Verbal Arts and Storytelling in Mouloud Feraoun’s La Terre et le sang (1953)

101 VERBAL ARTS AND STORYTELLING IN MOULOUD FERAOUN’S LA TERRE ET LE SANG (1953) Nadia Naar Gada DOI: https://doi.org/10.14712/2571452X.2022.64.7 Abstract: The present article examines Mouloud Feraoun’s second novel, La terre et le sang (1953), in order to explore the ways Feraoun fuses Kabyle cultural elements to exemplify the preponderance of his culture as a source of dialogical connections with the culture imposed by the French. The analysis of the novel is undertaken in the light of Ruth Finnegan’s theoretical methods in her book Oral Traditions and the Verbal Arts: A Guide to Research Practices (1992). Avoiding binary and evolutionary models, Finnegan explores the complexity and interrelatedness of narrative and culture. What makes her interdisciplinary approach particularly interesting and relevant to the present analysis of Feraoun’s novel, is her emphasis on the exploration of the interrelatedness of a text and the cultural environment of its production. More precisely, Finnegan’s theoretical insights concerning “functionalist and ‘reflection’ approach” can be said to fundamentally inform our understanding of the ways Feraoun transcribes, shapes and translates oral elements into a presentable written form. The essence of Finnegan’s approach also consists in the emphasis on how art forms and oral traditions are closely related to society. Another important feature of her theoretical perspective consists in her rejection of explanations in terms of either individual personality or origins, which she replaces by synchronic and socially oriented questions. This may explain the ways in which Feraoun celebrates cultural diversity and the valuable richness of experience his text displays in building bridges between the oral – Kabyle – and the written – French – traditions. Keywords: rehabilitation, identity construction, storytelling, cultural oral forms Introduction When I say that I am French, I give myself a label that the French do not accept, I speak in French [...] But who am I, good God? [...] What you can be sure of is that in my culture I am as French as you. But don’t expect anything Nadia Naar Gada 102 else. I cannot reject your culture, but do not expect me to renounce myself, to admit your superiority, your racism, your lies, a century of hatred.1 The above citation from Mouloud Feraoun’s war diary, Le journal (1955-1962) explains the dual identity of an author who lived and wrote in time of conflict, namely the French colonization of Algeria. It also clarifies the writer’s uncompromised position in rejecting his Kabyle cultural heritage and his mother tongue in favour of the colonizers’ imposed language and culture. As in the case of many African authors of his generation, it is important to point out that his work displays a number of literary and foreign influences. Hence, any discussion on the source of inspiration for this creative Algerian author would naturally raise the subject of oral tradition as an important source of material for his writing. It is also particularly interesting to note that the effect of Feraoun’s exposure to colonial education and Western literary tradition informs his literary texts through his systematic use of the French language and genre. However, the realistic representation of speech patterns that occur in the society he comes from helps him to “navigate the ancient waters”2 and to restore the old form of Kabyle speech to create and shape his novels. The present article examines the importance of cultural dialogue as reflected in Feraoun’s second novel, La terre et le sang (1953). The work was written as an act of resistance exploring the ongoing cultural confrontation between foreign and indigenous traditions in colonial Algeria. Concentrating on this novel, I hope to show the ways in which the oral and the written cultures fully interact and intertwine in its text. The core of my study, henceforth, is descriptive and analytic, exploring the nature, meaning and context of the author’s use of oral expressions in a written form. One of the prime interests of my textual analysis is to reveal and describe several literary devices employed by the author in writing about two different worlds, which are not mutually exclusive. The story tells of Amer-ouKaci, a young emigrant, who suffers from a loss of identity. He tries to regain it after his return home, having spent fifteen years in France. Once in his native village, he fails to reintegrate himself and ends his life in a tragic way. Through this character, Feraoun reveals his preoccupation with the clash between the old and the new, the impact of Westernization and the evils of colonialism. 1 Mouloud Feraoun, Le journal (1955-1962) (Alger: ENAG, 1992) 82. Unless stated otherwise, all translations from French are by the author of the present article. 