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  • Queen Pokou: Concerto for a Sacrifice
  • Leah Tolbert Lyons
Tadjo, Véronique . Queen Pokou: Concerto for a Sacrifice. Trans. Amy Baram Reid. Oxford, UK: Ayebia Clarke, 2009. Pp v-xxi; 70. ISBN 978-0-9555079-9-1. $14.50, paper.

Véronique Tadjo's novel has been eloquently translated into English by Amy Baram Reid. This slender yet impressive volume contains an introductory essay, "The Legend of Queen Abraha Pokou: An Introduction" by Kofi Anyidoho, the novel itself which is divided into three parts that follow the "Prelude," and a brief essay and translator's note by Reid.

Part I, "The Time of Legend," recounts the story of Abraha Pokou, the beautiful niece of King Osei Tutu. Pokou first proves her intelligence and valor by recommending the evacuation of the people when the royal city is under siege and remaining in the city to guard the royal treasury, subjecting herself to kidnapping. Pokou's second and greater test is leading the escape of her people from the tyranny of a distant relative seeking to kill others in the royal family, including Pokou's long-awaited, infant son, heir to the throne. When the exodus leads the people to the edge of the Comoé river's raging torrents and the people are unable to turn back because of the pursuit of the murderous military, Pokou faces her third and greatest test, the sacrifice of her only son to the capricious river in exchange for the safe passage of all those seeking to escape execution. Hence, Part I of Tadjo's novel quietly and deliberately establishes the legend of Abraha Pokou as the founder of the Baoule people through the sacrificial offering of her son. [End Page 160]

But if Part I establishes Pokou's role in the creation of the Baoule people, Part II, "The Time of Questioning," erodes that foundation and undermines Pokou's altruism and heroism. The subsequent retellings of Pokou's legend question the veracity of the conte and the motives of the Baoule's founder. The first retelling of the legend, "Abraha Pokou: Fallen Queen," condemns Pokou as having "wiped out her maternal instincts" (21) by killing her son. Ultimately, Pokou becomes a hapless victim who abandons herself to the sea due to her overwhelming grief at the loss of her son.

The questioning of the Pokou legend continues in subsequent versions of the story. "The Atlantic Passage" imagines the consequences of Pokou's refusal to sacrifice her son to the river gods: her people are caught by the pursuing army and sold into slavery. Enslaved, Pokou bears a second son and both young men are killed for their participation in a slave revolt. In the sections "Queen Pulled from the Waters" and "In the Claws of Power," conflicting images of Pokou are presented. In the former, Pokou is driven to the brink of madness by her decision to sacrifice her son and is only healed when given a sculpture of the child that serves as a surrogate. In the latter, Pokou's desire for power overshadows all, for she willingly sacrifices her son as the requisite price to solidify her position of power as queen.

The final section of Part II, "The Words of the Poet," contends that through its symbolism, the Pokou narrative actually tells another story entirely. Rather than a raging river requiring the child's sacrifice, this telling posits that it is the power-hungry king who demands the sacrifice as a sign of the people's ultimate submission to his authority. Similarly, Part III of the novel, "The Time of the Bird-Child," seems to represent a complete departure from the legend. There is a single rendering of story where Pokou is effaced and the sacrificed child transcends death and gains the gift of flight, a symbol of ultimate power and release from the grips of death and the corruption of the earth below.

Reid's translation has made this delightfully elusive work available to a broader audience. The introductory essay is an excellent companion to the novel; however, one might consider reading it after having completed the novel, as it summarizes in detail the variations of the legend. Reid...

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