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NATIONAL PUBLICATIONS

(ARTICLES IN LEARNED JOURNALS)

5.

Nwagbara, A. U. (2010). "Creativity as Celebrations of Joy and Pain:David Diop's "Africa" and the Semiotisation of History", in LagosNotes and Records, Volume 16, 2010, Faculty of Arts, University ofLagos, Akoka, Lagos, Nigeria. PP 126 - 137 (ISSN: 0075-7640)

LA GOS lVOTES AND RECORDS

A JOURNAL OF THE FACCLTY OF ARTSUNIVERSITY OF LAGOS

'VOL. 16.2010

© Faculty' of ArtsUniversity of Lagos (2010)

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Lagos.Notes and RecordsVolume 16,2010

Editor-in-ChiefPro lessor Duro Oni

Published byThe Faculty of ArtsUniversity of Lagos

EdirorDr. .vdedayo Adedun

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Editor ial Advisory BoardProfessor Torn Byers. University of LouisvilleProfessor Olurnuyiwa Alaba, University of LagosProfessor Karen King-Aribisala, University ofLagosProfessor Samuel Ade Ojo, University of LagosProfessor Niyi Osundare, University of'LagosProfessor Segun Awonusi. University of LagosProfessor Adebayo Lawal, university of LagosProfessor Jeremiah 1. Dibua Morgan State UniversityBaltimoreDr. Richard Goodridge, University of the West IndiesProfessor Jim Unah, University of Lagos

ISSN: 0075-7640

Table of Contents

Editorial. , v-viiContributors and InstitutionalAffiliations .ix-xi

Onotological Clarificationof Accountable Leadership , : 1-17- Chiedozie Okoro

Do witches Really E.-xist?:A MysticalPhilosophical Evaluation 18-41- Joseph Chigbo Ekwealo

The Metaphysics of the Upanishads:!\ Critical Exposition .42-78- Chris Osegenwune

Wole Sovinka's Craft in theDramaturav ofFerni Osofisan:The Exam-pies of A Chartering andthe Sons: and Once Upon Four Robbers 79-9J.

C)

- Oby Okoloch a and E. Bi Adeleke

Culinary Norms and SocialCohesion in Akachi AdirnoraEzcizbo's Trilogy 95-109- -- Felicia Ohwovoriole .

Cooperative Principles in aNigerian Christian Sermon 110-125-E~A.Adedun & O. O. Mekiliuwa

r ativiry as CelebrationsrJ y and Pain: David Diop's

"Altl ;\"nndth Semi usation

-'!I

of History 126-137-Austin Uzoma Nwagbara

Akitiyan Mutumuwa Ionlsamulo Ede YorubaLawujo 138-152-Ayo Yusuff

Ewi, YorubaModernityandthe Public Space 153-188- Oyeniyi Okunoye

Bitterness on a Sugar Island:British Colonialism and theSocio- Economic Developmentof Jamaica (1655-1750) 189-214- David Aworawo

The Political Economyof Policy Instability: Nigeria'sIndustrial-Policies (1960-2010) 215-238- Obi Iwuagwu

Le temps en francais et en etsako:etudecon~tiveetUnplicationspedagogiques pour lenseignementdu francais aux etsakophones 239-260- Boniface Igbeneghu .

Russian Culture and Perestroika:AnAppraisal : 261-274- Chuka Chukwube

CREATIVITY AS CELEBRATIONS OF JOY & PAIN:DAVID DIOP'S "AFRICA" Al'm THE

SEMIOT~SATION OF IDSTORY

Austin Uzoma Nwagbara

AbstractThe conjuration of history as a metaphor of creativity inAfrican literary writings represents a seminal reconstructionof the intensity of the collective experiences of the continent, are-living ofits joys and pains,

The creative enterprise and the culture of its actualisation inAlrican literary experience 10 u large extent signify theexpression and celebration of the joys and pains of its history.The persistent interjection of fact and fiction in Africanliterary imagination represents the reconstruction and re-enactment of the experiences ofthe African peoples over lime,the revocation of the power of memory as a process of not justprobe and recall, bur a journey into the collectivesubconscious of Africans as a celebration of their historythrough literature. 111 this sense, creativity is, as well asen/ails, a complex and intricate process and activity of recall.the conscious invocation vf the collective experiences andencounters of the African peoples with their past, theirtransformation ,inlU the present and a projection into thefuture.

