Out of Darkness? Bofane's Afropean Ndombolo Trickster Resistance in Mathematiques congolaises
(2015) Essays in French Literature and Culture — Vol. 52, n° 1, p. 63-78 (2015)
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- Abstract
- his article uses the Ndombolo dance reference and image to shed light on Bofane's first novel 'Mathématiques congolaises' (2008) in which the sexy dance becomes a metaphor for political and social instability. Using Bob W. White's analysis of the Ndombolo dance, this paper envisions the main protagonist C lio (and ultimately Bofane himself) as an atalaku trickster. Devoured by hunger, Célio manages to find resilience and enter political spheres thanks to his manipulation in mathematics. The Ndombolo movement is also at the core of Bofane's characterization as well as in his heteroglossic and heterolingual writing revealing of an Afropean sensibility. This study highlights how 'Mathématiques congolaises' cynically points to complex and circumvoluted forms of present-day resistance while it unveils the tragic history of the Congo and its inhabitants.
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Bragard, V. (2015). Out of Darkness? Bofane’s Afropean Ndombolo Trickster Resistance in Mathematiques congolaises. Essays in French Literature and Culture, 52(1), 63-78. https://hdl.handle.net/2078.5/83823 (Original work published 2015)