Senegalese literature

Senegalese literature is written or literary work (novels, poetry, plays and films) which has been produced by writers born in the West African state. Senegalese literary works are mostly written in French,[1] the language of the colonial administration. However, there are many instances of works being written in Arabic[2] and the native languages of Wolof, Pulaar, Mandinka, Diola, Soninke and Serer.[3][4] Oral traditions, in the form of Griot storytellers, constitute a historical element of the Senegalese canon and have persisted as cultural custodians throughout the nation's history.[5] A form of proto-Senegalese literature arose during the mid 19th century with the works of David Abbé Boilat, who produced written ethnographic literature which supported French Colonial rule.[1] This genre of Senegalese literature continued to expand during the 1920s with the works of Bakary Diallo and Ahmadou Mapaté Diagne.[1] Earlier literary examples exist in the form of Qur’anic texts which led to the growth of a form African linguistic expressionism using the Arabic alphabet, known as Ajami.[2] Poets of this genre include Ahmad Ayan Sih and Dhu al-nun.[6]

Senegal, located on the tip of West Africa
David Abbé Boilat

Post-colonial Senegalese work often includes emphasis on "national literature",[1] a contemporary form of writing which stressed the engagement between language, national identity and literature. Senegalese novelists of this period include Cheikh Hamidou Kane, Boubacar Boris Diop and Ousmane Sembene. Poets include former Senegalese president and philosopher Léopold Sédar Senghor, Birago Diop, Cheikh Aliou Ndao and Alioune Badara Bèye.[7]

Female writers also contributed greatly to the body of Senegalese works. Mariama Bâ, Fatou Diome, Ndeye Fatou Kane, Aminata Sow Fall and Fatou Sow have all written notable pieces regarding issues of polygamy, feminism and the realities of Senegalese youth.[7]

  1. ^ a b c d Murphy, David (2008). "Birth of a Nation? The Origins of Senegalese Literature in French". Research in African Literatures. 39 (1): 48–69. doi:10.2979/RAL.2008.39.1.48. JSTOR 20109559. S2CID 161602141.
  2. ^ a b Diallo, Ibrahima (2012-05-01). "Qur'anic and Ajami literacies in pre-colonial West Africa". Current Issues in Language Planning. 13 (2): 91–104. doi:10.1080/14664208.2012.687498. S2CID 145542397.
  3. ^ Warner, Tobias Dodge (2012). The Limits of the Literary: Senegalese Writers Between French, Wolof and World Literature (Thesis). UC Berkeley.
  4. ^ admin_mulosige (2018-02-05). "The Pulaar book network: transnationalism from below?". Mulosige. Retrieved 2020-05-26.
  5. ^ Fall, Babacar (2003). "Orality and Life Histories: Rethinking the Social and Political History of Senegal". Africa Today. 50 (2): 55–65. doi:10.1353/at.2004.0008. JSTOR 4187572. S2CID 144954509.
  6. ^ Abdullah, Abdul-Samad; Abdullah, Abdul-Sawad (2004). "Arabic Poetry in West Africa: An Assessment of the Panegyric and Elegy Genres in Arabic Poetry of the 19th and 20th Centuries in Senegal and Nigeria". Journal of Arabic Literature. 35 (3): 368–390. doi:10.1163/1570064042565302. JSTOR 4183524.
  7. ^ a b "Senegal". aflit.arts.uwa.edu.au. Retrieved 2020-05-26.