CAPE VERDE: ART AND LITERATURE

The two most popular means of art in Cape Verde are pottery and weaving. As far as pottery goes, the most important pottery pieces that are created are large water containers (called potes), vases, and other sculptures.  Tapestries colored in white, indigo, and black are also very popular items. Indigo dyed clothes used for clothing are commonly made and used in Cape Verde. 

However, painting arts are also very popular as well. Some of the more well-known painters are Manuel Figueira, Barros-Gizzi, and Maria-Luiza Queirós.  

 

by Manuel Figueira

Some of their arts were introduced by the Portuguese, like crocheted blankets.  Yet, other styles were influenced by the African mainland, such as woodworking, embroidery, and woven baskets.

Of all the Portuguese-speaking African countries, the literature of Cape Verde is one of the strongest traditions.  Generally speaking, writers fall into either two categories: poetry and novels. And of course, many writers do both. And with that being said, many writers publish works in both Portuguese and in Crioulo (or Cape Verdean).

 

Now THAT'S a mustache! (In Portuguese: Eugénio Tavares: The great interpreter of the wonderful Cape Verdean spirit / Poet, writer, composer, journalist, 1867-1930)

Eugénio Tavares is perhaps one of the most well-known poets of Cape Verde. Many of his poems are closely tied to the musical form most associated with Cape Verde, morna. 

Another author and poet is Baltasar Lopes da Silva, whose 1947 novel Chiquinho is considered by many to be the greatest Cape Verdean novel. (He often wrote under the pseudonym Osvaldo Alcântara.)  Before this, he gathered together with other Cape Verdean writers and created Claridade, a journal publishing essays, short stories, and poetry about problems in their society and their view of the reality that faced them at that time.

 

Manuel Lopes was another author that worked with da Silva on Claridade.  One of his works, Os Flagelados do Vento Leste, was made into a movie in 1987. 

Orlanda Amarílis is one of the more prominent women writers of Cape Verde. She tends to write about topics relating to the lives of Cape Verdean women as well as the Cape Verdeans who live abroad for one reason or another, as she has for many years throughout her life. Literary arts are something that runs in her family. She’s related to Baltasar Lopes da Silva, and her father was one of the people who worked to compile the first Cape Verdean Creole dictionary.

Up next:  music and dance 

CAMEROON: ART AND LITERATURE

Cameroonian art is identified by its tremendous expressionism in almost all aspects of their arts. The most popular of the traditional arts regions tend to come out of the Cameroonian Grasslands. Creating indigo-dyed clothes were an art form designated to the elite. These cloths were covered in various designs that carried certain meanings. They utilized local symbolism on masks and other everyday items as well. 

One art form that is prevalent in Cameroon is the tapestry crochet. This is a way of taking yarn or felt and weaving them into bags, hats, sweaters, blankets, etc. It’s actually becoming a popular art in the US; I know several people who crochet and knit (not me, I have too many hobbies as it is.)

Other art forms found in Cameroon would be woodworking, clay sculptures, and stone work. Most of these kinds of arts can be found as home wares (tables, chairs, etc), commercially sold art, and for religious purposes.

Of course, painting has also been important to the art scene, and many of the techniques were introduced and taught by the French. I came across the paintings of Angu Walters, an artist from the city of Bamenda.  I really like his artwork; it’s very striking with its bright colors and geometric shapes and quasi-symmetry. In fact, at first glance, even amateur art appreciation students like myself sees his work as an African Picasso.  My favorite by far is one called “The Drummer and the Flutist.”

I had mentioned in an earlier post that a Bamum sultan had created and developed their own alphabet toward the end of the 1800s that they used to write down local customs and laws. Soon afterwards, the Germans came into the country, and although German may not be spoken much today in Cameroon, they did leave their lasting impression on its literature. Many of the first books were written in German as well as local languages, although Jean-Louis Njemba Medou is often credited with writing the first novel in 1932.  The works that were written before this were based in politics and law.

After the country was divided between the French and the British, the national languages obvious changed with this as well.  The first works written in French started to come out in the 1920s and 1930s, most notably with a set of short stories written by Isaac Moumé Etia. And some writers like Louis Pouka Mbague had a very amorous relationship with its colonizing country, France.

There was a second generation that emerged, whose main focus centered mostly around the lack of socio-economic progress (especially right after independence) and condemning the war-ridden changes in power-hungry regimes that plague much of Africa. Among the leaders of this movement were Mongo Beti and Ferdinand Oyono and others. Many women made their name in Cameroonian literature as playwrights, novelists, and poets. Among the more familiar names are Thérèse Kuoh Moukouri, Rabiatou Njoya, Brigitte Tsobgny, Léonora Miano, and Calixthe Beyala.

Up next: music and dance