OF THE 19TH CENTURY:
SAMORY TURE
Foe or hero,
the colonialist and nationalist stories
are essentially the same
 |
| "Capture of Samory by lieutenant Jacquin" |
Internet (no source given)
• The nationalist view
is exclusively about opposing the French
° A classic pop tune:
"Flee, flee, Samori, the Whites are coming, they have sworn to kill you."
-- By Alpha Blondy, 1984
° Yet the Senufo of Djimini recall him with terror
° When his son and chosen successor returns
from a visit to France
and tells him that resistance is hopeless,
Samory lets him die of starvation.
• The real Samory:
Cruelty, courage, sadness and dignity,
a figure to see
in the context of his time
Prisoner of the French (in 1898)
Viewing past through modern values
may be satisfying.
But enlightening?
* * *
Nationalist history's usefulness in practice
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