Summary
Highlights
The WayWORD festival, supported by Creative Scotland and the University of Aberdeen, welcomes Leila Aboulela. Professor Nadya Kiwan introduces Leila, an acclaimed Aberdeen-based author, and details her background, including her birth in Cairo, upbringing in Khartoum, education, and extensive literary career. The event will focus on decolonizing the imagination, freeing reading and writing from the legacy of empire through a presentation and Q&A.
Leila shares her personal connection to Omdurman, Sudan, her father's birthplace, describing it as an 'authentic' cultural and historical center, in contrast to the cosmopolitan Khartoum. She then discusses finding an 'Omdurman Road' in Southampton, England, which refers to the Battle of Omdurman in 1898, where Britain conquered Sudan. She highlights the vast discrepancy in casualties between British and Sudanese forces, emphasizing the brutal reality of the British conquest due to superior weaponry.
Leila shares the account of Babiker, a Sudanese man who fought in the battle as a youth and later became a pioneer in women's education in Sudan. Babiker's memoirs reveal the terror and fear experienced by Sudanese fighters. She also notes that in Sudan, the battle is known as the Battle of Karari, named after the plain where it took place, to preserve the sanctity of Omdurman as a beloved city. Leila also touches upon the complex reasons behind some Sudanese supporting the British conquest, acknowledging the nuanced historical context.
Nadya asks Leila about her current project, a historical novel set 20 years before the British conquest of Sudan. Leila explains that the novel will explore the complex reasons and nuances leading up to the invasion. She hopes it might become a trilogy, delving into the links between Scotland and Sudan, noting the significant number of Scottish officers and administrators involved in colonial Sudan.
Leila introduces Franz Fanon's 'Black Skin, White Mask', published in the 1950s. She outlines Fanon's background as a Martinique-born psychiatrist who became politicized against colonialism after experiencing racism during World War II. Fanon's work uses psychoanalysis to examine the psychological impact of racism and colonialism on the self-perception of black individuals, arguing that colonial systems create a 'psychic wound' by imposing an 'existential deviation' and an inferiority complex on the colonized.
Fanon's theory suggests that colonized people internalize metropolitan culture, rejecting their own 'blackness' or 'bush' in a quest to become 'whiter'. This results in self-hatred and shame for their own culture. Leila recounts her own experience reading Fanon at 18, finding his diagnosis of the 'black man wants to be white' shocking but ultimately instilling a profound self-awareness. She highlights how this pressure to prove oneself, often still present in immigrant communities, stems from a perceived accusation of being 'less'.
Leila introduces Tayeb Salih's novel 'Season of Migration to the North', a fictional work from the 1960s. Salih, a Sudanese writer, tells the story of Mustafa Sa'eed, a mysterious figure who returns to a Sudanese village after studying in London. Mustafa, celebrated and patronized by British colonizers in the 1920s, enacts a form of revenge by engaging in destructive relationships, leaving behind a trail of suicides and murder. The novel offers a nuanced take on the impact of colonialism, showcasing both the brilliance of the colonized individual and the destructive potential of his experiences.
Mustafa Sa'eed is presented as an avenger, inflicting on Europe the degradation it imposed on his people, seeing himself as an 'invader' bringing 'poison' back to the colonizer. The novel also features a Fanon-esque awareness, with the narrator contrasting the material poverty but spiritual richness of his village with the colonial worldview. Salih's work emphasizes the importance of overcoming the 'guilt and gratitude' associated with colonialism to achieve true liberation and healing from the 'psychic wound' of empire.
Leila then discusses Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o's 'Decolonising the Mind', published in the 1980s. Ngũgĩ is credited with popularizing the term 'decolonizing' beyond political independence, applying it to the mind and the politics of language. Growing up in a British settler colony (Kenya) and living through the Mau Mau war, Ngũgĩ has been a vocal critic of inequalities and injustices. He argues that art can heal the trauma of colonialism, and famously decided to stop writing in English to write in his mother tongue, Gikuyu, as an act of anti-imperialist struggle.
Ngũgĩ emphasizes how African languages were suppressed and replaced by the colonizer's language, creating a disconnect between home and school for children. He views colonialism as the deliberate undervaluing of native cultures and the conscious elevation of the colonizer's language and culture. Ngũgĩ champions the use of African languages in literature, positing that true African literature can only be written in African languages. He encourages new writers to explore the richness of African oral traditions and raises the intriguing idea that the reception of art is integral to the creative process itself.
The final book discussed is Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi's 'The First Woman', published in 2020. Makumbi, a Ugandan author, follows Ngũgĩ's lead by drawing from oral traditions and inviting readers to see the world through the lens of Ugandan women. Her novel, set in the 1970s, explores a distinct African feminism rooted in the belief that women are 'creatures of the sea' and men 'creatures of the land', explaining historical oppression as women being seen as migrants on land. The book also showcases how colonialism and Christianity altered local customs, but Makumbi presents this not as a clash but as an exploration of moving forward while retaining tradition.
Makumbi's writing is praised for imprinting Ganda verbal arts onto the English language, creating a hybrid that incorporates sounds, rhythms, textures, and specific words from her mother tongue. Leila quotes passages illustrating this linguistic blend and a character's internal struggle to reconcile Ugandan and English modes of understanding time. The novel also highlights the impact of Christianity on traditional practices, such as polygamy being a source of community rather than conflict. Makumbi's narrative distinguishes between European wealth (gadgets, cars, English) and Ganda wealth, symbolizing a return to traditional values, similar to Tayeb Salih's perspectives.
Leila discusses her own use of Arabic words in her novels, aiming to include and engage Arabic-speaking readers without necessarily needing a glossary. She believes readers can often infer meaning or look up terms easily, fostering a collaborative experience between writer and reader. She sees it as a move away from solely catering to a Western audience, making her work more inclusive.
Questions from the audience cover various topics. Leila will speak about the controversial statue of Gordon of Khartoum at an upcoming symposium, as he is a character in her novel. For aspiring writers with colonial heritage, she advises extensive reading, traveling if possible, and listening to grandparents' stories. Regarding her future historical novels, she is still contemplating whether to continue in the same Sudanese time period or explore new topics. She also addresses the reception of the featured authors: Fanon, Salih, and Ngũgĩ are highly acclaimed globally, and Makumbi is gaining significant popularity in Uganda, the UK, and the US.
Leila explains that the 'decolonized voice' in the presented works comes from African authors resisting and pushing back against colonial influences, asserting their own positions against European colonizers. She clarifies that 'language being systematic' refers to how the language of instruction can subtly influence perception; for example, learning physics in English might lead a child to believe English is inherently the language of science, affecting their view of different scientific traditions.
Responding to a question about collaborative art and the relationship between 'fan' and creator, Leila dismisses the idea that this relationship is inherently problematic in all cases. She believes the four authors discussed are more focused on influencing and touching people's hearts and minds, rather than merely gaining followers or sales, aligning with Ngũgĩ's concept of decolonizing the mind.
Nadya thanks Leila for the masterclass and mentions that the discussed books are available at the university bookshop. She also expresses gratitude to the WayWORD festival team, media services, and technical staff. A reminder is given about an upcoming symposium next month where Leila will speak further, and attendees are encouraged to follow WayWORD on social media.