Conquering the Atlantic Waves

Abstract

the Wolof “Mbëkë Mi” best translated as “headbutt” is also the name given to the perilous journey from Senegal to the Canary Islands by pirogue. The eponymous novel “Mbëkë Mi. Defying the Waves of the Atlantic” by the Senegalese writer Abasse Ndione, was published in 2008. Three years later (2011) the novel was adapted for film by the Senegalese director Moussa Touré: it is called “The pirogue”. For this presentation I won't focus on all the similarities and differences between the novel and its filmic adaptation but will rather emphasize some key points. I will demonstrate that the novel should be considered as a testimony of events that happened in a very concrete environment whereas the film has transformed them to give them a more universal and global meaning. I will stress the sociopolitical and economic contexts of Senegal and Europe in the beginning of the 21st century to develop my thesis. Finally, through close analysis of the film, I will simultaneously uncover the elements, which launched it into popularity amongst European audiences, as well as those, which mark it out as a post-colonial African film.