External links
- "Julien Alapini (1906–1970)" (Les Hussards noirs des savoirs)
Julien Alapini | |
|---|---|
| Personal details | |
| Born | August 28, 1906 |
| Died | February 26, 1970 (aged 63) |
| Nationality | Beninese |
| Occupation | Teacher, writer, playwright, ethnographer, politician |
Julien Alapini (born August 28, 1906, in Abomey-Calavi; died February 26, 1970) was a teacher, writer, playwright, ethnographer, and politician from French Dahomey (now the Republic of Benin).
Julien Alapini attended primary school in Ouidah and then the École normale William-Ponty in Gorée (Senegal) from 1926 to 1929. [1]
After graduating, he was appointed a teacher and later a school principal in several locations: Porto-Novo, Kouandé, Djougou, Savalou, Cotonou, Allada, Abomey, Covè, Parakou, Kouti, and Tori-Gare. [2]
In parallel, he conducted ethnographic and linguistic research on Dahomey, approaching it as a Christian and admirer of French culture. Through two essays, Les noix sacrées. Étude complète de Fa-Ahidégoun, génie de la sagesse et de la divination au Dahomey (1950) and Les Initiés (1953), he aimed to continue the work of colonial ethnologists: to better understand the colonized to better govern them. As a devout Catholic, he denounced superstitions and fetishism, particularly the methods of divination such as the consultation of Fa. [2]
Like other Dahomean authors, such as Maximilien Quénum, his work shows an "interpenetration of ethnology and literature." He studied entertainment, oral literature, songs, proverbs, and riddles [2] and produced his own tales and plays. [1]
In 1960, he was appointed Inspector of Education, then Minister of Education of Dahomey from 1962 to 1964. [1] Retired in 1967, he died on February 26, 1970. [2]
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