War and nation in Angola: Reading Mayombe from the perspective of memory studies

Abstract

Abstract War is recognized as an important element in the process of consolidation of national identities, as well as in the shaping of collective memory. Also, certain literary narratives of war are considered fundamental in the symbolic process leading to the formation and consolidation of national identities. A founding status has been attributed to Pepetela, a well-known Angolan writer, winner of several major international awards. His novel Mayombe, written in 1971 and published after independence, in 1980, is a literary account of the confrontations between Portuguese soldiers and the guerrillas of the anti-colonial People’s Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA – Movimento Popular de Libertaçao de Angola) in northern Angola. The present paper will focus on the myth of the nation’s origins proposed in this novel. It is suggested that Mayombe portrays just one of the possible perspectives on anti-colonial war and on the origins of the Angolan nation, namely a perspective moulded after a socialist imagery, and shaped by a teleological view of history. I will argue that this vision influences the handling of such important issues as individual freedom, the co-existence of diverse forms of collective identity, and the use of violence, leading to a bias in collective memory.