As a person with an INFJ personality profile, I have always been a sensitive creature.
I remember in Dakar, when I was six, my sister's friend, Sandra Ghaffari, had invited us both to her birthday party. We played many games. And during one such game, the birthday girl gave each participant a folded piece of paper where she had written down her 'secret' thoughts about that person.
When it came to my turn to receive a note, I unfolded it in anticipation, only to be mortified. While my sister had the honor of reading, "You are my best friend", or something of that nature, I received the incredibly cruel, "You are a rotten banana".
Don't laugh. In French, it translates to, "Banane pourrie!"
My poor little ego was battered. All along, I had thought that Sandra had invited me to her birthday party because she liked me. How wrong I was! It seemed, that in her eyes, I had only tagged along as the annoying little sister. I remember leaving the circle, deeply hurt, and crying in my corner. I later confided in my sister that Sandra had been mean to me.
From then on, Sandra Ghaffari became my number one enemy. Oh, yes! As an INFJ, I certainly have a blacklist. (It did not help that I was possessive of my sister - you probably guessed that.)
And yes, Sandra Ghaffari was the girl's real name. Oops. You know what they say about writers? Don't piss them off. Ha!
But seriously, there have been moments in my life where rejection, or the perception of being rejected, has been incredibly painful. I think I wrote of it in a couple of blog posts, including this one, and of course, this one.
Tying into rejection, is the problem of perception. And ultimately, of image.
Like many women, image has been a problem for me. From the time I wore braces for almost three years, to the long period where I developed anorexia, image has baffled and tormented me with the question of,
How to be physically who I am inside?
I know, now, that to be physically who-you-are-inside is impossible. It doesn't matter what you try, you will fail.
Image, I now see as either hard work,supreme art, physical effort, or incidental - but never a true representative of a person. At this point in my life, I play with artifice, because I enjoy it and because I am fortunate to be able to afford it. I love clothes, costume and beauty in all forms, just as I am fully conscious of their limits. For example, I would much rather read someone's words to learn of who they are, than look at them. In the same manner, I would rather someone read me to get to know who I am.
This is something that most people do not understand - that what I write, is very much closer to who I am than the visible ever will be. The visible is completely fabricated.
I learnt something about myself recently. I was not even reading a self-help book or anything too deep. I learnt of it through one of those model contest shows.
No kidding.
I forgot the name of the show. I'm not loyal to television in general and I tend to skim lightly through shows at random. Anyway, one of the modeling contestants was receiving feedback about her photo shoot. The judge observed her photos for a moment, and then he asked if she had at all been bullied or put down often during her childhood. She confirmed that she had. At this, the judge, who also happened to be a male model, explained that he could read this through the attitude she carried with her in each photo. In other words, her attitude was a defense reaction to the intruding eye of the camera.
His words really resonated with me. I began to understand, why, it is in fact rare, for me to even smile naturally in a photo shoot. There is always the default attitude, that tendency to hide behind a mask and to play the role of someone else - someone stronger, elusive or aloof - and to not let anyone in. I think this attitude is also part of my very private (and sensitive) personality.
Many would agree that a camera is a contraption that has the potential of making its subject feel vulnerable. It is why so many people run away from the camera. They hate the camera's intrusion and its false 'revelation'. They understand, deep inside, that one's image is limiting and that cameras can enforce a narrative that one might not want. And so, when the lens is on you, judging you, which really, is akin to any social situation where one might end up feeling small or inadequate, it carries with it an element of choice - do you allow it to make you feel vulnerable, or do you remain out of reach so that nothing can harm you. I think that is essentially the difference between a direct, warm smile to the camera and an attitude.
As an author who understands the need to market and to have an online presence, together with photos, the prospect of vulnerability and criticism becomes very real. At the same time, there comes the opportunity to create a narrative or to play with artful imagery - a wonderful process that mirrors writing.
To slip in and out of a role and create a character - I love that thrill.
Do you often meet people who defy categorization? Those whose interests and talents are so varied that they baffle the mind? Most humans are so fond of classifying one another that they often find it strange, and even stupefying, when one of them seems to excel at a multitude of disciplines.
In some circles, we jokingly label these people, freaks. A more sober qualification might be, 'polymath'. If they reach world renown and professional recognition, we label them geniuses.
