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Research in African Literatures 33.3 (2002) 205-207



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Book Review

Au temps des cannibales suivi de Dans les cavernes sombres


Au temps des cannibales suivi de Dans les cavernes sombres, by Edouard Motsamai and James Mochabane. Trans from Sesotho into French by Victor Ellenberger. Intro. by Alain Ricard. Bordeaux: Editions Confluences, 1999. 172 pp. ISBN 9-782910-550783. FFr. 118.

This French translation of two literary works written in Sesotho is of special interest since it contrasts two different styles of writing. The work by Edouard Motsamai (1870-1959) is a transcription of oral stories and is [End Page 205] unaffected by any stylistic devices inherited from written Western literature. Although Sessou et le lion is inspired by the legend of Androcles, the seventeen chapters that constitute this first part of the book appear to be a kind of "crude work," not tainted by any attempt at polishing style. Au temps des cannibales might, in fact, be one of the very rare unspoiled texts that miraculously manage to convey the original manner of African oral storytellers. This implies a recurrence of several of the themes dealt with: parallelism of cannibalism with the ferocity of wild animals (or, on the contrary, their unexpected kindness, which makes the cannibals look like the real beasts), total insecurity of living conditions in those times of great confusion (Chaka's wars had started nearly fifteen years before bringing trouble and violence to this part of Africa) and hunger which, as T. Arbousset, a missionary, quoted from Rakotsoane, "was the first cannibal." The stories are rather repetitive. One or more characters are caught by cannibals and manage to escape, most of the time because of their cleverness. They usually have to perform some physical exploit (a dance, the display of exceptional talent when wielding an assagai, or extreme speed while running), which fascinates and confuses the man eaters. Motsamai's stories do not impart shocking realistic details on cannibalistic practices but they do inform us of preparatory rituals like the shaving of the victims' heads. They also reveal how fascinating the taste of human flesh is, haunting those who have tried it: "[. . .] il avait encore à l'esprit le goût délicieux de ce jus de viande qu'on lui avait passé sur les lèvres" 'he was still savoring the delicious taste of the juice of the meat that they had pressed to his lips'(71).

Towards the end of Motsamai's book, more gory acts appear. Môsélé, a young woman captured by cannibals, has one ear cut off and barbecued. Some of the victims have their fingers sliced in order to bleed them to death, others have their Achilles' tendons cut to prevent their escape. The last stories told by Motsamai become more complex and offer a foretaste of the more accomplished Western aspect of James Machobbane's Dans les cavernes sombres.

From the very first words, the reader feels than more than thirty years have passed and with them the influence of the missionaries (already visible with Motsamai) has greatly increased. First, Machobane is a well-read writer. His style is sophisticated; he addresses his reader: "[. . .] ce qui me paraît vrai, ami [. . .]" 'which seemed to me to be true, friend' (156), and multiplies the points of views of his various narrators. The end of chapter 7 is written in a theatrical style; he deconstructs the temporal linearity of his story and classical literary themes are introduced, (Orpheus going to fetch his wife among the dead). In short, he masters brilliantly all the literary artifices of the early twentieth-century Western novel.

The second clearly visible influence of the missionaries on his work is visible in the Christian concepts that have found their way into the book, whereas they were barely undetectable in Motsamai's work. The dancing and jumping that allowed earlier characters to escape cannibals have evolved into extraordinary flights, reminding us of angels: "[il] bondit en l'air comme un homme qui s'essayerait à voler [. . .]" 'he leaped into the air as a man wanted...

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