Véhi Ciosane: : the Voice of Sembénian Parrhesiastes in the 1960s and After

This article analyzes the art of truthtelling in Ousmane Sembène’s novella, Véhi Ciosane. Two parrhesiastes (truth- tellers) stand out in the short story: a griot and a suicidal woman. The latter voices her despair by ranting while her male counterpart adopts a more philosophical discourse to assail duplicity among the revered and the privileged. The author celebrates orality even as he engages in writing. The truth is defined only through speech. Discourse relativizes language as incest becomes a trope for both intellectual vacuity and new possibilities in truth-telling.