You may be familiar with What's My Line, in which contestants are blind folded and have to arrive at the identity of a guest after this one answers a series of questions about their abilities and achievements. In one particular episode, the contestants were confronted with a most puzzling personality to identify.
For each discipline in which the personality was asked if they had achieved, the response was affirmative. The contestants grew increasingly more confused given their inability to easily associate the guest with a unique dimension of excellence.
"Is there anything this man has not done?" cried one of them, in gentle exasperation.
The personality of course, is Salvador Dali.
Is Dali the only personality with such multi-faceted talents? I do not believe so. I think the majority of individuals are capable of tremendous range, if and only if, they do not limit themselves cognitively into believing that they have found their niche. Self-categorization, or rather, the lack of, is in fact, what I believe is a defining factor of geniuses.
[Self-promotion alert] While writing my novel, The Mascherari, I have been on a glorious trip to 15th century Venice. I want to bring attention to one of the geniuses I met there. Given the gender biases of the time, the terminology for describing these 'geniuses' revolves around men. And as the title of this post indicates, these multi-disciplinary freaks were then called, Renaissance Men.
There is something elegant and uplifting about being called a Renaissance Man, especially when one happens to be extremely handsome to boot. Leone Battista Alberti was one handsome man, as you can see from this statue of him located in Florence.
He was born Battista Alberti. Later, he changed his name to "Leone". I ought to mention his birth date, 14 February 1404. Advocates of astrology will have probably noticed that Alberti was an Aquarian.
Hold that thought.
Fans of Leonardo da Vinci will also note that Alberti was several years da Vinci's senior. In fact, he is the bona fide early Renaissance Man, and was equaled to none, except da Vinci.
I believe that geniuses have a cognitive advantage. I do not mean that exclusively in the neurological sense. Their primary advantage is that they have an inherent belief that they can do anything if they set their minds to it. As it turns out, Alberti is credited with the following empowering quote,
"A man can do all things if he but wills them."
So why is this guy so special anyway?
Alberti was known as the prototype of a 'universal man'. His breadth of knowledge is truly remarkable. He was at ease in the fields of philosophy, mathematics, science, classical learning, and the arts. He wrote pamphlets or treatises on ethics, love, religion, sociology, law, mathematics, and different branches of the natural sciences. He also wrote verses which demonstrated his aptitude for the Classics. In the arts, he was versed in painting, sculpture, and architecture.
Painting
Alberti could paint and was a good artist however none of his paintings unfortunately survive. Classical and Law education
Alberti, or should I say, Dr Alberti, was educated at the University of Bologna, where at the age of 24, he acquired a Doctorate in Canon law. Writing
It is said that writings poured out of Alberti, in both Latin and the Vernacular languages of Italy. Alberti scripted and wrote many love poems, fables, Latin comedy and dialogues. He wrote treatises on sculpture, agriculture, law and a host of technical subjects.
He once wrote a ten-book treatise on the technical nature of how a city should be structured (Brisbane, take note). He detailed how water should be properly channeled, how work sites should be constructed, the types of materials to be used and the different kinds of buildings that should be positioned in suitable and ideal locations.
Sounds boring? Wait, there's more.
In 1435, Alberti wrote what is known as the first book on perspective. His book, De Pictura (On Painting), sets out rules for drawing a three-dimensional picture on a two-dimensional surface. Basing himself on the principles of perspective that had been demonstrated by Filippo Brunelleschi, Leon Battista Alberti produced a book that would later guide dozens of Renaissance artists in the creation of more realistic, perspectival artwork. Music
Alberti composed music and was a reputed organist. Astronomy, Cartography and Geography
Alberti produced a treatise on geography that laid out the rules for surveying and mapping a land area. The instruments and methods he described pre-dated later geographical depictions of the 15th and 16th centuries which are noted for their advances in accuracy. Architecture
Despite having had no formal architectural education, Leon Battista Alberti was known as the Father of Modern Architecture. He was the principal initiator of Renaissance art theory.
Among his work, he completed the Pitti Palace, the Temple of Malatesta at Rimini and the Church of Sant’ Andrea. Before its later renovation, Alberti was commissioned to design the first Trevi Fountain in Rome.
Since I am particularly clueless in Music and Architecture, none of this excites me as much as what follows.
