Central African Republic / All works
Novel
Princesse Mandapu
Not translated into English
Pierre Makombo Bamboté · 1972
Synopsis
In the thirties, in Ouandja, a small town lost seven hundred kilometres from Bangui, Monsieur Boy, chief administrator, holds everyone under his sway. A veteran of the First World War and a descendant of King Bangassou, he rules as a tyrant over those he administers as over his three wives. When the second, Ya, is expecting a child, the trader Mokhta, known as the Arab, promises to marry the child if it is a girl. The little girl is given the name Mandapu, which is also that of the first wife, and becomes the stake of a bargain that is never quite explained.
Context
Published in Paris by Présence africaine, the novel forms, together with Le Lac des sorciers by Faustin-Albert Ipéko-Étomane, which appeared the same year, the foundation of Central African fiction: thanks to these two books, the country's literature left the oral and anonymous tradition for works that were conceived and signed. The action takes place under French colonial administration, in a bush village. The first name given to the child means “the price of the matter”, and the whole story revolves around what this price covers, without ever saying it. The novel exists only in French; no English translation has appeared.
Who it is for
A short novel in French, whose central mystery remains open; it requires accepting not understanding everything.
Prizes and reception
Its author is regarded as the first poet, the first novelist and the first short-story writer of the Central African Republic.
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