Gambian Fiction: An Analytical Study

Abstract

Reflections on the singularity of Gambian Fiction in relations to other West African states with English as the official language have been made by several scholars and researchers. When African literature pierced through the silence to voice out the horrors of colonialism, engage in the search for identity, promote African cultural values and advocate for independence, the fervour in which this was carried out was not proportionate in every country. Colonial Gambia emerged within a shaky period in the history of the Senegambia region. From early to late 19th century, ethnic and religious wars were raging in the interior, the French and the British were arguing over the piece of stretched land meandering around the river, and the liberated Africans were being sent from Sierra Leone to settle in The Gambia. Bathurst was born and the colonial powers settled there. The Gambia will for long remain governed from Sierra Leone and so the Christian missionaries were the ones who had the most share in the colonial setup for propagating their laws and beliefs. Gambia’s resistance to colonialism took several forms but literature played a much lesser role. Could this be the reason why Gambian Fiction is not represented in anthologies and other literary fora? Early Gambian fiction took quite a different angle in relation to the realities of the times and only in the midst of another form of domination, the Senegambia confederation, would writers emerge strong and united for one purpose: liberate Gambia from Senegal. This chapter traces the itinerary of Gambian fiction and tries to define the stages and periods when the stories take a different tone and feeling. This chapter also introduces a comparative study with those of Anglophone Africa, especially West Africa