Title: Voices and Hybridity: The Case of María Nsue Angüe's Ekomo
Abstract: The novel Ekomo (1985) by Maria Nsue Angue holds a special place in Equatorial Guinea letters it is the first novel written by a female writer. In this article I examine ways in which the female protagonist subverts the silent, subordinate role she is assigned in the novel. Her actions thereby allow her to move beyond some of the constraints placed on women of her ethnicity in precolonial and colonial African society and closer to a contemporary post-colonial reality, albeit one that has its own constraints. My discussion takes into account the historical situation of Fang women in Equatorial Guinea. Through a close reading of key portions of the novel, I look at the double-voiced nature of the discourse of the female protagonist that is evident in the greater part of the work. There is one instance, however, where the protagonist's voices multiply beyond the two that are generally evident. I see her discourse conforming to the branch of black feminist practice that sees history, society and their impositions, the forces with which women must contend (Steady 34-35).1 For this reason, I look at the ways in which some characters seek to negotiate the double-consciousness that results because of the cultural clashes between their traditional customs and newer practices introduced by way of European colonialism. The choices they face relate specifically to religion and medicine. Their acceptance or rejection of the traditional or what is determines the outcomes each of these characters faces. This leads me to conclude that the novel questions the viability of adopting a hybrid project to secure the nation's future. It also questions women's place in both the colonial and the post-colonial African society.Ekomo is set in a rural Fang village on the mainland. Nnanga is the female narrator and, I will argue, the novel's real protagonist. Her husband is Ekomo. Through her narration we learn of his life, beginning with his return to the village with a swollen leg after being away from home for three months with a city woman. His illness progresses, and he seeks medical help from both traditional and conventional sources. His quest for healing is unsuccessful, and he dies from gangrene. Before marrying Ekomo, Nnanga was a dancer who was known far and wide Paloma de Fuego. Her marriage takes her away from her family to the village and household of her husband's family. Here she stops dancing and assumes the traditional role of wife. When her husband dies, it is she who buries him. On returning to the village, she must take part in the traditional cleansing ritual for widows. In this ritual, the woman sits in the ashes and is beaten by other women of the clan. This cleanses her and makes her eligible for re-marriage.The novel is not linear but circular. The prologue is really a scene from the last part of the story when the semi-conscious Nnanga sits in the ashes. From this liminal position between life and death she reminisces about her husband, Ekomo, and about her own life and the circumstances that lead to this point. Various aspects of traditional life among the Fang in colonial society are treated in the novel, for example, rituals in connection with courtship, marriage, and death.A look at the situation of women in Africa in general, and Equatorial Guinea in particular, is essential before launching into the arguments surrounding double-voicing and its relation to the conflicts between the old and new within the society. In her research on women in African societies April Gordon reveals that the current situation that women generally face in Africa is that as a group [they] suffer more and have access to fewer resources and opportunities than men do (Gordon 271). Their position is portrayed in a similar manner in the rural society in which Ekomo is set. My assumption finds support in the gender profile on Equatoguinean women provided by the African News Agency-AFROL. This study reports that [t]he Constitution provides for equal rights, but women in Equatorial Guinea are confined by custom to traditional roles, particularly in agriculture (sec. …
Publication Year: 2012
Publication Date: 2012-04-01
Language: en
Type: article
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