Description
Book SynopsisBorn in 1900 in French West Africa, Malian writer Amadou Hampate Ba was one of the towering figures in the literature of twentieth-century Francophone Africa. In Amkoullel, the Fula Boy, Ba tells in striking detail the story of his youth, which was set against the aftermath of war between the Fula and Toucouleur peoples and the installation of French colonialism. A master storyteller, Ba recounts pivotal moments of his life, and the lives of his powerful and large family, from his first encounter with the white commandant through the torturous imprisonment of his stepfather and to his forced attendance at French school. He also charts a larger story of life prior to and at the height of French colonialism: interethnic conflicts, the clash between colonial schools and Islamic education, and the central role indigenous African intermediaries and interpreters played in the functioning of the colonial administration. Engrossing and novelistic, Amkoullel, the Fula Boy is an unparalleled rendering of an individual and society under transition as they face the upheavals of colonialism.
Trade Review“This book provides an intimate glimpse of all the transactions involved in the various political and social (dis)loyalties, kinship relations, and religious affiliations in a changing colonial landscape. The narrative locates Amadou Hampâté Bâ in the environment that armed him with a unique character and a set of ideas drawn from secular, animist, Islamic, and Western resources---an education that turned him into a shrewd colonial clerk and archivist of the ‘colonial library.’
Amkoullel, the Fula Boy is an insightful and significant autobiography, an ethnography of communities in transition, and a biography of Francophone colonial West Africa.” -- Mamadou Diouf, Columbia University
“Amadou Hampâté Bâ has long been recognized as one of the most authoritative voices about Mali, Islamic West Africa, Fulani culture, orality, and the dialogue between religions. Jeanne Garane’s masterful translation of Bâ’s rich and captivating memoir presents a vivid picture of the mechanisms of social change in Mali and many neighboring countries. The publication of
Amkoullel, the Fula Boy is truly a blessing.” -- Chérif Keïta, William H. Laird Professor of French and the Liberal Arts, Carleton College
“The work of a great storyteller . . . filled with humor and drama alike, tracing the author’s everyday life in Bandiagara and later in the colonial Mali, while showcasing his preoccupation with oral history, tradition, anthropology, initiation, religion, fate etc.” -- Clara Burghelea * Ezra *
"Penned by a renowned Malian writer, ethnographer, and historian whose life spanned the 20th century, this gem of a book recounts the life and times of the author and his ancestors in precolonial and colonial West Africa. Marked by the strong oral storytelling tradition of the Fula ethnic group, Bâ’s elegantly written tale is historically informative and expertly translated by Garane. . . . A powerful agent for deeper understanding and a significant contribution to the literature, this is a must-have volume for scholars, students, and academic libraries. Essential. Lower-division undergraduates through faculty; professionals."
* Choice *
“
Amkoullel, the Fula Boy is a tale that talks of the age-old wisdom of the griots and the mode of living in African societies. It pushes the boundaries of colonial education to make it coexist with spiritual and religious learning in a child's mind.” -- Riti Sharma * African Studies Quarterly *
Table of ContentsForeword to the Translation / Ralph A. Austen ix
Introduction: Between Memory and Memorial / Jeanne Garane xv
Amkoullel, The Fula Boy
Preface to the Original Edition / Théodore Monod 3
Author's Foreword / Amadou Hampâté Bâ 7
1. Roots 1
My Dual Heritage 11
Pâté Poullo, My Maternal Grandfather 15
The Story of My Father Hampâté, the Lamb in the Lion's Den 20
2. Kadidja, My Mother 39
Kadidja's Dream 39
Kadidja and Hampâté: A Rocky Marriage 42
Kadidja and Tidjani 45
The Toïni Revolt 49
Kadidja's Quest 64
The Trial 79
3. Exile 83
Tidjani's Long March 85
Kadidja's Village 87
On the Road to Bougouni with My Mother 98
Kadidja Battle the Boss of the
Laptot Boatmen 100
Birth of My Little Brother 105
My Father in Chains 111
An Ember That Does Not Burn 115
Death of My Early Childhood 121
Danfo Siné the
Dan Player 124
Death of My Old Master 127
In the Shade of Great Trees 136
Freedom at Last! 137
4. Return to Bandiagara 142
A Day in the Life of a Child 145
The White Man's Excrement and the Town Made of Trash 149
I Establish My First Association 153
A Handful of Rice 156
At School with the Masters of the World 159
Sinali's Garden 161
Boy and Girl Valentines 168
Kadidja and Tidjani in Crisis 173
Circumcision of My Brother Hammadoun 176
The Great Battle 185
5. At the White Man's School 194
Requisitioned by Force 194
The Commandant and the Five-Franc Coin 202
Primary School 209
My First Encounter with Wangrin 218
The Death of My Older Brother 220
The School at Djenné: My Primary Studies Certificate 223
The Great Famine of 1914: A Vision of Horror 234
Declaration of War 241
Flight 251
On The Trail of the War Dogs 256
The Three Colors of France 259
The Land-Roving Pirogue of Metal 264
The Abysmal Lair of the Great Black Hyena 266
6. In the Military of Town of Kati 270
My New Waaldé Association 274
A Hasty Circumcision 278
Return to School 281
The Warrant Officer and the King's Son 282
7. Final Studies in Bamako 296
My Second Primary Studies Certificate 296
In Vain Pursuit of the Wind 299
Boarding School in Bamako 311
The Consequences of a Refusal: Exile in Ouagadougou 317
I Bid Farewell on the Riverbank 326
Translator's Acknowledgments 329
Notes 331
Bibliography 345
Biographies 351
Index 353
