Paper short abstract:

Pepetela is considered a constructor of the Angolan nation. A close look into his ethnohistorical accounts of Angola’s history shows that the symbolic boundaries of the nation are drawn in a way that excludes ethnical groups. This antagonism towards ethnicity has political as well as ideological motivations.

Paper long abstract:

In Angola, the argument on the right of nations to self-determination constituted a central element in nationalist discourse, legitimizing armed action against the colonial regime. As in other African countries, this argument concealed a reality that was painful to nationalists - the persistence in Angola of other forms of collective identity, either called ethnical or tribal, some of which had political expression in secessionist movements.

The discussion on the role of ethnicity in the Angolan nation took place in several arenas, one of which was literature. The theme assumes a relevant place in the novels written in the 70's and the 80's by Pepetela, a highly prized, much published Angolan author, especially in Mayombe (1971) and Yaka (1982).

My argument is that in these fictional accounts of Angola's history, which can be called ethnohistorical, the symbolic boundaries of the nation are drawn, excluding ethnical identities. I claim that this antagonism towards ethnicity can be understood by considering a particular political and ideological context. I propose to underline the way the MPLA's nationalist project for Angola is fused with utopian elements, namely a utopia modelled after a Marxist-leninist vision. This fusion produces a nationalist project characterized by a belief in modernity, which combines with a teleological assumption according to which the nation is the place where an idealized society comes into existence. From the belief in historical necessity comes incapacity to discuss and accept alternative visions, symbolically excluding from the nation the groups that carry such visions.