This paper therefore sets out 10 study Diop's "Africa" and itssignification of history as celebrated encounter of recall an-dreconstruction of Africa's joy and pain through time andspace, it sets out to examine how literarv creativitv constitutesan avcnue through which the collective -experienc'e of a peopleis expressed as well as being a medium for marking andcelebrating the joys and pains of their historical realities andinterests, This situation is more relevant in Africa ziven the. ,.,close link between history and literature.

[',:.~. ~~

In~rotluction ~;~ ~, This paper interrogates the idea of I' ,,~,,-;,, , f ~ "ltcrary' . :lr..t,,;~.;T,means o celebrating a d I" creatlVity" ,- ,, if n re- rvinu the asslgnl Icance of History as II ~ essence -'.. , we as a metaph an ':

projection and communicativeness in J't or of creativ~~nact ,In semiotic tcrms Lhe fact that h/s~~at~e. It ~ttempts to~mgeruous process of recall ad' , ry sa mmdful and-=-

.' , n rc\'ocatJOn:lI1d tl > 'enterprise as medium for breath' 1'[,'. ie creatIveis, the paper embarks on an' Jn~ 1 ~ Into the process, Thatthat through artful recon~tr~~~~~tl~~t~n of th~ presumptiondefined communicatl've c e past In elaboratelvI' onstructs and ' 'fi ' -iterature undertakes an ardent ,SJgnl l,catlOns,recullection and rerninisccnc hi a~~ ngorous ntual ofcelebration or the verdant de,w'dlC all by itself entails a, '" :lI1 an cnacun f 'cxpcncnces throuch time and ' S' em 0 a sociery'sundertakes In i~-Ll••pth I' sp~c~, pecIiically, this paper, " '- JnQUIStJc and "InVestlgJtlon ofthe intcrconncction of h. , ,com~UnJC:ltl :'ethe rccre.nion and rec ' ,1~tO!Jand literature In

.. 1", "," onstructJOn of the . io-his ' .:t:.t rues and dIstInctions ofAfl;cJ The i "SOCIO istoricalIn which the element. f hi e idea JSto find out waysprinciples of literature sino Lh.IStOry c?llabor.ltc! with themisticJlly L'clebr:1tc:l pee 1 '. ~ ent~:rmsc t:f creativity tor e s essence JI1UbeIng,U'Sl~'!:.!the Pein:it!:111 Semiotic parJdi"m ' , 'Africa's t:nCOlU1tl'r with historv • ~ ,': thIS PJPc:r e:'l::unInesmedium of nXJII David 0' , -; especially how through the

, • u 1 lOp S poem "At" .. 'utilisc the (l\n:1mics It' hi t ,', r~cJ IS able to

- t IS orv and ItS • T fi 'met:1phor to r~collcct and ,i. h ' sigm icauons as aAI' , ..ul evoke t e Joys:llld .' [, ncan people ihrouch :.J.' lik .', P:.J.InS0 theP~opk's collective "0::0 , Journey- l ..e, mcursion into the

, , ... nSClOusness, ChIdl .\ (1 o ,reIterates this point when he I' h . rnuta 908, 87), ... calms t at: '

The hl$tori:ln is concerned with . -" Id: .' empIrIcJ.~t~. ope[atlllg:.J.s much as possible at the level

I"It hrf<: In "f' \;- ---", r:'I,I,:';IIIT () soecif I 0he -,' . W ~nttls, n theo~ er ~,a.ntl_the Inerary artist is concerned wi thhistorical data to the extent that they provide

him with the experiences that constitute thecontent of his art. But the language of theliterary artist does not subsist on fa~ts. Hemediates facts in pursuit of both specific anduniversal truths while trying to please ordisturb the process.

