Indo-Guadeloupean Literature
Indianness in Guadeloupe results from the will of Francecolonizer to establish in this region, for highly economic reasons, working masses torn from India. It is therefore a legacy of the history of France. As such, it participates in the definition of culture within the French Republic.
However, although, exerting a certain influence on theprocess of socio-economic and cultural development, it was long ignored and marginalized. Practically banned from school until 1946, the Indian of Guadeloupe could not conquer knowledge and write his own history. The specific dimension of this presence remained in this fleeting way, in the expression of identity. This was the case with SAINTJOHN Perse where one detects a kind of floating Indianness, while with CESAIRE, a single quotation honors this cultural fact.
Fortunately, in recent years, this Indianness finally recognized, slowly gaining its place in literary expression, West Indian. From Maurice VIRASSAMY to Ernest PEPIN, the Indo-Guadeloupean fact invests realism and the imagination. ofelsewhere, as if to repair the oversight, not to say the fault, intellectuals insistently evoke this Indianness, an integral part of reality. Martinican writers and in particular Raphël CONFIANT translate with talent the ethno-sociological authenticity of their island, without concealing the presence of Indian origin.
In Guadeloupe, confined for a long time to orality, nestled in the memories and landscapes of our countryside, Indianness, through literature and poetry, escapes more and more from ignorance and silence. The quest for identities, forces the recognition of all roots. Florette MORAND introduces us to AÏCHA, a young Indian from Saint-François who gives herself to Marc de Saint-Germain. Max JEANNE recounts the suffering, the exclusion of the Indian. PEPIN, CONDE invent characters rooted in traditions from India. In short, Guadeloupean literature takes on the colors indo-guadeloupéennes.
In short, with Ernest MOUTOUSSAMY, heroes are born, historical characters who are fundamentally part of stories devoted to Indian culture and civilization. The French language, the local culture are enriched with new contributions of oriental wisdom and ancient traditions of India.
Young Indo-Guadeloupean literature takes root in literary expression.