Le lieutenant de Kouta
Encyclopedia
Le lieutenant de Kouta ("The Lieutenant of Kouta") is a 1979 novel
by prize-winning Mali
an author Massa Makan Diabaté
. Loosely based on the author's hometown of Kita, Mali
, the novel tells the story of a recently-returned lieutenant from the French Colonial Army
, Siriman Keita, and his struggle to adjust to his village's changing customs. It is the first book in Diabaté's "Kouta trilogy," followed by Le coiffeur de Kouta ("The Barber of Kouta," 1980) and Le boucher de Kouta ("The Butcher of Kouta," 1982), which feature many of the same characters.
) to Kouta, a market village near his smaller home village of Kouroula. In Kouta, he at first plots to ascend to the canton chiefdom while avoiding his envious older brother, Faganda. However, his plans are scrapped when he humiliates himself in a horse-riding accident before the village, and he withdraws to his fortress-like "square house." After a time, he adopts a fatherless boy who he had once punished for stealing, and marries Awa, a Senegal
ese woman of questionable reputation. Disaster strikes the lieutenant again, however, when the French
commandant incites him to lead a punitive expedition against the pro-independence village of Woudi. When the expedition fails, the lieutenant is stripped and humiliated before the people of Kouta and, after the commandant denies his own involvement, is sent to jail in the country's capital for disturbing the peace. He returns to find Awa pregnant by a young pro-independence activist, but having changed during his incarceration, the lieutenant forgives her betrayal and adopts the coming child as his own. He reconciles with the imam of the local mosque, formerly a bitter enemy, and eventually becomes the village muezzin
, only to die mysteriously following an injection by his envious brother. The imam does him the honor of burying him in the mosque, while the French administrators, concerned by the example of his conversion, hastily and posthumously award him the Legion of Honour.
."
Cheick M. Chérif Keïta sees the novel as representative of the tension between fadenya
--the pull of innovation—and fasiya--the pull of tradition—in Diabaté's work. In this reading, Siriman Keita is both oppressed by tradition in the form of his aggressive (and likely homicidal) brother, but also resents the changes that the youth-led independence movement are bringing to his country. Ultimately, however, the lieutenant comes to see that tradition "is not a monolith, but rather an edifice of which the fissures must always furnish an outlet for the creative energies of individuals and young innovators."
The novel itself can be read as a blending of traditions, joining the proverbs and customs of Maninka
culture to the Europe
an form of the novel. As Diabaté himself commented to one interviewer, "J'essaie de donner à mon français, qui n'est pas le français de France, une coloration africaine, en y mêlant des proverbes, des récits et surtout en faisant, comme je l'ai toujours dit, "quelques petits bâtards à la langue française" ("I try to give my French, which isn't the French of France, an African coloring, mixing in proverbs, stories, and above all in making, as I always say, 'some little bastards of the French language'").
J.R. McGuire reads a similar tension in the Kouta trilogy, though using the terms fadenya and badenya. Austen argues that in this respect, the novels are highly influenced by Diabaté's early writings on the similarly-structured Epic of Sundiata, which he calls "an inescapable intertext" for works from Maninke
culture.
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
by prize-winning Mali
Mali
Mali , officially the Republic of Mali , is a landlocked country in Western Africa. Mali borders Algeria on the north, Niger on the east, Burkina Faso and the Côte d'Ivoire on the south, Guinea on the south-west, and Senegal and Mauritania on the west. Its size is just over 1,240,000 km² with...
an author Massa Makan Diabaté
Massa Makan Diabaté
Massa Makan Diabaté was a Malian historian, author, and playwright.-Biography:Born in 1938 in Kita, Massa Makan Diabaté was the descendant of a long line of West African poets ....
. Loosely based on the author's hometown of Kita, Mali
Kita, Mali
Kita is a town and commune in western Mali. It lies on the eastern slope of Mount Kita , known for its caves and rock paintings. Today, the city is known for its music, its annual Roman Catholic pilgrimage and its role as a processing center for the surrounding cotton- and peanut-growing region...
, the novel tells the story of a recently-returned lieutenant from the French Colonial Army
French Colonial Forces
The French Colonial Forces , commonly called La Coloniale, was a general designation for the military forces that garrisoned in the French colonial empire from the late 17th century until 1960. They were recruited from mainland France or from the French settler and indigenous populations of the...