A well nurtured etched artistic consciousness rooted in sharedexperiences. interactions an~ encounte~s, co.nnect andinterplay African history ~d ht,eraz:y creatl~lty "'. a son ~fconvergence of reality and imagmation. The mtensl1?' of thisconnection is entailed in the process of recounting andreconstructing the people's being and identity through thcattempts towards re-living the realities of thei~ history ~irnaainative revocation of the joys and pains of theirexperiences over time and space.

As a conscious reconstruction of the joint socio-historicalrealities and heritage of the political and cultural life of thepeople. David Diop's 'Africa'. using complex and ei:l?orJtcsemiotic constructs, invokes and reconstructs the diversepains and joys of African experiences through multipl,ccornrnunicati ve and historical significations, Through theirliterarv writinzs. the' writers create intense imaginativeprojections, a,s;ertions and declarations of the sha:ed s~cio-historical essence of the political and cultural life of the

.African. Literature imaginatively recounts and reconstructshistory through intense and powerful revocat~on~ of ~e past,acrualisation of the present and insightful projections into thefuture.

The ubiquitousness of history as a metaphor and in~ex ofAfrican literarv irnaaination is generally enacted 111 the!persistent interfacing of fact and fiction in creative andc mmunicativ dvnarnics o fAfri can literary art.

Two landmark historical transactions or incidents arcdon:0ant in the collective ontological experiences andrealItIes of the c?ntment an~ people of Africa. First, there isthe encounter with the outside WOrld - other continents andpeoples and the implications of the consequent interactionsthat ensued. Secondly and quite closely linked to the first isthe issue of the cornrnoditisation of the African and thedebasement of his/her collective psyche. While the firstencounter results in the pervasi ve coJonisation of Africa a sortof the political disrobing of the essence of the African being,the ,latter produces the mechanism which ensured thepersistent enslavement of the continent signified in thehorrendous merchandising of the African, a business that1Mved for more than four centuries.

SemioticsSemiotics deals primarily with the natur- , ;orm and structureof air possible sign systems and their role in theconc~ptu3.li~ation. establishment and crystallis~llion ofmeaning It IS concerned with the interpretation ofsil.!nS, signs~stems and how they are encoded in communic-ation in?llTer~nt societies and cultures. In other words. SemioticsIn\'es~lgates the various systems of signs that create the sharedmeanmgs that constitute any culture. According to Newton(198: 171!, "the ~asis of. Semiotics is the sign ... anyconfiouratlOn to which there IS a conventionalised response".

"Semiotics" or "Semiology", derive their hcritaue from the~re~k .word 'S~meion', meaning 'sign'. The- study ofe~lOt\cs as a modem field of human inquiry, originated

maInI~ from .the writings of two 19th century ~cho1ars: theAmencan ~luI?sop?er, Charles Sanders Peirce (1839 J 9 J 4),and the SWISSlinguist, Ferdinand de Saussure who coined theterm Semiologie (translated into English as Semiology) in1894 as the study of 'the life of signs as part of ocial life'

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"Africa" and the Significations of HistoryOf most negritude scholars and philosophers of note, DavidDiop rates among the finest and most articulate, probablysecond to Leopald Sedar Senghor, a fellow Senegalese. Hiscontribution to the negritude philosophy and movement isacknowledged mostly in his literary inputs into negritudethoughts - mainly his poetic writings. Probably, his greatestimpact and singular attribute is in the poem, "Africa", inwhich he optimally articulates his philosophical and artisticposition and perception of Africa, particularly its history,spirituality and relationship with the rest of the world, the westin particular. This poem which could stand as a seminaldescription in poetic idiom of Africa's development provides ahistorical insight and socio-political recounting of Africa'sexperiences and encounters over space and time.

