définir. Ils n'ont pas de nom pour s'identifier. Ils n'ont pas de nom pour se trahir. Ils n'ont pas de nom pour se soumettre à une identité. Ils n'ont pas de nom pour se soumettre à une famille, à une ethnie, à une nation. Ils n'ont qu'une seule langue, langue d'étoile et d'horizon craquelés. Ils n'ont qu'un seul chant, la rhapsodie du vent porteur et migrateur (p. 93). One might say that whatever they lost, they recovered it in such an abundant literature. Raharimanana brings forth a long list of places, all of them sounding exotic. Perhaps we bring the dictatorship not only into the chiottes, we also build our world as a horizon of universal dictatorships. But that's only a cynical comment, entirely inappropriate. I should say that martyrs also come from Minsk, and that those of Warsaw are on the way. But what should I actually do about it? Drown it in abundant literature?
Raharimanana, Revenir, Paris, Rivages, 2018.
Neuville-sur-Oise, 6.06.2021.
I check the Global Democracy Index 2020 published by "The Economist": Madagascar, hybrid regime, rank 85, score 5.70. It could be worse, much worse. But it is the dictatorship to which Hira (and Raharimanana) return. That of the hero's father, that of the earlier years of independence, that of 1972, that of 1984. The painful question to ask is that of disillusionment, of the historical mistake: Il voit un pont. Il y va. Pont des Martyrs ! Quels martyrs ? Tombés pour consacrerun futur dictateur ? (p. 88). The answer that is perhaps only too obvious does not leave the martyrized souls in peace. The oneiric style of the text is there only to denounce la rage, the anger beneath:
Hira se relève de son lit de sable, il prend le vent léger qui soufle sur sa joue et lui aussi s'envole, lentement, torpillé dans le dos par les grains de sable regrettent le poids de son corps. Il s'appuie sur le vent léger et rejoint ses compagnons qui flottent au-dessus du pont. Ainsi donc, vous avez été massacrés ici par un énième dictateur...
Oui, disent les martyrs du pont, allons-nous-en ! (p. 88-89).
All this happens in Bamako, but it does not matter, it could be Antananarivo. It is a common destiny, a forgotten destiny: Ils viennent de pays sans nom. Ils viennent de villes sans nom. Ils viennent d'un quartier, d'une rue, d'une ruelle, d'une impasse sans nom. D'une impasse sans mémoire. D'une impasse innomable. Eux-mêmes n'ont plus de nom. Ils n'ont pas de nom pour se définir. Ils n'ont pas de nom pour s'identifier. Ils n'ont pas de nom pour se trahir. Ils n'ont pas de nom pour se soumettre à une identité. Ils n'ont pas de nom pour se soumettre à une famille, à une ethnie, à une nation. Ils n'ont qu'une seule langue, langue d'étoile et d'horizon craquelés. Ils n'ont qu'un seul chant, la rhapsodie du vent porteur et migrateur (p. 93). One might say that whatever they lost, they recovered it in such an abundant literature. Raharimanana brings forth a long list of places, all of them sounding exotic. Perhaps we bring the dictatorship not only into the chiottes, we also build our world as a horizon of universal dictatorships. But that's only a cynical comment, entirely inappropriate. I should say that martyrs also come from Minsk, and that those of Warsaw are on the way. But what should I actually do about it? Drown it in abundant literature?
Raharimanana, Revenir, Paris, Rivages, 2018.
Neuville-sur-Oise, 6.06.2021.