Cryptology and Mathematics
Remember - I mentioned that Alberti was an Aquarian, and Aquarians are traditionally known for their cutting-edge, technical minds. Given Alberti's impressive portfolio in various technical fields, it should be readily evident that, for once, astrology seems uncannily spot on in describing its subject.
But it is in the field of cryptology that Alberti truly shines as an Aquarian specimen. Here, we find the summit of his technical mastery and visionary mind. In our modern information technology age, we take for granted that technology can obfuscate our messages and encrypt our passwords, without paying so much attention to it. Consider, then, that long before the advent of computers, Alberti developed a type of cipher to which most of today’s systems of cryptography belong, and which is known as polyalphabetic substitution. It was called the Alberti cipher.
It turns out that Alberti is known today as the Father of Western Cryptology.
Brains are sexy. But men with secrets, even more so!
Secrets of the Vatican
Alberti had, since his twenties, been appointed to an ecclesiastic post and worked many years for the Vatican. One of his friends was pontifical secretary, Leonardo Dato. It has long been believed that it was Dato who spurred Alberti’s interest in cryptology. At the time, both the Vatican and the Venice Republic were dabblers in secret communication inasmuch as they also engaged in intercepting and deciphering foreign messages. Decipherers were employed both in the Vatican and in the Venice Republic - two cities which incidentally hold impressive archives (the Vatican has the largest archive in the Western world and Venice is not far behind.)
According to cryptology historian, David Kahn, Alberti was strolling in the Vatican gardens with Dato (what on earth were they doing), when this one asked him, “You’ve always been interested in these secrets of nature. What do you think of these decipherers? Have you tried your hand at it as much as you know how to?”
Alberti smiled. Alberti already knew that Dato’s duties included ciphers, yet he replied as though he ignored it, “You’re the head of the papal secretariat. Could it be that you had to use these things a few times in matters of great importance to His Holiness?”
“That’s why I brought it up,” replied Dato. “And because of the post I have, I want to be able to do it myself without having to use outside interpreters. For when they bring me letters in ciphers interpreted by spies, it’s no joking matter. So please – if you’ve thought up any new ideas having to do with this business, tell me about them.”
And this exchange is supposedly what enticed Alberti to deliver a cipher treatise around the age of 63. Think of it as an off-the-shelf cipher tool complete with a set of revolving discs which Signore Dato could play with to his heart's content.
New - Alberti Gadget
Ta da! Just like that, out of the blue. Unless...
Genius in the Making
What struck me about Alberti’s conversation with Dato, is that our Renaissance man already knew of Dato’s ciphering activities long before Dato admitted to them. To me, this awareness hints to Alberti’s inherent interest in matters of ciphering (just hanging around the Vatican would do that to you, I reckon). Alberti’s attraction to solving problems, and to mathematics in general, arose long before he ever knew Dato, back when he was a twenty year old law student. In those days, he used to find mathematics relaxing and even mentioned that it was a welcome break from studying law, which he said, taxed his memory.
Merging these ideas together, and working on the premise that one’s great work later in life often sprouts from seeds sown when one is much younger, I speculated at length on Leone Battista Alberti’s early life.
The Lost Years
Leone Battista Alberti appears briefly in my novel, The Mascherari. I wanted to pay homage to a man who, while born a wealthy banker’s son (the Alberti bank was known in the 14th century as greatly contributing to Florence’s wealth), flatly refused to work in banking, and focused instead on contributing to humanity in various fields. I also wanted to speculate on a challenging period in his life - a period where he lost his father, lost his inheritance to his uncle, and suffered illness even while studying.
What did Alberti do to survive during this time? The Mascherari is set in 1422, at a time when Alberti was only 18 years old. That may seem young, but it did not stop me from advancing some bold theories about our 'universal' err, young man...
After all, with a genius of his caliber, anything may have been possible.
Aquarians and other geeks can delve into David Kahn's The Codebreakers: The Comprehensive History of Secret Communication.
