Novel
Aawo bi
Not translated into English
Mame Younousse Dieng · 1992
Synopsis
At her hairdresser Fama's, the griotte Penda, arriving late, explains that she has just attended the farewell of Ndeela, whom her husband is sending on pilgrimage to Mecca to reward her patience. Her story unfolds the life of this first wife, once admired for her beauty: a difficult marriage, life with the whole family-in-law, the co-wife she adopts, many children. The novel celebrates the merit of women and the speech of the griottes.
Context
The novel appeared in 1992 in Dakar, from the Institut fondamental d'Afrique noire Cheikh Anta Diop, in seventy-two pages, then in 1999 in the Teere fent series. It opens with a dedication to two first wives and an address to the reader, invited to write in turn in a national language. Its title means "The First Wife"; no published translation in book form, in French or in English, has been found.
Who it is for
To hear the voice of Senegalese women in their own language, through the tale of a griotte.
Prizes and reception
The author is regarded as the first woman novelist in Wolof, a voice that freed women's speech.