Julien Alapini
Julien Alapini | |
|---|---|
| Personal details | |
| Born | August 28, 1906 Abomey-Calavi, Colony of Dahomey |
| Died | February 26, 1970 |
| Nationality | Beninese |
| Occupation | Teacher, writer, playwright, ethnographer, politician |
Julien Alapini (born August 28, 1906, in Abomey-Calavi; died February 26, 1970) was a teacher, writer, playwright, ethnographer, and politician from the Colony of Dahomey (now the Republic of Benin).
Biography[edit]
Julien Alapini attended primary school in Ouidah and then the École normale William-Ponty in Gorée (Senegal) from 1926 to 1929.[1]
After graduating, he was appointed a teacher and later a school principal in several locations: Porto-Novo, Kouandé, Djougou, Savalou, Cotonou, Allada, Abomey, Covè, Parakou, Kouti, and Tori-Gare.[2]
In parallel, he conducted ethnographic and linguistic research on Dahomey, approaching it as a Christian and admirer of French culture. Through two essays, Les noix sacrées. Étude complète de Fa-Ahidégoun, génie de la sagesse et de la divination au Dahomey (1950) and Les Initiés (1953), he aimed to continue the work of colonial ethnologists: to better understand the colonized to better govern them. As a devout Catholic, he denounced superstitions and fetishism, particularly the methods of divination such as the consultation of Fa[2].
Like other Dahomean authors, such as Maximilien Quénum, his work shows an "interpenetration of ethnology and literature." He studied entertainment, oral literature, songs, proverbs, and riddles[2] and produced his own tales and plays[1].
In 1960, he was appointed Inspector of Education, then Minister of Education of Dahomey from 1962 to 1964[1]. Retired in 1967, he died on February 26, 1970[2].
Selected publications[edit]
- "Note sur les Tam-tam dahoméens", L'Éducation africaine, n°101, 1938, pp. 50-56.
- "Notes sur les chansons dahoméennes", L'Éducation africaine, n°102-103, 1939, pp. 25-31.
- Contes dahoméens, Paris-Avignon, Les Livres Nouveaux, 1941, 135 p.
- Légendes dahoméennes, Namur, Éd. Grands lac, 1942.
- Les Noix sacrées : Étude complète de Fa-Ahidégoun, génie de la sagesse et de la divination au Dahomey, Monte Carlo, Regain, 1950, 126 p.
- Le Petit dahoméen - grammaire, vocabulaire, lexique en langue du Dahomey, Avignon, Les Presses universelles, 1950, 285 p.
- Les Initiés, Avignon, édition Aubanel, 1953, 252 p.
- "L'éducation africaine traditionnelle du Dahomey", L'Éducation africaine, n°38, 1956, pp. 51–61.
- Les Dahoméens et les Togolais au centenaire des apparitions, Avignon, Aubanel, 1959, 165 p.
- Acteurs noirs, Avignon, Les Presses universelles, 1965, 189 p. (theater[3])
References[edit]
- ^ a b c "Julien Alapini (1906–1970)" (Les Hussards noirs des savoirs)
- ^ a b c d Adrien Huannou, "Julien Alapini (1906–1970)" in La littérature béninoise de langue française: des origines à nos jours, Karthala, Paris, 1984, pp. 82-84 ISBN 9782865371051
- ^ In the Dictionnaire des œuvres littéraires de langue française en Afrique au sud du Sahara, volume 1, p. 17, Ambroise Kom and Noureini Tidjani-Serpos offer a very critical reading of this collection.
Further reading[edit]
- Adrien Huannou, "Julien Alapini (1906–1970)" in La littérature béninoise de langue française: des origines à nos jours, Karthala, Paris, 1984, pp. 82-84 ISBN 9782865371051
- (in English) Simon Gikandi (2003). Alapini, Julien. Routledge. ISBN 9781134582228.
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External links[edit]
- "Julien Alapini (1906–1970)" (Les Hussards noirs des savoirs)
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