Mayombe de Pepetela: summary, characters and analysis

mayombe it is a novel by Angolan writer Pepetela which was published in 1980.

The work is named after a region in West Africa that includes the following countries:

• Angola (province of Cabinda)
• Congo Republic
• Democratic Republic of Congo
• Gabon

Structure of the Work

Mayombe consists of six chapters:

• The mission
• The base
• undine
• The Surucucu
• the mulberry tree
• Epilogue

Characters

The characters that are part of the work are:

• Theory: teacher at the base belonging to the MPLA. He is the son of a Portuguese and an African.
• Commissioner: one of the MPLA's political leaders named João.
• Head of Operations: one of the leaders of the MPLA.
• Without fear: the commander of the MPLA.
• we fight: MPLA guerrilla.
• Truth: MPLA guerrilla.
• Muatianvua: MPLA guerrilla.
• Ekuikui: MPLA guerrilla.
• Pangu-A-Kitina: MPLA guerrilla.
• Miracle: MPLA guerrilla.
• Tuga's ingratitude: MPLA guerrilla.
• Vewe: MPLA guerrilla.
• New world: MPLA guerrilla.
• Andrew: cousin of the commander, responsible for sending food to the base.
• undine: teacher and commissioner's fiancée.

Summary by Chapter

The story of the book is set in Angola in the 70s, a period that marks the struggles for the country's independence.

At the first chapter entitled "The mission”, the guerrillas in the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) arrive in the Mayombe jungle.

The main purpose was to fight the explorers, who were taking wood from the region, and to prepare an ambush to attack the colonial army.

At that point, they kidnapped some of the workers. The intention was not to hurt them as they were African too.

Thus, the commander explained to them about the exploitation of their lands and the benefit that the Portuguese or colonizers received. The next day, everyone was released.

In the ambush prepared by the guerrillas, some opponents were killed. However, they left earlier, given the number of people who were in the colonizers' army.

O second chapter, entitled "The base”, refers to the MPLA guerrilla base that was built in the Mayombe forest. Eight new guerrillas arrive at the scene.

At this point in the work, we began to notice some divergences between the Commissioner's and the Commander's ideas. This left some guerrillas concerned about the focus of the operation. Finally, they got along.

The lack of food was one of the moments narrated by the author. André, the commander's cousin, was in charge of bringing food to the base.

Unconcerned with the situation of the guerrillas, André ended up taking supplies for a few days. This fact made the Commander uncomfortable.

O third chapter receives the name of the Commissioner's bride: "undine". Their relationship was complicated. She was a teacher and taught in the town of Dolisie. Both pretended to have sexual attraction and pleasure for each other.

The base of the guerrillas suffered from the lack of supplies of supplies. And, of course, the arguments and disagreements between the chiefs and the guerrillas increased more and more.

With that, the idea of ​​removing André from his position was the most important. For this, André was caught with Ondina, the Commissioner's fiancée.

She left a letter to her ex-fiancé telling her that she would leave the town of Dolisie. For most of the chapter, the Commissar reveals his love stories and his relationship with Ondine.

Interestingly, when the Commissar goes to meet Odina, they are attracted and make love in a way unlike any other. He tells her that it's not necessary to leave town because of this.

For the dishonorable act and for belonging to two different tribes (Kikongo and Kimbundo), the Commissar sent André to Brazaville to stand trial. It is worth remembering that in this chapter one of the guerrillas (Ungrateful) runs away from the base.

At the fourth chapter, entitled "The Surucucu", the alleged attack of the tugas on the guerrilla base and the planning of the counter-attack is revealed.

For much of the chapter they focus on MPLA preparation and strategies. Two groups split, with the Commander leading one group across the river and the Chief of Operations through the mountains.

However, when they meet with Theory, he reveals that no attack had taken place. He explained that he was near the river and saw a surucucu snake.

At that, he shot her. Vewê, one of the companions who had heard the shot, was desperate and soon ran to ask for help.

At the fifth chapter, "the mulberry tree", Mundo Novo was named chief in Dolisie. Commander Fearless received word that he would be transferred east. The Commissar was in charge of leading the attack on the Tugas in Pau Caído.

The group of guerrillas was heading towards Pau Caído. They slept close to the site, which would be attacked in the morning. Most of the attack went as expected, so they managed to hit a large part of the settlers' base.

However, Lutamos, from the Cabinda tribe, was killed and two guerrillas were wounded. Later, Fearless was shot in the belly and ended up dying too.

The name "the mulberry tree" refers to one of Fearless's thoughts before he died, who compared his unique trunk to men. Finally, the Commissar ordered a grave dig for the two dead right there.

In addition, he was keen to point out that two men from different tribes (Cabinda and Kikongo) were killed to save him. He who was from another tribe: Kimbundo.

At the "Epilogue" of the work, the Commissar reflects on the death of Commander Fearless. Finally, he is sent east in the Commander's place.

Work Analysis

The novel Mayombe is close to a documentary or reporting text. This is because Pepetela introduces us to the struggles between Angolan guerrillas and Portuguese troops during the country's liberation.

The author of the book emphasizes the difficulty of the guerrillas, emphasizing the differences and rivalries between tribes. Often, this problem generates the lack of an ideal among everyone.