The interfacing of the facts of history and literary imaginationis a dominant and pervasive factor in most literary writings.Essentially, history has constantly been a close ally ofliterature as it has largely provided serious stimulus andimpetus to literary creativity in many societies at differenttimes and has thus sustained the connection between the factsof daily existence and literary creativity as the re-living ofhistory through the imagination. In many instances. thesubject matter of many literary works has mostly derived fromhistorical facts or realities. and in Africa particularly. historyhas been a common denominator of literary creativity. It couldserve as a key toll of analysis of literary content and artistry inthe continent. Gakwandi (1977: 1 - :!) commenting on the:significance of history to African Literary imagination makesthe following observations:

Modem African Literature has been largelyconcerned with interpreting the more recentimplications of a history extending over a

10.---- -- --- --··-_.o_oJ .... ~ .....,,_, V""" u..;."".1. •..• "

therefore to say a few word; about thesignificant features of this history which haveattracted the creative imagination. Africa'scontact with the west began towards the end ofthe fifteenth century ... But the slave trade.which started on a large scale about a centurylater, was the first great phenomenon whichshook Africa ...

Apart from this, history has provided service to Africanliterary thought and imagination in many other spheres andboth have collaborated at many levels in documenting Africa'sthe joys and pains of Africa's encounters and experiences.History and literary creativity have offered reciprocalinspiration to each other in the reconstruction of the Africanexperiences over time, "both being part of an awakening and asearch for a new place in the world for the African."tGakwandi. 1977: I)

David Diop's "Africa" semiotically recreates the varioushistorical phases and encounters which the peoples of Africahave confronted as they tackled the development challengesof the: times from their earliest kJ10\Vn history through thestrueulcs towards the termination of the last vcstiues or-- =colonialism up to the early point of the attainment elfindependence: in some Africa states. The poem. taking itsstandpoint from the concluding days or colonialism.reminisces over Africa's chronicle: of physical andpsychological dislocation and disjunction and at the samelime glimpses into the future with its significations of hope,pomp and lushness which is anticipated at the continent's:mainment of independence and freedom.

In the poem, David Diop's represe~tat~on o~Africa is ~aptu.red Iand projected in multiple artistic slgm~catlOns and. historical ! I

reconstructions as he celebrates the JOYs and pains of ~hepeoples of Africa Cl?d their attempts. to c~nfront the myriadchallenges of their encounters with history. The m~nelements adopted in the signification of h.ist~ry as a creativetool are: time, signified in the three major ~hases andtransformations of African socio-political experiences the~ditional (pre-colonial), the colonial and the independenceeras; and. pain, represented in Africa's enc?unters andrelations with the outside world and exemplified by thecruelties of the Trans-Saharan and Trans Atlantic trades andthe social turbulence of colonialism. Essentially, the poemtraces the various phases and experiences ofthe continent ~dimaginatively recreates and reconstructs the multiplesicnifications of its history through them.oJ

first let us consider. in semiotic terms. the significance oftime'and its functions as a communicative and ima!;in?ti\:cconstruct in Diop's "Africa". In line with Pe!r~e's t.rl:.ldlcconsideration of the sign. the interpretation ot time In thepoem could be undertaken in re~ati~n t? .till! .iconic. i~dexicl~and svmbolic paradigms. lconic sq~11I11CJlIOilS of time arcperceived in the semiotic import ofthese linguistic signs:

Africa of proud warriors in th:: ancestral savannahs,Africa my grundmotlter sings ofBeside her distant ri vel

(Italics mine)

These items tin italic) closely denote the following sem:u:'ticnotions: past (ancestral). age (grandmother) and physicalremoval in terms of time (distant).