2 Charles Smith and Chin Ce (eds.), Oral Tradition in African Literature (Oxford: African Books Collective, 2015) 56. Verbal Arts and Storytelling 103 To explore the relatedness of the narrative and the Kabyle culture, I will try to provide answers to the following questions: How does Feraoun construct a different culture by capturing the collective memory of his people? How does he build a space for the negotiation of identity, imagined in a number of ways, through a number of metaphors, deployment of symbols, and the use of strategies that are expressive of Berber orality-based culture? How did he bring to the fore the rich pool of oral traditions inherited by his Berber culture to shape his creative project? How did he bring history, tradition, culture and literacy into their fullest intersections with French education? And finally, how does he interrelate the novel, a major Western literary genre, with traditional oral forms in order to assert – and subtly impose – his cultural identity, and to reject the colonialist appellation of his country as a “static empty cultural space,”3 without, at the same time, refusing everything that might be of value in his colonial education and his readings of Western master texts? Among the key aspects of my approach are Feraoun’s construction of a ‘different’ reality, his narrative discourse and its role in the process of storytelling, and the ways in which he recasts French language to give it new forms, creating a text that is “dialogical” in its nature. The correlations of the new textual forms also function as a weapon against colonial oppression and generate a revolutionary discourse of cultural revalorization. In La terre et le sang, the recasting of the existing European and Berber literary forms into new dimensions is demonstrated, first and foremost, through the particular use of time and space. Dislocating/ Repositioning Time and Space in the Narrative Feraoun opens his novel addressing directly the reader, first to announce that the story is true and it happened somewhere in one of the villages in Kabylia, called Ighil-Nzman.4 Yet, the village appears to be situated between history and myth or between reality and imagination. The mythic time is clearly expressed in its description as “[a] small insignificant point, far away, beyond the splendid horizons, a wild, dark and unclean corner where pitiful human beings live, whom 3 This expression is quoted from Mouloud Feraoun, L’anniversaire (Paris: Seuil, 1972) 54: “La voix a été tracée par ceux qui ont rompu avec un Orient de pacotille pour décrire une humanité moins belle mais plus vraie, une terre moins chatoyante mais riche de sève nourricière, des hommes qui luttent et souffrent, et sont les répliques exactes de ce que nous voyons autour de nous.” Emphasis added. 4 Ighil-Nzman, the village appellation, can be translated as “une colline d’antan” (“A hill of yesteryear”). Nadia Naar Gada 104 one’s imagination makes ugly to the point of appearing grotesque.”5 To emphasize the unspecified and remote aspect of the setting, the narrator names it “IghilNzman,” the equivalent of “a trip to a very ancient and distant place.” Hence, to get access to it, as its name suggests, one should make great efforts. To construct the past, the author creates the sense of the present moment while preserving the processes of continuity and discontinuity. He then invites his readers to listen and share knowledge, not only details about life’s events which took place in IghilNzman, but also to learn about what has been preserved about the history of his people and traditional society. To attract the attention of his learners/readers, Feraoun uses oral forms to reflect on the village’s past, which he then mixes with a modern tragic reality. Every action, thought, and emotion of the characters is inseparably connected with the life of the whole Kabyle community. In other words, Feraoun helps the reader to get access to knowledge by creating a timeless space reminiscent of a remote spiritual landscape or a mythic world, which he links to the present colonial reality. He delves into the content of oral tradition, particularly in order to create reality of the stories and cultural heroes, with the sense of surprise, suspense and wonder quite similar to the stories he used to listen to as a child. To achieve such a purpose, the author steps beyond naturalism to reclaim the ‘voices’ inspired by individual acts belonging to old times that offer elements of magic and the supernatural. He then depicts Ighil-Nzman in a way which dissolves considerations of time and space in order to create an alternative reality, using a narrative formula based on general time references rather than on specific dates. At the outset, the oral aspect of the novel is displayed in the description of the village, its situation at a distant place and the difficulty of access to the mythic and ancient space. This can be illustrated by the following passage: We strive according to the weather, in the dust or mud, we go up, we go up, we zigzag madly above the precipices. We stop for a short rest, secure the wheels with wedges and fill the tank. Then we go up, we go up again. Usually, after passing the dangerous bends and narrow bridges, we finally arrive. We make a noisy and triumphant entrance to the village of Ighil-Nzman.6 5 “Un petit point insignifiant, loin, au-delà des splendide horizons, un coin sauvage, obscure et malpropre ou se terraient des êtres connus, pitoyables, que l’imagination enlaidissaient jusqu’a les rendre grotesques.” Mouloud Feraoun, La terre et le sang (1953) (Alger: Talankitit, 2002) 10. 