Contes nsundi et ma grand-mère par Lukaya Zu

Abstract

Reviewed by: Contes nsundi et ma grand-mère par Lukaya Zu Araceli Hernández-Laroche Zu, Lukaya. Contes nsundi et ma grand-mère. L'Harmattan, 2020. ISBN 978-2-343-19936-8. Pp. 176. Bad mothers, monsters, and greedy hyenas are some of the eclectic array of characters populating the tales situated in the memory of the storyteller who attributes these rich oral traditions to his grandmother, Mâ Koundi. Prefacing these tales as the souvenirs from his mental voyage to his childhood village, Mindouli, located "sur le chemin de fer à cent cinquante kilomètres de la capitale de la République du Congo" (7), the narrator transports us to another temporality where legends and the fantastic intertwine. After all, part of the narrator's initiation into becoming a man, "un Muntu," relates to his appreciation that through his grandmother's storytelling he inherited "du riche patrimoine oral des peuples kongo-nsundi de Mpangala" (8). Recognizing that his childhood signals a particular moment in time, he admits that television or "une salle de cinéma dans le village" (8) lacked a formative role in his upbringing. Rather, his grandmother's stories memorably weave into a tapestry of genres "qu'elle empruntait au conte, à la légende, à la devinette, au proverbe et au chant" and that contributed to his education and "construction intérieure" (8). Generosity, respecting social contracts, patience, and courage are some of the virtues embodied by humans, vegetation, or creatures from the animal or supernatural world in Contes nsundi de ma grand-mère. Devils harass vulnerable wives and prove their unsuitability as good neighbors, chameleons outsmart trickster monkeys, hyenas fall prey to their gourmandise, and evil husbands have an inescapable rendez-vous with past sins. Two of the threads linking the tales of various lengths relates to the presence of animals and the powerful (such as rulers, kings, or princes) as well as the exhibition of human emotions and behaviors that are less than glorious such as vengeance, cupidity, vanity, jealousy, betrayal, and rejection of those different. Notwithstanding, the tales engage with a spiritual dimension that captivates. Some characters represent sorcerers, demons, or spirits who make appearances in support of heroes and heroines. At times, these supernatural creatures and forces seek to crush. Take for instance the presence of monsters such as Mundumango, the plants that behave like animals (such as the baobab in "L'enfant et la dent de la panthère"), or that take on human qualities (the stump in "Kanikina et le lion"), or even the stones who possess magical powers ("Mundangano le mangeur d'hommes"). Targeting both children and adults, Les contes nsundi are a fast, plunging read into a world that marries the real and the fantastic. Yet, one of its charms is that its perceived accessibility may be a ruse. Further complicating first impressions, are we as readers subtly invited to ponder and examine the artistic repertoire of our own "construction intérieure" (8)? What stories and folktales populate our imaginary that contributed to the shaping and formation of our own ethics, philosophy, and creative contours? Perhaps one of the most visible legacies in Lukaya Zu's tales is the enrichment of our geographical, cultural, and [End Page 250] imaginative repertoire, rooted in more languages, dialects, traditions, wisdom, perspectives, and origins. Araceli Hernández-Laroche University of South Carolina Upstate Copyright © 2021 American Association of Teachers of French