Aminata Sow Fall | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | April 27, 1941 Saint-Louis, Senegal |
| Language | Wolof, French |
| Nationality | Senegalese |
| Genre | Novel; short story |
| Children | 7 |
Aminata Sow Fall (born April 27, 1941) is a Senegalese-born author. While her native language is Wolof, her books are written in French. She is considered "the first published woman novelist from francophone Black Africa". [1]
She was born in Saint-Louis, Senegal, [2] where she grew up before moving to Dakar to finish her secondary schooling. [3] After this, she earned a degree in Modern Languages at the Sorbonne [4] in Paris, France and became a teacher upon returning to Senegal. [5] She was a member of the Commission for Educational Reform responsible for the introduction of African literature into the French syllabus in Senegal, before becoming director of La Propriété littéraire (The Literary Property) in Dakar (1979–88). [5] She was the Director of the Literature Section of the Ministry of Culture and also became the Director of the Centre d'Etudes des Civilations, a center that researches Senegal's culture and oral literature. Her works are often concerned with social issues, such as poverty and corruption, and with her experience in both Paris and Senegal, she explores the many of traditions and cultures within both of these societies.
She was appointed the first woman president of Senegal's Writer's Association in 1985. Two years later, in 1987, she founded the 'Centre Africain d'Animation et d'Echanges Culturels', an organisation that promotes young writers through literature festivals, seminars, and competitions, publishing them in the affiliated publishing house Éditions Khoudia, which she founded in 1990. She is a member of the Ordre de Mérite. Senegal's Directorate of Books and Reading named their 'Aminata Sow Fall Prize for Creativity' after her, a manuscript prize which they set up in conjunction with the International Book Fair to support young literary creators. She played the part of Aunt Oumy in Djibril Diop Mambéty's classic 1973 road movie Touki Bouki. [6]
Growing up in an education system designed and run by the French, Sow Fall was only exposed to a few names from African literature growing up, since this was a system which prioritised Western names and titles. With this experience of living and being educated in both non-Western Senegal and Western France, Sow Fall separated herself from other African writers, who, she expresses, often feel that they must situate themselves in relation to the West. She feels that African litebenefitre would gain from a sense of self-discovery throuh writing, a common experience for Western authors, and from leaving behind the self-consciousness with which she feels many African authors have historically carried into their literature.
Her books include:
The film Battu (2000) by director Cheick Oumar Sissoko is based on her novel La Grève des bàttu.
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Mariama Bâ was a Senegalese author and feminist, whose two French-language novels were both translated into more than a dozen languages. Born in Dakar, she was raised a Muslim.
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Nafissatou Niang Diallo was a Senegalese writer who wrote in French. After studying in Toulouse, France, she began writing. She was active in social services both as a midwife and as director of a maternal and child health centre, and describes in her writing both traditional and modern aspects of Senegalese society. Her autobiography De Tilène au Plateau, a Dakar childhood, published in 1975, was among the first works of literature to be published by a Senegalese woman, after which she published three novels before her early death at the age of 41.
Fama Diagne Sène is a Senegalese writer. Educated in Thiès, she became a teacher there. Ken Bugul listed her among "illustrious women" in Senegalese literature. In 1997, she won the presidential award for art and literature with Chant des ténèbres. Born to a Serer family, Fama's controversial play Mbilem ou le baobab du lion denounces Serer tradition and received great criticism from the Serer traditionalists of Senegal. The Mbilim is a religious festival in the Serer calendar, celebrated once a year and is equivalent to the new year. In pre-colonial times, right until recently, some Serer griots were buried in the trunks of a baobab tree rather than buried in a pyramid tomb with all the regalia dictated by Serer religion. Tomb burial and mummification were always given to the Serer nobility, but some Serer griots were not buried this way. In this play, she criticises this tradition and came head on with the Serer priestly class.
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Fatou Ndiaye Sow was a Senegalese poet, teacher and children's writer. Many of her books were about children's rights and were published with the support of UNICEF and the Senegalese government. In 1989, she participated in the 5th PEN International Congress.
Werewere Liking is a writer, playwright and performer based in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire. She established the Ki-Yi Mbock theatre troupe in 1980 and founded the Ki-Yi village in 1985 for the artistic education of young people.
The Grand prix littéraire d'Afrique noire is a literary prize presented every year by the ADELF, the Association of French Language Writers for a French original text from Sub-Saharan Africa. It was originally endowed with 2,000 french francs.
Pyabelo Chaold Kouly is a Togolese author.
Women in Senegal have a traditional social status as shaped by local custom and religion. According to 2005 survey, the female genital mutilation prevalence rate stands at 28% of all women in Senegal aged between 15 and 49.
The Serer religion, or a ƭat Roog, is the original religious beliefs, practices, and teachings of the Serer people of Senegal in West Africa. The Serer religion believes in a universal supreme deity called Roog. In the Cangin languages, Roog is referred to as Koox, Kopé Tiatie Cac, and Kokh Kox.
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The Njuup tradition is a Serer style of music rooted in the Ndut initiation rite, which is a rite of passage that young Serers must go through once in their lifetime as commanded in the Serer religion.
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Ada Uzoamaka Azodo is a literary scholar. She is Associate Faculty in the Humanities, and Adjunct Professor of African, African American and African Diaspora Studies at Indiana University Northwest.
aminata sow fall.
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