Rabat - In
her distinctive Senegalese dress, the publisher Awa Ka Dia (Hawa) is sitting with confidence and pride as she presents some books and novels, specifically stories for children, in the local Senegalese language.
Hawa believes that her presence in the international exhibition is part of the struggle and defense of teaching children in the local language and the mother tongue, and a step in the path of introducing African literature and the culture of her country.
Hawa will participate along with 712 exhibitors representing about 55 countries, and Morocco celebrates, within the activities of the 27th edition of the International Book Fair organized in the capital, Rabat, African literature as a guest of honor, so what do we know about African literature?
And what are its features?
How does it develop?
Hawa, a publisher from Senegal, introduces the culture of her country and defends the local language in the child's literary production (Al-Jazeera)
openness and closeness
The African Literatures Gallery is witnessing a high turnout of visitors and media professionals, and the exhibition will witness workshops, seminars and discussions centered on the African component, and spaces to introduce African publishing houses and what the minds and imaginations of African writers have created anew, intellectual and literary works, in addition to workshops for children in painting and handicrafts that introduce them to African fashion and ornaments.
African literature is attested by its ability to prove excellence through the awarding of international prizes, including the Nobel Prize for Literature, and distinction in universities and international studies and research centers, but its circulation is still limited.
A group of researchers and thinkers in a discussion on the challenges of development in Africa (Al-Jazeera)
In our tour of the African Literatures Gallery, a group of visitors expressed to us their desire to know the components of African literature to learn more about African culture from sub-Saharan Africa, and a visitor to Al Jazeera Net says, "First we came to get acquainted closely with other cultures, it is nice for our children to see this cultural and literary diversity, which It stimulates them to question and curiosity more to go towards the other and know and appreciate it.”
In an interview with Al Jazeera Net, Moroccan Minister of Culture Mohamed Bensaid confirmed that the selection of African literature coincided with the selection of Rabat as the capital of African culture and the capital of culture in the Islamic world, considering it an openness in the cultural field and an openness to the cultures of African countries.
The minister considered that the book is the most effective means of cultural approximation and strengthening belonging to the continent through reading and acknowledgment of the other.
The African Literatures Gallery at the International Book Fair is witnessing a turnout from various media outlets (Al-Jazeera)
Differentiate and share
Sub-Saharan African literature includes oral heritage and literature written in the languages of some African peoples, such as Swahili, Husa, Bantu, and Nilo. To talk about African etiquette that draws from the reality of its people and is influenced by international schools.
One of the painting and handicraft workshops to introduce children to the cultures of African countries (Al-Jazeera)
The book African Literature by Ali Shalash (The World of Knowledge Publications) cited the famous Nigerian novelist Chinua Achebe, “You cannot enclose African literature in a small, tight definition. The Holocaust of National and Ethnic Literatures in Africa.
The financial writer Osman Gala told Al Jazeera Net, "It is possible to talk about the culture of a specific country, but it is difficult to define its literature. Literature is global, draws from local culture and is influenced by international literary schools. We find the influence of the romantic school, for example, or man's attachment to his land and culture and his defense of it is almost similar in all writings." .
Gala considers that literature in Africa is influenced by the presence of myth and supernatural tales.
Gerard Wossou, a specialist in intellectual property in the Republic of Benin, asserts that literature in its general definition is shared by various countries, and that African writers today, in light of the knowledge development, have begun to link their literary productions with their culture, explaining that culture has begun to affect local productions that were previously linked to Europe. and colonial countries.
Gerard adds, in an interview with Al Jazeera Net, that literary productions associated with societies and peoples are the most read.
Gerard Wossou from the Republic of Benin believes that the literary production associated with the culture of peoples is the most read and interactive (Al-Jazeera)
Girard records the existence of small changes in African literature, noting that it is developing, and added, "Before, it was an elite group of intellectuals and great writers, and with the development of technology and the spread of social media, we began to notice an increase in publishing houses and in the number of writers, but the question of quality has become an issue."
Notation problem
Professor and researcher at the Institute of African Studies in Morocco, Ahmed Choukri, believes that the most important features of African literature are its reliance on African culture, which is characterized by being an oral culture.
He said, in an interview with Al Jazeera Net, that the traditions of blogging were not adopted in sub-Saharan Africa until after Islam entered the region and the development of Arab-Islamic culture in the Sahel region.
Shoukry believes that a feature related to the structure of oral culture is what holds all literatures in sub-Saharan Africa.
The book “African Literature” states that “African literature outside the field of Arabic lived for many centuries on oral communication, and only a few were written down due to the difficulties of collection and codification, and the large number of unwritten local languages.”
Ahmed Shukri states that the oral narration in sub-Saharan Africa is not measured by the same standards in the culture of North Africa, explaining that the oral narration had special families and a scholarly elite, and the narrators specialists were people who had rules and criteria in making it known, as each king or ruler within his entourage had a person called "" Creo” or the narrator or the author of the speech.
Shukri concludes by saying that African literature and African culture is another world in which there is depth, boldness, diversity and richness, about which we do not know much and that deserves more research, study and attention.
It is noteworthy that African literature written outside the field of Arabic began in European languages, especially French and English.