6 “On s’engage selon le temps, dans la poussière ou la boue, on monte, on monte, on zigzague follement au-dessus des précipices. On s’arrête pour souffler, on calle les roues, Verbal Arts and Storytelling 105 This passage illustrates the long-distant time and space and stresses movement rather than unity, the feature of oral stories. The persistence of repetition in the above passage, one of the important markers of oral style, serves to delight and stimulate the listener, and aims to establish a link between the reality and the oral world of imagination. As Ruth Finnegan points out, the aim of “the tale’s […] travels in space and time” is “to create its life history.”7 Feraoun’s imaginative re-valuation of a remote past can be interpreted as a message to a foreigner, who needs to be provided with an appropriate code for deciphering the story in order to understand that world in the way its inhabitants perceive it. The same reader also needs to be initiated into the Kabyle cosmology to appreciate the Kabyle universe seen through an insider’s eyes. It can also be considered as a kind of strategy to represent Kabyle culture differently from accounts of Western ethnologists. In doing so, Feraoun debunks the ethnological discourse and “deconstructs,” in the Derridean sense, the assumption of the incapability of the colonized of self-representation except in the languages of the colonizer. It is from that remote and timeless setting that Feraoun conveys instructive messages, themes and a history of experience, an alternative story that creates, preserves and maintains the relationship between two traditions. The movement from a world to another through a connection of time and space, rather than their unity, is another characteristic of oral narrative. To reinforce this connection and interaction, Feraoun employs another element of oral tradition, displayed through his use of the French language. Formulaic Style and Subversion of the French Language Though ancient Berber writings do exist in Algeria, Feraoun comes from a society where, prior to colonization, the principal mode of literary transmission was oral. Most of the Berber art forms and stories were transmitted by the spoken word rather than in written form. Hence, the use of storytelling was an essential part of their tradition and way of life. But more than a century of colonization (1830-1962) has left its considerable traces in Feraoun’s works. As many Algerian writers of his generation, the author faces the choice of writing in the language of the colonizer and attempts to reconcile his two cultures – the world of his education on remplit le réservoir. Puis on monte, on monte encore. Ordinairement, après avoir passée les virages dangereux et les ponts étroits, on arrive enfin. On fait une entrée bruyante et triomphale au village d’Ighil-Nzman.” Feraoun, La terre et le sang 3. Emphasis in the English translation added. 7 Ruth Finnegan, Oral Traditions and Verbal Arts: A Guide to Research Practices (London and New York: Routledge, 1992) 28. Nadia Naar Gada 106 and the traditional oral world of his society. He becomes a kind of cultural mediator, who interprets the past from a non-Western perspective and thus shares with his readers across generations the knowledge of his culture. Feraoun’s second novel becomes a means of transmitting ancient knowledge, wisdom and attitudes of an oral society. The author is gifted by a deep moral sensibility and strongly committed to the preservation and celebration of the Berber culture. Foregrounding his identity, he denounces, through language, colonial oppression and injustice. La terre et le sang is replete with Kabyle words without translation. Feraoun inserts more than fifty untranslated words. For instance, words like “tharoumith,” “toub,” “mechmel,” “ouada,” “achou,” “achhal,” “ilha,” “thakhaounith,”8 among many others, are used across the narrative. By inserting these Kabyle words without providing their equivalent in French, the author shows his position of an “in-between” as regards the two cultures, to paraphrase Bhabha.9 He demonstrates the awareness of the influence of his French education on his work and, rather than refusing it, he accommodates to it, understands and then distorts it. He distorts the paradigms of Western heritage, as he fashions an identity by turning French into a language that carries a different meaning, which combines the two cultures. In other words, he transforms the French language ‘to bear’ its new context. He makes it ‘bear the burden’ of Kabyle experience. Thus, Feraoun imposes the imprint of his mother tongue on his adopted one. At the basic level, he does so by introducing vocabulary items, particularly idiomatic expressions, which he combines with the French syntax. He alters the paradigmatic norms of French and proves the “supplementarity and hybridity of cultural translation and linguistic filiation.”10 He then illustrates how language with its power, and writing with its signification of authority, have been wrested from the dominant culture. 