Cameroonian History
Your Name Shall Be Tanga was first published in French in 1988 as Tu t’appelleras Tanga. It was translated into English in 1996. It is Beyala’s second novel.
Most critics situate the fictional country Iningué of Your Name Shall Be Tanga in South Cameroon. The setting is most likely modeled after Beyala’s hometown of New-Bell in Douala. Cameroon was colonized by the British and the French. French Cameroon gained its independence on January 1, 1960; English Cameroon gained independence on October 1, 1961. On May 20, 1972, the United Republic of Cameroon, with Yaoundé as its capital, was established. The novel is set post-independence, post-colonial, most likely in the 1980s. The promise of national independence did not live up to its expectations. |
During this search for a national identity, we see the disappointment that the Cameroonians experienced during this time. As Juliana Makuchi Nfah-Abbenyi notes, “What we see consistently is Beyala’s ability to portray tragic conditions that Africans in the post-colonial era have created or have to live with.”
Many attribute the disillusionment of the post-independence period to materialistic individualism. The new governments were marked by greed and corruption. Moreover, an economic crisis took effect in the mid-1980s to the late 1990s (resulting from falling petroleum prices, mismanagement, overall corruption).
In the wake of their national independence, the emergent iconic Cameroonian writers were mostly male. They believed in addressing “problems of universal human concern” (read men), often neglecting the vital conflict between women and society (Bjornson 148). In marking their literature as a national literary revolution, male writers, such as Rene Philombe and Louis-Marie Pouka, maintained the most conventional institution of all—patriarchy.
The new literature, championed by Beyala and other women, infused a gender consciousness into the African novel, abandoning the fundamental belief that the new nation’s cultural identity should be formed around the primacy of the male worldview. They denied the privileged position of a single central truth or standard. No longer trying to express their reality in a discourse fashioned by and for the other, the women keenly forged a new discourse that accurately portrayed their unique cultural and lived experiences. Instead of a nation’s search for its identity from the colonial masters, they focused on women who are caught between the shackles of the conservative African traditions and the general postcolonial disillusionment.
Many attribute the disillusionment of the post-independence period to materialistic individualism. The new governments were marked by greed and corruption. Moreover, an economic crisis took effect in the mid-1980s to the late 1990s (resulting from falling petroleum prices, mismanagement, overall corruption).
In the wake of their national independence, the emergent iconic Cameroonian writers were mostly male. They believed in addressing “problems of universal human concern” (read men), often neglecting the vital conflict between women and society (Bjornson 148). In marking their literature as a national literary revolution, male writers, such as Rene Philombe and Louis-Marie Pouka, maintained the most conventional institution of all—patriarchy.
The new literature, championed by Beyala and other women, infused a gender consciousness into the African novel, abandoning the fundamental belief that the new nation’s cultural identity should be formed around the primacy of the male worldview. They denied the privileged position of a single central truth or standard. No longer trying to express their reality in a discourse fashioned by and for the other, the women keenly forged a new discourse that accurately portrayed their unique cultural and lived experiences. Instead of a nation’s search for its identity from the colonial masters, they focused on women who are caught between the shackles of the conservative African traditions and the general postcolonial disillusionment.
1884
1945 1960 1961 1972 1982 1984 1988 1996 2017 |
Cameroon becomes a German colony
After WWII, Cameroon is divided between the French and the British as League of Nations mandates The French-governed part of the country becomes independent The southern part of British Cameroon federates with the French to form the Federal Republic of Cameroon Federation abandoned and renamed the United Republic of Cameroon Paul Biya becomes president The country is renamed the Republic of Cameroon Tu t’appelleras Tanga is published Tu t’appelleras Tanga is translated and published as Your Name Shall Be Tanga Open warfare ensues after the creation of an Ambazonian state in the English-speaking territories |