Therefore, Pepetela makes it clear that rivalries must be put aside. Because the feelings, the anxieties, the fears belong to everyone.

Through daily life at the MPLA, Pepetela recreates in an innovative way the conflicts and moments of reflection of all who fought for a free country.

In such a way, the conflict here is not only with the Portuguese, but between them. Freedom is everyone's focus, however, reality is marked by the social and cultural differences of each group.

Thus, he addresses an Angola that seeks liberation, while demonstrating the lack of unity among its groups.

The work features an omniscient and omnipresent narrator, who narrates events in the third person. However, in some passages, it is narrated in the first person by the movement's guerrillas.

Thus, the novel is marked by polyphony, that is, the different voices of its characters. The narrative time is chronological, where the actions present a linearity.

Excerpts from the Work

To know the language used by the author in his work, check out some excerpts below:

Chapter I: The Mission

"I, The Narrator, am Theory.

I was born in Gabela, in the land of coffee. From the earth I received the dark color of coffee, coming from my mother, mixed with the dead white of my father, a Portuguese merchant. I carry the irreconcilable within me and this is my engine. In a Universe of yes or no, white or black, I represent the maybe. Maybe it's no, for those who want to hear yes and it means yes for those who expect to hear no. Is it my fault if men demand purity and refuse combinations? Am I supposed to become yes or no? Or is it men who must accept the maybe? Faced with this major problem, people are divided in my eyes into two groups: the Manicheans and the others. It is good to clarify that the others are rare, the world is generally Manichean."

Chapter II: The Base

"Mayombe had accepted the blows of the axes, which opened a clearing in it. Invisible clearing from above, from the planes that scanned the forest, trying to locate the presence of the guerrillas in it. The houses had been erected in that clearing, and the trees had happily formed a canopy of branches and leaves to cover them. Sticks served for the walls. The grass on the roof was transported from afar, from near Lombe. A mound was excavated laterally and became an oven for bread. The dead sticks in the walls took root and clung to the earth, and the huts became fortresses. And the men, dressed in green, became green like leaves and brown like colossal trunks. The foliage of the vault did not allow the sun to penetrate and the grass did not grow below, on the clean terrace that connected the houses. It connected, no: separated with yellow, because the connection was made by green."

Chapter III: Ondine

"- Love is like that. If it becomes equal, passion disappears. It is necessary to rekindle the passion constantly. I didn't know it yet, I let myself be convinced by the life without stories we were leading. Do you see the life of an office worker in Luanda? Okay, there was the clandestine work, Leli was starting to get interested, we were studying Marxism together. But sentimentally we had stopped. We have reached stability. It was my fault that I got used to the situation, that I didn't realize that routine is love's worst enemy. Even in bed we became routine. Then the other appeared, cocky-poet, writing verses for him, speaking well. He touched her sentimental cord. Every woman likes to be a poet's muse."

Chapter IV: The Surucucu

"— So do I, Ondine. That's what makes me angry. We want to transform the world and are unable to transform ourselves. We want to be free, to do our will, and at all times we find excuses to repress our desires. And the worst thing is that we convince ourselves with our own excuses, we stop being lucid. Just cowardice. It's fear of facing each other, it's a fear left over from the times when we feared God, or the father or the teacher, it's always the same repressive agent. We are alienated. The slave was totally alienated. We are worse because we alienate ourselves. There are chains that have already broken but we continue to carry them with us, for fear of throwing them away and then feeling naked."

Chapter V: The Mulberry Tree

"The giant mulberry tree in front of you. The trunk stands out from the syncretism of the forest, but if I look up the trunk with my eyes, its foliage blends into the general foliage and it's syncretism again. Only the trunk stands out, individualizes itself. Such is the Mayombe, the giants are only partially so, at the level of the trunk, the rest being mixed up in the mass. Such is the man. Visual impressions are less clear and the predominant green spot gradually fades the light from the trunk of the giant mulberry tree. The green spots are more and more superimposed, but with a start, the trunk of the mulberry tree still asserts itself, struggling. Such is life. And what is the face of the mechanic there in the trunk of the mulberry tree! smile to me."

Chapter VI: Epilogue

"The Narrator Is Me, The Political Commissar.

Fearless's death constituted for me the skin change of twenty-five, the metamorphosis. Painful, like every metamorphosis. I didn't realize what I'd lost (perhaps my reflection ten years ahead) until the inevitable happened.

Fearless solved his fundamental problem: to maintain himself, he would have to stay here, in Mayombe. Was he born too early or too late? In any case, out of time, like any hero of tragedy.

I evolve and build a new skin. There are those who need to write to take off the skin that no longer fits them. Others change country. Others from lover. Others by name or hairstyle. I lost the friend."

Who is Pepetela?

Artur Carlos Maurício Pestana dos Santos, known by the pseudonym Pepetela, is an African writer. He was born in the city of Benguela, Angola, on October 29, 1941.

In 1969, he participated in the Angolan liberation struggle in Cabinda. At that moment, he adopted the war name: Pepetela.

In addition to several novels, he wrote chronicles and plays. In 1997, Pepetela received the "Camões Award".

Do you want to know more about the African continent and its history? Read the articles:

• General Aspects of Africa
• Portuguese Africa
• End of Portuguese Empire in Africa