8 The meaning of these Kabyle words is as follows: “tharoumith” – “French woman” (4, 27, 32); “toub” – “red earth” (9, 67); “mechmel” – “bare land” (15); “ouada” – “offering” (76); “achou” – “what do you mean?” (110); “achhal” – “how much?” (110); “ilha” – “nice” (111) and “thakhaounith” – “religious woman” (200). 9 Homi K. Bhabha, The Location of Culture (London: Routledge, 1994) 4ff. Through this concept, Bhabha suggests the possibility of shaping an interstitial space of cultural encounter in which the colonizer and the colonized negotiate, producing hybridity in culture. Its creation contributes to the subversion of colonial domination by deconstructing essentialist identity and binary opposition of the colonizer and colonized. 10 Douglas Angel A. Aragon II, “The Bikolano Sensibility in Merlinda Bobis’s White Turtle,” Researchers World: Journal of Art, Science and Commerce 8, no. 1 (2017): 81. Verbal Arts and Storytelling 107 More significantly, Feraoun’s way of using the French language is meant to establish his ‘double’ identity, because the more we read his literary texts, the more they reveal and even certify the way the author verbalizes some situations in order to bring to the fore his Kabyle/Berber identity. Hence, La terre et le sang is full of Kabyle idiomatic expressions, which the author writes in French. They are mainly used to pass moral judgments on the characters. For illustration: “ils mangent Tamazirt,” “ce sont vraiment des têtes,” “il ne faut pas chanter qu’on a de l’argent,” followed by the old saying “les rêves sortent,” “madame s’est pas lavée ce mois,” “les cheveux d’enfer,” “Dieu lui donne sa part,” “Dieu lui garde ses péchés,” “Le sang de Rabah revient dans celui de sa fille. Oui, il revient dans notre terre.”11 These expressions carry the imprint of Kabyle culture. They lack meaning if translated into French or English directly word by word. They are meaningful only for the reader who is aware of and takes into consideration the cultural context in which these expressions are used. Hence, Ruth Finnegan is right in asserting that: “Language translation is social rather than technical. The translator must first be immersed in the culture of the source language. No attempt to translate with the aid of special dictionaries can help in oral translation, as the putative translator must have ‘lived’ oral performances in the source culture.”12 Furthermore, in showing his people’s way of thinking, Feraoun also inserts other spoken phrases, which in direct translation have no meaning in French. For instance, to show her temperance, the character Chabha says: “Je suis large comme une pleine.”13 Other idiomatic expressions follow: “C’est lui qui voit les cœurs”14 and “Tassadit est une femme de tête.”15 All of these sentences are double-voiced. The free indirect speech communicating characters’ thoughts becomes more and more inflected by the Kabyle speech patterns. It is in the range of forms of double11 Feraoun, La terre et le sang 97, 166, 167, 211, 133, 126. “[I]ls mangent Tamazirt” means that the couple were so poor that they were forced to sell their piece of land; “il ne faut pas chanter qu’on a de l’argent” is an old Kabyle saying, which means that you should never tell what is important to others; “les rêves sortent” means the dream becomes true; “madame s’est pas lavée ce mois” means that the woman is pregnant; “les cheveux d’enfer” is an old saying often used to describe wicked old women; “Dieu lui donne sa part” is the prayer addressed to God to prevent a woman from infertility; “Dieu lui garde ses péchés” is to say, if a person offends, only God can judge them; “Le sang de Rabah revient dans celui de sa fille. Oui, il revient dans notre terre” means that family thread (lineage) is not interrupted. 12 Finnegan, Oral Traditions and Verbal Arts 180. 13 “I do not care about people’s gossip.” Feraoun, La terre et le sang 128. 14 “Only God can know what kind of person you are.” Feraoun, La terre et le sang 67. 15 “She dominates her husband.” Feraoun, La terre et le sang 208. Nadia Naar Gada 108 voiced discourse that Feraoun speaks from within his people and his different characters speak from within him. The language is sometimes as crude as its user: “son ventre est pourri de bile, un foie de poule et des mains rigides. Dieu a bien fait d’avoir privé l’âne de ses cornes,”16 says Slimane angrily. All these sayings show that Feraoun uses language of his conversational source (“oral modes”) and as spontaneous speech. The author’s purpose in using such verbal expressions is not only to preserve the authenticity of Kabyle folk speech, but also to cherish its special quality and stress its fresh, attractive novelty. Feraoun’s dialogues are characterized by the interplay of multiple voices enabled by oral narrative techniques. He uses literary potentialities of his linguistic heritage to create a new identity. In doing so, he succeeds to free himself from a blind imitation and shows the limits of French in conveying his Kabyle experience. Moreover, to present the wisdom of the ancestors he uses two