, Siriman Keita, and his struggle to adjust to his village's changing customs. It is the first book in Diabaté's "Kouta trilogy," followed by Le coiffeur de Kouta ("The Barber of Kouta," 1980) and Le boucher de Kouta ("The Butcher of Kouta," 1982), which feature many of the same characters.
Plot
Lieutenant Siriman Keita has returned from a long service in the French Colonial Army (during which he was awarded the Croix de guerreCroix de guerre
The Croix de guerre is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was awarded during World War I, again in World War II, and in other conflicts...
) to Kouta, a market village near his smaller home village of Kouroula. In Kouta, he at first plots to ascend to the canton chiefdom while avoiding his envious older brother, Faganda. However, his plans are scrapped when he humiliates himself in a horse-riding accident before the village, and he withdraws to his fortress-like "square house." After a time, he adopts a fatherless boy who he had once punished for stealing, and marries Awa, a Senegal
Senegal
Senegal , officially the Republic of Senegal , is a country in western Africa. It owes its name to the Sénégal River that borders it to the east and north...
ese woman of questionable reputation. Disaster strikes the lieutenant again, however, when the French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
commandant incites him to lead a punitive expedition against the pro-independence village of Woudi. When the expedition fails, the lieutenant is stripped and humiliated before the people of Kouta and, after the commandant denies his own involvement, is sent to jail in the country's capital for disturbing the peace. He returns to find Awa pregnant by a young pro-independence activist, but having changed during his incarceration, the lieutenant forgives her betrayal and adopts the coming child as his own. He reconciles with the imam of the local mosque, formerly a bitter enemy, and eventually becomes the village muezzin
Muezzin
A muezzin , or muzim, is the chosen person at a mosque who leads the call to prayer at Friday services and the five daily times for prayer from one of the mosque's minarets; in most modern mosques, electronic amplification aids the muezzin in his task.The professional muezzin is chosen for his...
, only to die mysteriously following an injection by his envious brother. The imam does him the honor of burying him in the mosque, while the French administrators, concerned by the example of his conversion, hastily and posthumously award him the Legion of Honour.
Historical Inspiration
According to Mamadou Sangaré, the character of Siriman Keita was inspired by the real-life figure of Mamadou Keita, a Colonial Army lieutenant who retired to Kita. Though many incidents of the novel, such as the punitive expedition to Woudi, are entirely of Diabaté's creation, Mamadou Keita did finish his life by converting to Islam shortly before his death in 1959.Criticism
The novels of Kouta trilogy are often named as Diabaté's finest works. The Encyclopedia of African Literatures for example, praises the novels' "colorful humor and . . . style worthy of a griotGriot
A griot or jeli is a West African storyteller. The griot delivers history as a poet, praise singer, and wandering musician. The griot is a repository of oral tradition. As such, they are sometimes also called bards...
."
Cheick M. Chérif Keïta sees the novel as representative of the tension between fadenya
Fadenya
Fadenya or “father-childness” is a word used by Mande peoples, originally to describe the tensions between half-brothers with the same father and different mothers. The concept of fadenya has been stretched and is often used to describe the political and social dynamism of the Mande world...
--the pull of innovation—and fasiya--the pull of tradition—in Diabaté's work. In this reading, Siriman Keita is both oppressed by tradition in the form of his aggressive (and likely homicidal) brother, but also resents the changes that the youth-led independence movement are bringing to his country. Ultimately, however, the lieutenant comes to see that tradition "is not a monolith, but rather an edifice of which the fissures must always furnish an outlet for the creative energies of individuals and young innovators."
The novel itself can be read as a blending of traditions, joining the proverbs and customs of Maninka
Mandinka people
The Mandinka, Malinke are one of the largest ethnic groups in West Africa with an estimated population of eleven million ....
culture to the Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an form of the novel. As Diabaté himself commented to one interviewer, "J'essaie de donner à mon français, qui n'est pas le français de France, une coloration africaine, en y mêlant des proverbes, des récits et surtout en faisant, comme je l'ai toujours dit, "quelques petits bâtards à la langue française" ("I try to give my French, which isn't the French of France, an African coloring, mixing in proverbs, stories, and above all in making, as I always say, 'some little bastards of the French language'").
J.R. McGuire reads a similar tension in the Kouta trilogy, though using the terms fadenya and badenya. Austen argues that in this respect, the novels are highly influenced by Diabaté's early writings on the similarly-structured Epic of Sundiata, which he calls "an inescapable intertext" for works from Maninke
Mandinka people
The Mandinka, Malinke are one of the largest ethnic groups in West Africa with an estimated population of eleven million ....
culture.