13th Century Bohemia. I wonder what the writers of the Codex Gigas would have replied, if asked, "So, what is your writing process?" To the question, "Why do you write what you do?" - what could authors of this mysterious manuscript, which features a portrait of the Devil on page 290, have possibly said? In future centuries, I wish my books could inspire as much curiosity as the Codex Gigas does now, but one can only dream. Still, it is an honor to be tagged in a blog hop by author, Marie Macpherson. In this post, I will be answering four questions about my writing process and will tag three authors. Look out for posts by Andrea Zuvich, Wendy Dunn and Sarah Kennedy on 28 April. I want to take this opportunity to share a little about Marie Macpherson. Marie was born in Edinburgh, Scotland. She is a fan of Leo Tolstoy and holds an Honors degree in Russian and English. Marie’s PhD thesis research saw her spend a year in Russia. Her first novel is based on the early life of the Scottish reformer, John Knox. Marie has won prizes and awards for her writing, including the Martha Hamilton Prize for Creative Writing from Edinburgh University, and 'Writer of the Year 2011' title awarded by Tyne & Esk Writers. Question 1 - What am I working on?
The Mascherari is my first attempt at the historical mystery / supernatural genre. I began research two years ago and completed writing in about a year. Last month
I worked with designer, Caryn Gillespie, on the paperback cover design, which has since been retouched for digital publishing. Here it is (again!)
Ok, it doesn't quite compare with that Devil's portrait. But one does one's best. I am also working on my third book, a speculative history novel featuring mermaids. The story's underlying influence is a tale that has touched me as a child - The Little Mermaid. It is titled, The Pearl Slaves. I promise it will be a mermaid tale with a dark edge. My current writing phase is a blend of dreaming, musing and historical research. It's nebulous territory, but one with enormous
potential because it is my subconscious which is hard at work. I see writing as part-technique and part-art, and to encourage the art, I feed my subconscious daily. It is also the phase where I am creating characters, their background and their role in the story. During this time, I absorb everything: history books, historical and cultural articles, music and costumes. I think back to movie scenes I liked, and try to extract what it was - either in the dialogue, setting or mood - that worked for me. They say you should only write what you want to read. I will only write what I would accept in a film. If it isn't visual enough, it is no good. Question 2 - How does my work differ from others of its genre?
As a novel set in China, The Ming Storytellers is unusual because it avoids homogenization of foreign cultures and peoples. It recognizes the diverse cultural
landscape that was and is China. For example, it features characters from two important ethnic minorities: the Hui and the Nakhi. That makes perfect sense, considering that the author has a personal experience with plurality. I think it is important to transcend certain cultural portraits and to a degree, I think The Ming Storytellers achieves that. Years ago I toyed with applying the genre, "Ming Gothic", to it. I still think it is the best categorization, even though it sounds pretentious. I mean, if we can have "Victorian Gothic", then why not "Ming Gothic". I wish I could pitch The Mascherari by saying it's The Name of the Rose meets Le Club Dumas (or The Ninth Gate, for those who know the movie). These two tales combine all that I adore about mystery and occult themes. Along the way however, I found that The Mascherari acquired a surrealistic quality that differentiated it from those novels. I think the surreal is unusual in historical fiction. More unusual, are novels set in 15th century Venice, or those that prominently feature the secretive Council of Ten (What's The Council of Ten? Think: NSA, but from the Late Medieval to the Renaissance period).
The Mascherari also differs from novels set in Venice through its epistolary form. It consists of letters, depositions and diary entries from various characters.
Question 3 - Why do I write what I do? Self-indulgence. I can be utterly selfish while writing. I write
about subjects that I want to research with a passion, and that stir
me to the point of obsession. I have an
affinity for all history that is forbidden and /or shunned, and that has not yet
found its place in popular cultural psyche. Like many writers, I also love uncovering secrets and revealing them. I seek to break preconceived
notions and to present history with all its ugliness.
If I write in the historical fiction genre, it is also to be
carried away into worlds that inspire me.
For The Ming Storytellers, I traveled to Beijing, Lijiang and Kunming, while for The Mascherari, I visited Venice. But no modern
journey compares to the joy of time travel. I love being in the past. Writing gives me
that. It's wonderful.
Hard at work...
It is not all selfishness. There is duty. I feel in me a duty to tell an honest story, a duty
to inform, or to reveal parallels between past and present. Often a glimpse into the past can be an avenue for reckoning with our present condition and evaluating it critically. This reckoning is all the more important when
dangerous prejudices exist today which I feel must be overcome in the interest
of humanity. Humanity! It is a big word, yet I feel
that a conscientious writer ought to be writing for humanity. With The Ming Storytellers, I found myself incorporating an environmental sensitivity into the narrative. I liked that.
An ambitious task for any writer is to stir emotion in their reader.