interlocutors: Ramdane and the Marabout diviner Si Mahfoud.17 As a result, the French language becomes a mere envelope containing the form of ideas and the moving Kabyle speech of the author. Moreover, hardly any of the author’s novels do not employ proverbs as literary devices derived from Kabyle oral culture. Apart from serving as a means of cultural preservation, they also facilitate, through familiar images and sayings, readers’ access to Feraoun’s novels. The Use of Proverbs and Rural Images The most obvious marker of oral culture displayed in La terre et le sang are proverbs. Kabyle society values individuals who are skilful in handling proverbs and respects most those who are persuasive in their speech. They are called “ihadaden pa awal,” meaning “well-versed orators.” Members of Kabyle community ascribe a great importance to proverbs as a source of moral education and warning against societal evils. Using proverbs, mothers tell their children what is expected of them in the family and the community. Proverbs explain to children the meaning of responsibility through reciprocity, the significance of honesty and loyalty through mutuality and respect, and the importance of faith and compassion through inner strength and self-control. They also point out the importance of harmony in communal life and of the consideration for others. Through proverbs, children and adults are warned against greed and limited selfinterests.18 16 Phrases used to criticize bad behaviour of a person. Feraoun, La terre et le sang 83. 17 Feraoun, La terre et le sang 78. 18 Makilam, La magie des femmes Kabyles et l’unité de la societe traditionelle (Paris: L’Harmattan, 1996) 222. Verbal Arts and Storytelling 109 As a member of the Kabyle community, Feraoun peppers his narrative with proverbs and sayings, which contain simple but clear messages and moral teachings. All of them derive from the ‘Kabyle lore’ to flavour his borrowed French language. La terre et le sang contains some proverbs which are used to suit the socio-cultural context intended by the author. Feraoun refers, for example, to life as follows: “existence is a perpetual kick.”19 He describes people’s lack of gratitude using an old Kabyle saying: “Those who raise nephews prepare their necks for snakes.”20 Another proverb describes Kabyle people’s belief in God: “God’s designs are impenetrable.”21 It is noteworthy that Feraoun uses proverbs and maxims not only as figures of speech, but also to convey the morality or the social insight they contain. Some proverbs are directly translated from the local stock of proverbs into French. For instance: “When we sow good, we also reap it.” or “Those who believe in God are never disappointed.”22 All these proverbs enrich the French language by the oral resources of Kabylian proverbial lore, Kabyle old dictums and thought patterns. In addition to proverbs, La terre et le sang can be read as a historical novel, morality tale and above all a great literary work rehabilitating the author’s Berber cultural heritage and moral values and making them familiar to the world. Social Organization and Archaeological Knowledge The traditional Kabyle community, as mentioned previously, has a complex cosmology and a system of beliefs, which Feraoun explores for creative inspiration. Rituals and ceremonies like marriage and burial rites are daily occurrences among the Kabyles, and festivals in the community are occasions of cheerfulness and celebration, during which ritual sacrifices are offered by the community members in order to control and dominate the natural forces around them.23 Reading Feraoun’s novel, we notice the pervasive use of traditional images drawn largely from the general environment of traditional life and Kabyle cosmology. For instance, Kamouma, Amer’s mother, is compared to “an old oak.”24 Like that defiant and strong tree, Kamouma faces all kinds of privations she is meeting during her miserable life. Her skinny legs are like “oak logs,”24 19 “L’existence est une ruade perpétuelle.” Feraoun, La terre et le sang 59. 20 “Ceux qui élèvent des neveux dressent des serpents pour leurs cous.” Feraoun, La terre et le sang 71. 21 “Les desseins de Dieu sont impénétrables.” Feraoun, La terre et le sang 129. 22 “Quand on sème le bien, on le récolte.” “Celui qui attend Dieu n’est jamais déçu.” Feraoun, La terre et le sang 77. 23 Feraoun describes how life is organized in Ighil Nzman. Feraoun, La terre et le sang 95-7. 