Author: Cusack, Igor

Source: Portuguese Studies, Volume 25, Number 2, 15 September 2009 , pp. 169-181(13)

Publisher: Modern Humanities Research Association

Abstract:

Pepetela's novel Lueji consists of two interweaving stories: firstly, how Queen Lueji founded an empire in Lunda some 400 years ago and secondly how a ballerina, Lu, recreates the tale of Lueji on the stage in modern-day Luanda. This paper explores how Pepetela, building on various nineteenth- and twentieth-century accounts of oral renditions of the myth of Lueji, attempts to recreate in the novel that element of performance that is so characteristic of orature. By linking the past and the present Pepetela builds a unifying tale of the origin for the new Angolan nation and, assisted by the shared experience of performance, helps mobilize a sense of Angolan national identity.

Portuguese
O romance Lueji de Pepetela consiste em duas histórias que se entrecruzam: primeiro, como a rainha Lueji fundou um império em Lunda há 400 anos atrás; segundo, como a bailarina Lu recria a história de Lueji para o palco em Luanda, nos dias de hoje. Este ensaio investiga como Pepetela, a partir de vários relatos oitocentistas e novecentistas de versões orais do mito de Lueji, tenta recriar neste romance o elemento de performance tão característico da literatura oral. Ao ligar passado e presente, Pepetela constrói uma história unificadora das origens da nova nação angolana e, auxiliado pela experiência partilhada da performance, consegue mobilizar um sentido de identidade nacional angolana.

Keywords: Pepetela; Lueji; Angola; orature; performance; national identity; Pepetela; Lueji; Angola; oratura; apresentação; identidade nacional

Document Type: Research article

Affiliations: 1: University of Birmingham

Publication date: 2009-09-15

More about this publication?

• The only English-language journal devoted to the literature, culture, and history of Portugal, Brazil, and the Portuguese-speaking countries of Africa. Launched in 1985, it received the 'Best New Journal Award' of the Conference of Editors of Learned Journals in 1987. It publishes articles, translations, previously unpublished historical and literary texts, bibliographical information, and a survey of research and reviews.

Related content

• In this: publication
• By this: publisher
• In this Subject: Social Science (General)
• By this author: Cusack, Igor

Website © Publishing Technology. Article copyright remains with the publisher, society or author(s) as specified within the article.

• Terms and conditions
• Privacy policy
• Information for advertisers