I try to do that, too. I love writing scenes that inspire awe. I want to become better at moving my reader. Question 4 - How does my writing process work?
At any time, a writer may be musing about many ideas. A project truly begins, for me at least,
when an idea is so entangled with my obsessions, that I would deprive myself of pleasure if I did not convert
these obsessions into a story. I then enter a state of research, a
state of yet more dreaming and plotting from which I derive all the more
pleasure. (See Question 1 above.) After considerable integration between dreams and research material,
a thin plot outline will be born, together with several compelling
characters. That’s where the hard work begins. Enter discipline. 1. I will write a story outline. Always. 2. In a spreadsheet, I will then list those chapters that are needed to complete the full story. Each chapter is conceived as a movie scene. The chapter will be listed beside the
research material that needs to be refined, or further developed, before I am confident
about writing it. 3. Over a period of months, I attack each chapter, one by one, alternating between research and writing. I commit to a number of words per day
and stick to that. Fifty percent of my time
is spent typing out material and fifty percent is entirely research. Halfway through, something happens: I completely ditch my story outline and let the story take me for a ride. When do I write? I write any time when I am feeling
positive. I have written when ill and
drunk (red wine is fabulous for liberating ideas and overcoming fear)
but – I never write when I feel down. For me writing should be about pleasure, and I never associate a negative emotional state with my creations. Never.
***
So there you have it - a quick glimpse into my writing process. My books will never fascinate as much as the Codex Gigas, but I love them and I love writing. I am
curious to know what other writers do and this is why this blog hop is a wonderful idea. Next week, three talented writers will take
part, sharing their writing process with us. Here’s a little bit about them. Andrea Zuvich
Andrea Zuvich, aka The Seventeenth Century Lady, lives in a small town in England. She is a full-time historian and often gives lectures about the Late Stuart period, in which she specialises. Zuvich is a historical fiction authoress of the best-selling "His Last Mistress" about the Duke of Monmouth's last days. She was one of the original developers of and guides on the Garden History Tours at Kensington Palace. Website - www.andreazuvich.com
Wendy Dunn
Wendy has been obsessed with Tudor History from childhood. Her novel about Anne Boleyn, the award-winning novel Dear Heart, How Like You This? (published in 2002), has been described as, “Seriously one of the best books ever written about Anne Boleyn”. Wendy is currently a PhD candidate at Swinburne University, where she also tutors in the Master of Arts (Writing) program. Unsurprisingly, her PhD artefact, The Light in the Labyrinth, is another Tudor novel, a novel that revisits Anne Boleyn in the last months of her life. A young adult novel, The Light in the Labyrinth will be published soon with Endtable Books.
Sarah Kennedy is the author of the historical mystery The Altarpiece, Book One of The Cross and the Crown series from Knox Robinson Publishers. Book Two, City of Ladies, will be released on October 20, 2014. Sarah has also written seven books of poems, including The Gold Thread, Home Remedies, A Witch’s Dictionary, Consider the Lilies, Double Exposure, and Flow Blue. A professor of English with at Mary Baldwin College in Staunton, Virginia, Sarah Kennedy holds a PhD in Renaissance Literature and an MFA in Creative Writing. She has received grants from both the National Endowment for the Arts and the Virginia Commission for the Arts and is currently a contributing editor for Shenandoah. Website - sarahkennedybooks.wordpress.com
Make sure you hop along to visit these three authors next week, 28 April, for more insights into the writing process.
A ravishing cover for a story that is very dear to me. I really hope you like it.
The elements you see - from the intricate medieval border, to the tower, the dark moon, and the lady with the mysterious light - all hold a meaning that is essential to my upcoming novel, The Mascherari.
For this historical mystery set in 15th century Venice, I was wary of infusing the cover with symbols that have become synonymous with romantic tourism and post-Napoleonic Venice.
And so I shunned - the canals, the cliche gondolas, the masked carnival revelers, the Piazza, the Basilica of San Marco - all that was readily associated with what we know of Venetian tourism today. While these do feature in my story and were certainly present in the 15th century, I preferred to delve deeper. So I sought new symbols from those that have been lost to history or have been absent from modern media images of Venice.
With the medieval-inspired imagery, I hoped to conjure a period of Venice that preceded the times of Casanova.
A mask is portrayed, but it is not prominent. It is a traditional bauta, one of the most common masks from the period. As for the city's lagoon, it is hinted to with just a blue patch of water beneath the cover title.