24 “un vieux chêne,” “des bûches de chênes.” Feraoun, La terre et le sang 13, 127. Nadia Naar Gada 116 can be used for upholding political authority or for attacking it, for passing on tradition […]. There is also the part played by oral forms (and written ones too) in the creation or maintenance of identity and the validation of experience. The claim – whether in every sense justified or not – that something is ‘old’ or ‘traditional’ may carry great weight. They can function as a “paradigm for understanding the community and for determining and developing individual behaviour and personality in that community.”44 In La terre et le sang, the society as well as the ancient order do not decay. Instead of disintegrating, they consolidate themselves. The traditional way of life practised by the villagers is strong, durable, and closely knit. Conclusion The present analysis of Feraoun’s second novel shows how the author creates a cultural dialogue by the rehabilitation of his Berber cultural heritage, expressed in a borrowed French language. The strength of Feraoun’s La terre et le sang lies in its strong allegiance to orality and the popular traditions of the folktale. The novel reproduces the rhythms and sentence patterns of Kabyle speech, rural images, analogies and maxims, which directly come from oral tradition. Feraoun’s evocations of cultural traditions serve two purposes: first, they oppose the French allegations that Kabyle people are uncivilized; second, they highlight the significance of oral tradition. Importantly, the novel uses French within cultural oral markers, localized within the Kabyle culture. The novel also uses the storytelling mode typical of folk tradition. Various forms of oral traditions have an important place in the Kabyle community. The author uses them as a way to enrich his narrative, to give it form and structure, and to imbue them with meaning. Oral tradition influences the idiosyncratic use of French, as well as the images, symbols and proverbs, including the morality they preach, and vision they express. All these aspects are assigned a function in the narrative. As a result, the hold that oral tradition exerts on Feraoun is so strong that although he is greatly influenced by Western writers, there is sufficient evidence of his use of traditional African material. He deploys diverse means of Kabyle oral traditions and uses them imaginatively to draw attention to his traditional society. The above analysis of Feraoun’s novel has demonstrated the ways in which it combines ‘cultural oral elements’ and literary techniques. 44 Finnegan, Oral Traditions and the Verbal Arts 121. Verbal Arts and Storytelling 117 In addition to a number of anthropological details of Kabyle customs and society, storytelling and folktales also feature prominently in the novel. Apart from the novel’s title and the name of the village, which stands for a mythic time and place, the writer uses other oral features in order to preserve oral history, communal beliefs, social values and the wisdom of ancestors. He also reproduces a communal participatory experience, style and structure of African storytelling, which he transfers to the reader-listener with whom he converses, commenting on, demonstrating and illustrating Kabyle culture. Through storytelling, the narrator creates a medium to educate, an account of past deeds, beliefs, wit and wisdom, morals and myths. Far from being a mere source of entertainment, old stories help to sharpen the readers’ creativity and imagination, direct their behaviour, train their intellect in order to regulate their emotions, and suggest to them a sense of identity and belonging. In sum, Feraoun’s link to Kabyle oral tradition can be compared to that of “a snail to its shell. Even in a foreign habitat, a snail never leaves its shell behind.”45 Moreover, like traditional oral narratives, La terre et le sang contains philosophical ideas, epistemological constructs, cultural codes and worldviews that are fundamental to the identity of the Kabyle people, which the author has successfully rehabilitated, recreating a distinct form of thought and knowledge out of experience rooted in a specific cultural context. BIBLIOGRAPHY Achour, Christiane. Abécédaires en devenir. Idéologie coloniale et langue Française en Algérie. Alger: ENAP, 1985. Aragon, Douglas Angel A., II. “The Bikolano Sensibility in Merlinda Bobis’s White Turtle.” Researchers World: Journal of Art, Science and Commerce 8, no. 1 (2017): 70-85. Bhabha, Homi. The Location of Culture. London: Routledge, 1994. Finnegan, Ruth. Oral Traditions and the Verbal Arts. A Guide to Research Practices. London: Routledge, 1992. Feraoun, Mouloud. L’anniversaire. Paris: Le Seuil, 1972. Feraoun, Mouloud. La terre et le sang. Paris: Le Seuil, 1953. 45 Kudakwashe Tuwe, “The African Oral Tradition Paradigm of Storytelling as a Methodological Framework: Employment Experiences for African Communities in New Zealand,” Proceedings of the 38th AFSAAP Conference: 21st Century Tensions and Transformation in Africa, Deakin University, 28th-30th October 2015 (February 2016), https://www.ecald.com/ assets/Resources/Assets/Tuwe-African-Storytelling-Research-Method.pdf. Nadia Naar Gada 118 Feraoun, Mouloud. Le journal. Alger: ENAG, 1992. Makilam. La magie des femmes Kabyles et l’unité de la societé traditionelle. Paris: L’Harmattan, 1996. Smith, Charles, and Chin Ce, eds. Oral Tradition in African Literature. Oxford: African Books Collective, 2015. Tuwe, Kudakwashe. “The African Oral Tradition Paradigm of Storytelling as a Methodological Framework: Employment Experiences for African Communities in New Zealand.” Proceedings of the 38th AFSAAP Conference: 21st Century Tensions and Transformation in Africa, Deakin University, 28th-30th October 2015 (February 2016). https://www.ecald.com/assets/Resources/Assets/TuweAfrican-Storytelling-Research-Method.pdf.