Spain's Heart of Darkness: Equatorial Guinea in the Narrative of Donato Ndongo

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Notes

1. See Said's Joseph Conrad as well as the Spanish translation of chapter 8 of that book in Marzo and Roig, 203–221, particularly, 205.

2. Herzog is fascinated by the archetype. See also his Fitzcarraldo.

3. Traditional colonialism ceased in 1958 when Equatorial Guinea became a province of Spain, and in 1964 it gained “autonomous” status with local decisions made in local legislative bodies. It is interesting that this model would later be used for the formation of “autonomous communities” with the post-Franco constitution.

4. See Mengue's article on Ndongo's Los poderes: this critic from Cameroon expresses certain sympathies with the Spanish colonial government, especially in view of what comes immediately after. I glean the historical information on Equatorial Guinea from various sources: Ndongo's España en Guinea and Historia y Tragedia, Liniger-Goumaz's three books, Nerín, and an excellent entry in the on-line encyclopedia, Wikipedia.org.

5. See note12 for brief identifications of these African political figures. “Afro-fascism” is explained in Liniger-Goumaz's book, De la Guinée Equatorial as well as in Small is not always Beautiful: “Fascist regimes [in Europe]...had no spontaneously European feature … ; their logical explanation is rather to be found in the working of industrial societies … In post-colonial Africa, the many different types of crises which have occurred, giving rise to authoritarian or 'emergency' regimes, are also not spontaneously African” (xii).

6. From personal conversation with author.

7. See Fanon's lengthy discussion in The Wretched of the Earth, “Concerning Violence” (35–106).

8. Baldwin said these words in an interview excerpted in a segment of the video version of The Price of the Ticket, a collection of autobiographical essays. He explains how he sees the participation of whites in African-american liberation in an essay from The Price in “Dark Days” (657–66). In the documentary of Baldwin's life, William Styron, a long time friend, relates an incident from memory in which someone asks the Harlem writer, “You don't mean that black people … ” And Baldwin, according to Styron, interrupts and says, “Yes they gonna burn your house down.” At which point the image cuts to Baldwin speaking on his own: “As long as you think you're white, there is no hope for you.” Much has been made of this statement; see David Roediger's provocative book, The Wages of Whiteness (Intro.). But I think the point may also be found in one of the many messages, if not the most important one, of The Fire Next Time whose title is a reference to the biblical Noah: the next flood will not be water but fire, and, Baldwin seems to tell us, if you think you are in power when the fire comes, there is no hope for you, if for anyone.

9. As I write, Ndongo is finishing a novel, El metro, a chapter of which was published in Granta, is based precisely on the plot of “El sueño.”

10. In a personal conversation Ndongo himself referred to what might be thought of in the Spanish critical establishment as the “invention of an Ecuatoguinean national literature” (my trans.). But he has done much to counter this idea, especially when he was the director of the Cultural Center in Malabo 1985–1992.

11. In a hilarious scene in Achebe's Things Fall Apart, there is a similar encounter between African villagers and recently arrived missionaries. The interpreter does not speak the language of the village well and thus utters the word “buttocks” for self, as he tries to “educate” them about salvation: “Your buttocks understand our language” (102).

12. The political figures listed here are:Mobutu Sese Seko, October 14, 1930 – September 7, 1997) was the President of Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo) from 1965 to 1997.Idi Amin Dadá, (May 17, 1928 – August 16, 2003) was an army officer and President of Uganda (1971 to 1979) whose regime was notorious for its brutality.Jean-Bedel Bokassa, Jean-Bedel Bokassa took power of Central Africa in a coup supported by France in 1965. The ambitious and possibly mad Bokassa crowned himself Emperor of the Central African Empire in 1977.General Gnassingbé Eyadéma, formerly Étienne Eyadema (December 26, 1937 – February 5, 2005), was the President of Togo from 1967 until his death. He participated in two successful military coups, in January 1963 and January 1967, and became President on April 14, 1967. He managed to remain in power for the next 38 years.Ahmadou Ahidjo (1924–1989) was the president of the Federal Republic of Cameroon and one of the most influential leaders of the French-speaking African states.Ahmed Sekou Ture 1922–84, African political leader, president (1958–84) of the republic of Guinea. From a poor family, Ture was labor union activist, becoming general secretary of the postal workers' union (1945). Winning the referendum for independence, he led Guinea out of the French Community (1958) becoming Guinea's president and an example to the rest of Africa. A Marxist, he sought aid from the Soviet bloc. In 1978 he abandoned Marxism, led economic liberalization, and reestablished trade with the West. Running unopposed, Ture was reelected in 1982.Mengustu Haile Mariam (born 1937) was the head of state of Ethiopia from 1977 to 1991. This period, during which the country was ruled by a one-party dictatorship, was characterized by systematic, brutal repression of all opposition. Mengistu was one of several soldiers who in 1974 overthrew Emperor Haile Selassie, whose regime had pursued some disastrous policies. The emperor died the following year.Hiséne Abré, former dictator of Chad now living in Senegal.Robert Mugabe is the present leader of Zimbabwe, formerly Rhodesia. While his leadership was based on an ideology and policies of African self-determination, in recent years he has become dictatorial and presently is responsible for the dislocation of thousands of his own countryman, mainly black.Daniel Arap Moi (born September 2, 1924) was the President of Kenya from 1978 until 2002.Paul Kagame (born October 23, 1957) is the president of Rwanda, and was a founder of the Rwandese Patriotic Front and its military commander during the Rwandan Civil War and Rwandan Genocide.