It will be difficult to expand on the historical meaning of each symbol without revealing too much of the story...so I will look at color only.
Why the gold?
The original image (not shown), with its pale parchment and light coloring is even more suited to 15th century Venice, but it does not lend itself well to ebook covers. In print, it would look fabulous, so I will preserve it for the Paperback version of the novel.
I reviewed three versions of the ebook cover before settling on the gold. I loved the green version, which is shown below.
To me, this dark green held a nauseating and malevolent quality, reminiscent of the evil in the narrative. I also thought it evoked what some authors have described as the Venetian 'miasma' - this fetid air that remains suspended over the lagoon on humid days and from which even Lord Byron was thought to have suffered.
But the best part of the green, if you do read the story, is that it evokes the emotions of envy and jealousy. How very apt, I thought.
For now though, I decided on the gold. While also being relevant to aspects of the novel, the gold is vivid, eye-catching and therefore more likely to attract attention in the online sphere. This is an important consideration for a self-publishing author especially when there are so many gorgeous outstanding covers out there.
One last detail...
Engraved on the tower and the hovering moon, are two letters. Shall I tell you what they stand for? Or perhaps you already know.
It is 1943. Colonial French soldiers have penetrated a coastal village, deep in the South of Senegal. The soldiers are looking for a young woman; a woman who, for some time, is posing a great threat to the established French colonial order.
Some say she is a witch. Some say she can heal. What is certain, is that like Joan of Arc, she has acquired a strong following of anti-colonialists and is much revered. Like Joan of Arc, she has spoken against 'an invader', the French, and is leading a form of resistance against the colonialists. The young woman has such an influence, that following the death of their King, the Djola people of Casamance have made her their Queen.
By 1944, this woman, the Priestess Queen of the Kingdom of Kabrousse, who bravely chose to surrender to the French and spare her people from reprisals, will have endured ill-treatment in numerous jails from Sénégal to Gambia, and eventually Timbuktu in Mali. In less than a year, torture and miserable conditions will have broken her body. Deliberately untreated by her jailers, abandoned to illness, the young woman will die in prison at the age of 24.
Who was this strong spirit, and why were the French so afraid of her?
Why does her memory endure in Africa today such that even 2008 Senegalese coinage exists with her face upon it and the bold inscription, "La femme qui était plus qu'un homme" - the woman who was more than a man.
Who was she?
Her name was Aline Sitoé Diatta. She was born some time around 1920, in the coastal village of Kabrousse in Casamance, a region of rich and varied flora. Her people, the Djola, who today contribute only 4% of the population of Casamance and 8% of Senegal's population, were traditionally rice cultivators.
Casamance is a sun blessed land that represents one seventh the size of Senegal. Through it, runs Senegal's second largest river. It is a green paradise of mangroves, lagoons, beaches, rice fields and sacred lush forests. Prior to the French, the Portuguese saw in it a great potential. From the 16th century, the Portuguese founded a commerce of wax, ivory, skins and sadly, slavery. In the 17th century, they created a port which will later become the region's capital, Ziguinchor. Long before the famed island of Gorée which US President Obama will eventually visit in 2013, Ziguinchor will have served as a major transit port for the slave trade.
It is in Ziguinchor, that the young orphan, Aline, arrives at age eighteen, to seek an employment. There, she is hired by colonialists to work as docker on the port. Life at home is a life of poverty, but the rudimentary conditions and the exhausting work of loading and unloading ships also take their toll on the young woman. Aline travels to Senegal's capital, Dakar, and is soon employed as a domestic by a French family.
When Aline is around 21, her life takes an interesting turn. One day, she hears a voice. The voice tells her to return to her village at once, and to free her people from the colonialists.
The voice adds that if she fails to do so, misfortune will befall her.
Aline ignores the voice. Four days later, she awakes paralyzed, possibly from a stroke, albeit, one that is rare for one so young. Aline finally requests to be brought back to Casamance. No sooner is she returned to the village of Kabrousse, that the paralysis leaves her. According to some, she will retain a limp from her ordeal.
Aline begins to take her voices seriously. Soon, she is encouraging her people to reaffirm their roots. This, she says, is the essence of resisting the influence of colonialists.
What are these Djola roots?
