Research Catalog

Title

The aesthetics of Mandé hunting tradition in African fiction / Amadou Ouedraogo.

Author

Ouédraogo, Amadou

Publication

Lafayette, LA : Sans Souci Books, an imprint of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette Press, [2017]

Items in the Library & Off-site

Holdings

Details

Description

166 pages; 23 cm

Summary

From its medieval origins to the present, Mandé culture in West Africa is known for its highly intriguing art and tradition of hunting; undeniably one of its most conspicuous distinctive features. Totally entrenched in myth, legend and history; firmly grounded in the supernatural, the divine and the abstruse, hunting is altogether a cult, a ritual gesture, a token of allegiance to divine forces. Considered to be a dauntless intrusion of man into the realm of metaphysics and the “unknown”, the hunting vocation transcends by far the confines of human and tangible spheres. This study examines various articulations of the hunting art and tradition as they are conveyed in numerous African literary and cinematographic works. It elucidates the mythical and supernatural magnitude of the hunting activity by showing how it is presided over by immutable deities and tutelary figures. Held to be endowed with infrangible supernatural and esoteric proportions, hunting is deemed to be a reflection of Mandé people’s worldview, a vibrant expression of how they perceive and articulate their existence as part of, and in relation to the world. From all perspectives, traditional hunting in Mandé society is viewed as a noble, dignified and revered activity; sustained by a vehement sense of brotherhood, esprit de corps, faithful loyalty, compassion, munificence. It encompasses a set of principles and values enjoined by transcendent forces, in illo tempore, and meant to serve as timeless paradigmatic ideals to be preserved and handed down along generations. By persistently echoing the magnificence of the hunting art and tradition, African artists place the vocation at the heart of contemporary Africans’ yearning quest for origins, identity and plenitude.

Subject

• West African fiction > History and criticism
• Hunting in literature
• Collective memory in literature
• Mandingo (African people) > Intellectual life

Bibliography (note)

• Includes bibliographical references and index.

Processing Action (note)

• committed to retain

Contents

Introduction -- Part I: Mythical foundations and historical significance of hunting -- 1: Hunting as a mythical and esoteric vocation -- 2: Historical significance of the hunting tradition -- Part II: Supernatural dimensions and social relevance of hunting -- 1: Hunting as a second degree initiation experience -- 2: Social purpose of hunting: the human dimension -- Conclusion.

ISBN

• 9781935754978
• 1935754971

LCCN

^^2016051210

OCLC

971020143

Owning Institutions

Harvard Library