Angola

So, it’s still 11 November, if you don’t mind…

Which means it’s also Angola’s Independence Day. You remember Angola? On the Southwest coast of Africa, just north of Namibia, also bordering the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Zambia. Angola had a relatively long colonial period—the Portuguese claimed it as a colony in the 16th century, and it didn’t gain its independence until 1975. While its people are some of the poorest on the African continent, the country is a large producer of petroleum and diamonds—the second largest in Africa. A lot of money has disappeared. Having trouble getting an idea of the size of the place? It’s about twice as big as Texas.

Angola is another region where the Bantu spread. Prior to the arrival of the Bantu people, the region was inhabited by Khoisan hunter-gatherers. Still, some Khoisan remain, even to the present day.

And the Portuguese? In 1483 they established relations with the region, and Angola was a link for trade between Europe and Asia. The explorer Paulo Dias de Novais founded the capital Luanda in 1575—and so it goes. Angola was also a serious participant in the slave trade.

There was a brief interruption of the Portuguese presence with the Dutch occupation of Luanda from 1641 to 1648, but things went back to normal. It took a few more centuries before exploration of the interior really got under way, and then the borders were fixed in 1885. Actual administration of the interior didn’t started until the twentieth century—and a quarter of a century before Angola gained its independence, it was designated as an overseas province of Portugal, known as Portuguese West Africa.

And then came the Angolan War of Independence. Following on the heels of this was the Angolan Civil War—which was a real Cold War conflict. With the Eastern Block backing one group (MPLA) and the United States backing another (FNLA) the conflict raged along. The Polish journalist Ryszard Kapuściński writes about this—I seriously recommend his work.) Though the civil war ended in 2002, the country is still living in the aftermath. Most of the internally displaced have returned home, but the situation remains desperate for most of the population.

Today’s poem from Angola is by Jofre Rocha. I believe I found it in the Penguin Book of Modern African Poetry, but I didn’t notes it down when I found the poem. Apologies!

Poem of Return

When I return from the land of exile and silence,
do not bring me flowers.

Bring me rather all the dews,
tears of dawns which witnessed dramas.
Bring me the immense hunger for love
and the plaint of tumid sexes in star-studded night.
Bring me the long night of sleeplessness
with mothers mourning, their arms bereft of sons.

When I return from the land of exile and silence,
no, do not bring me flowers…

Bring me only, just this
the last wish of heroes fallen at day-break
with a wingless stone in hand
and a thread of anger snaking from their eyes.

—Jofre Rocha