The Djola, or Jola, had no caste system. No griots (storytellers/historial class), no slaves, no nobility class. In terms of world cultures, theirs was a rare egalitarian society. They were highly respectful to, and integrated with nature, and were adept at herbal medicine. They were also a musical culture, their instruments playing a significant part in their many rituals. These rituals favored a strong sense of collective consciousness which aligned their political system to that of true socialism.
Djola women from Kabrousse
Rice growers, the Djola had developed a sophisticated form of rice preservation. In fact, the cultivation of rice was strongly tied to their identity, in as much as it bound them to the earth and to their religion and social organization.
But alas, the flavor of the day, at least, at the time of the French colonialists, is the forced cultivation of cash crops - namely peanuts. It is this that Aline is quick to denounce. She calls upon her people to stop growing cash crops, to return to growing rice instead.
Coming from such an egalitarian society as the Djola, one who has long resisted either Christian or Islamic conversion, Aline's indignation at the injustices perpetrated by the French rulers continues to fuel her quest. She goes further. She encourages her people to disobey French orders: they ought not to pay taxes to the French; they ought not to join the French army.
All in all, Aline urges her people to refuse the influence of the colonizers, to instead return to their own Senegalese roots. She explains that her message is a divine order.
At first her people only partly pay heed to her calling. There is, at the time, a great drought in the region of Casamance and the Djola have understandably more pressing preoccupations.
She is summoned to prove that her voices are divine. "Why not make it rain?" they ask.
At this, Aline suggests incantations along with animal sacrifices.
Following these ceremonies, by some enchantment, and much to the surprise of everyone, water, at last, descends upon the rice fields.
And Aline is proclaimed a true divine servant.
The message spreads beyond the region and her name finds repute. There is more, they say. It is told that she heals, and that by merely touching her, the sick are soon restored to health.
Delegations from all over Senegal, no matter their ethnic group or religion, make pilgrimages to meet her.
They are touched and enlivened by her simple yet bold message: the return to tradition, the return to roots.
I, too, when I read of Aline, I became instantly touched. Whether she was the Joan of Arc they say she was, it matters not. There is in the Djola culture, and its kinship with nature, something that we can all learn from. It is something that, more than ever, should matter to us and that we are in danger of losing. There is, in the return to roots, and to Djola collective consciousness, something that we could be inspired by, if only to better nurture each other and learn to empathize again. And last, there is in Aline, a courage and conviction in the face of a tremendous opponent against whom she never had a chance, that serves as inspiration to all oppressed people.
By her renown and her great influence, it is no surprise that Aline's name reached the French. Here was a woman that could rally the Senegalese against them. Ironic, that at a time when France was itself faced with its own invader, Germany, it remained not only fueled by economic self-interest and a ruthless quest to maintain a hold on its world colonies, but also blind to the plight of those it had invaded.
For the French, it was clear. Aline had to be stopped. No, such a people with a history of independence as those of Casamance could not be silenced. She had to be eliminated, officially "for inciting rebellion and for refusing to submit to the established order."
And so she was.
I was saddened by Aline's treatment by the French. She was arrested on May 8, 1943. I read that colonial prisons did not necessarily cater to women in those days. In 1943, according to the National Archives of Senegal (ANS), the prison population of Senegal was 1,766 and rising. The number of females was sparse, rising to only 29 compared to 3626 male inmates in 1967. Research (Konaté, 2003) argues that 'the female inmate's triple status as woman, convict and African, accounted for the colonial state's indifference and neglect towards that category of prisoners'. Poor Aline. Even twelve years after it became independent, Senegal had no prisons for women. It was only in 1972, that the first women's prison, The Rufisque women prison, was opened.
Aline was perhaps an anomaly in French colonial prisons, but what she will forever be remembered for, is her defiance in the face of oppression, and her resolve to save her people's culture.
This page is an homage to her and her message.
References:
Archives Nationales du Sénégal. 3F/00133. (1942-44). Prison des cercles.
Direction de l'Administration Pénitentiaire (DAP). 1968. Enquête sur la criminalité au Sénégal année 1967. Dakar, Sénégal.
Konate, D. (2003). Ultimate exclusion: Imprisoned women in Sénégal. In F. Bernault (Ed). A history of prison and confinement in Africa (pp. 155 - 164). Porstmouth NH: Heinemann.
Aline Sitoé Diatta, reine rebelle et insoumise de Casamance.