Further down towards the end of the poem, other iconicproj ections of time are expressed In these lines:

• I ~..h

There splendid alone among white andJadedjlowersIs Africa, your Africa. It puts forth new shoots

Time is also recreated through indexical projections in whichcase there is a direct and immediate logical follow up betweena linguistic sign and its semantic implication. The relationtherefore is one in which a sign logically connotes aninterpretation.

Is Africa, your Africa. It putsforrh new shootsWith patience and stubbornness putsforth new shootsSlowly itsfruits grow to haveThe bitter taste ofliberty

The idea of growth, nev.11CSS and birth directlv suuzcst the" conotion of freshness and passage of time which is reinforced bv

"ShOOl<;", 'fruits" and "stubbornness". Eventually, the point isclearly demOnstr3ted in the expression, "the bitter taste ofliberty" as a reference to the torturous experience of slaveryand the hope of freedom and renewal.

The symbolic paradigm appears more dominant in the poemas we can identi fy in the following lines:

Impetuous chi ld. that \."()JII1,< and st urdv tree-. -That tree that grOll'S

There splendid 3mong white and faded flowersIs Africa. your A frica ...

Here, the continent Africa is represented through the symbolof a young. healthy and growing tree.

In analysing the significations of time as a semiotic construct,we have seen an attempt to creatively reconstruct history as atool for literary expression.

Next is the signification ofP<:in as const:uct.ofhist0I?' ..In this T"case, history serves as a medium for projecting creativity as a ~'celebration of the pains of Africa and her peoples. Here, thepoem recounts through various significations of pain assuffering, humiliation, cruelty, and turbulence. The poemportrays pain through the experiences of suffering andturbulence which the people encounter especially in theirexternal relations with world. The notion of-pain is largelyconveyed in the recounting of the cruelty of slavery and itsattendant humiliation and damaging psychological effect onthe African consciousness. This is signified in the semioticconnotations of the following lines:

Your Mock blood spilt over the fieldsThe blood of your sweatThe sweut of your [oilThe [nil of slaver .•.

Are you the back that bendsLies down under the lI'ei~hr ofhumiliation'I.. .

lhc idea ofthe spilling of black blood expresses the messageui" suffering which is reinforced by "sweat". "toil' al1d"slavery". Eventually. the point is clearly made in theexpression. "the weight 01" humiliation" as referring to thetorturous experience of slavery.

ConclusionDavid Diop's "{\I:-ic:l" captures through lucid and elaboratesemiotic projections and significations the idea of history' as J

metaphor of creativity and a medium for the celebration of the:experiences of the Africans as they wade through thememories of their past and its recollections of their joys andpains. Exploring he notion of history as process of recall andrevocation. the poem "Africa" looks back into the historicalphases of ...\fric:l's socio-political transition and development

and in so d .omg Conveys the li . .humiliation as it rurnrn .. thr rea Illes of Its pains and

d ages ouah thean the expectations f' . f - encounter of her pastcrowned in zold OOaJ'?d:soo. a ?ew future that is hopefullv• '. c:- • \1 iops "Afri " ,InCUrSIOn into the past of th . ca underakes an

d e commcnt reco t"an sorrows of the period and throuol' ~n Ing the evibth.e future which ponends '0' I . :::1 lh~m It launches into~IOP'S creative endeavoursJil;,7j..!.ls ..:? this sense that DavidJOYand pain and the semi t' . rica m~k.s a cclebration of

j 10 IS.1llon of her hIstory.

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RoutJcul!c.Da v is R C - ..L· . , .. '. and Schklkr. R. eds. (19~<)) ..

l[eraryCI"I[lcism. Ncw . . (·onfl'mpUr"r.l·

, York: Longman.(~ak\'·Jnui. S. !\. (1977). Till'LXPL'rIl:nce in ..llrica. LonJ\)n' .,'(}\'L'/ unci CU!7/cmpnrW:l'

Ileincm.:lnn. .Lido\'. O;1\'iu (199(\) /:.', .

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