The History of the N'Ko Alphabet and Its Role in Mande Transnational Identity

by Oyler, Dianne White

• ISBN13: 9780965330879
• ISBN10: 0965330877
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2006-08-30
• Publisher: Africana Homestead Legacy Pub

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	xi
Foreword by Arnold Odio	xiii
Chapter 1 Introduction	1	(20)
Issues surrounding decolonization	3	(1)
The sources	4	(3)
Oral history	7	(1)
Literacy as an extension of language	8	(3)
Literacy in the colonies	11	(2)
Social uses of literacy in Guinea's First Republic	13	(1)
Social liberation through N'ko literacy	14	(1)
Literacy campaigns	15	(2)
Notes	17	(4)
Chapter 2 The Mande world	21	(38)
Mande languages and their locations	21	(4)
The Mande heroic and historic past	25	(2)
Mande culture	27	(2)
Mande identity	29	(2)
Historical construction of Mande identity	31	(16)
The pre-Colonial era	31	(5)
The Colonial era	36	(5)
The First Republic	41	(5)
The governments of Lansana Conte	46	(1)
Conclusion	47	(1)
Notes	48	(11)
Chapter 3 Historic Kankan—A regional history	59	(26)
The pre-Samori period, 1775-1870	59	(5)
The Samori period, 1870-1890	64	(2)
French colonial rule, 1890-1922	66	(8)
The sociopolitical context, 1922-1946	74	(2)
Conclusion	76	(2)
Notes	78	(7)
Chapter 4 A cultural revolution through N'ko literacy — The period of Mande enlightment	85	(32)
N'ko's creation	87	(2)
Kante's motivations	89	(3)
Kante's translations and creative works	92	(4)
N'ko's early dissemination	96	(3)
The reaction to N'ko	99	(1)
Formal dissemination 1959-1986	100	(2)
N'kos formal dissemination, 1986 to present	102	(5)
Notes	107	(10)
Chapter 5 Cultural nationalism in the Mande diaspora — N'ko's international dimension	117	(26)
Dissemination of N'ko as a transnational process	117	(1)
N'ko during the Mande diaspora	118	(7)
N'ko in West Africa	125	(2)
Souleymane Kante's literacy campaign as a Pan African movement	127	(1)
Souleymane Kante's Pan Africanism as a cultural and political movement	127	(8)
Kante as a Pan Africanist	135	(2)
Notes	137	(6)
Chapter 6 Conclusion	143	(8)
A personal choice	148	(2)
Notes	150	(1)
Appendixes	151	(48)
Appendix A. Mande languages	152	(1)
Appendix B. Informant relationships to Souleymane Kante	153	(2)
Appendix C. Samples of documents written in N'ko	155	(18)
Appendix D. Oral tradition of Souleymane Kante, English translation	173	(5)
Appendix E. N'ko literacy survey of Kankan, 1994	178	(1)
Appendix F. N'ko literacy survey of Kankan, 2000	179	(4)
Appendix G. Books published in N'ko	183	(16)
Bibliography	199	(16)
Index	215