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8/10/2019 Negritude and History - Senghor's Argument With Frobenius
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Negritude and History: Senghor's Argument with FrobeniusAuthor(s): Michael J. C. EcheruoReviewed work(s):Source: Research in African Literatures, Vol. 24, No. 4, Special Issue in Memory of JosaphatBekunuru Kubayanda (Winter, 1993), pp. 1-13Published by: Indiana University PressStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3820249.Accessed: 29/08/2012 15:51
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8/10/2019 Negritude and History - Senghor's Argument With Frobenius
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Negritude
andHistory:
Senghor's
Argument
with
Frobenius
MichaelJ.
. Echeruo
T
he "influence"fFrobeniuss one that eopold . Senghorimselfas
acknowledged
n
rather
rofuse
erms.
Etnous
ortons
ncore,
ans otre
sprit
t
dansnotre
me,
es
marques
u
maitre,
omme es
atouages
xecutes
ux
eremo-
nies
'initiationans e bois
acre"
"Les
Lecons"
98).
And
we till
arry
he
mark
of hemasternourmindsnd
pirits,
ike
formf
attooing
arriedut n
he niti-
ation eremonies
n
the acred
rove
"Lessons"
ii).]
This
acknowledgment
as
usually
een ead s a
gesture
f
dependence;
s
positive roof
f he
ncorporation
of
enghor
nto he
otality
f
Western
iscourse..Y.
Mudimbe,
specially
nThe
Invention
fAfrica,
as tried o both
how
how
arnestlyenghordopted
what
Mudimbealls he
Western
atio"ndto
explain
ow,
n
the
process,
enghor's
Negritudeasbecome text onstructednthe ody f larger esterniscourse,
and iable
o
collapse
utsidet
Invention3ff.).
enghor
s thus
uite imply
he
efficient
ractitioner
f
Western
erformance;
is wn
ontribution
eing
o
give
a local urno a
grand
uropean
ance.Whence he
uggestion,lways,
hat en-
ghor
seither
arrot
r
protester:arrot
othe
xtenthat e
propagates
view/sys-
temwhich
s
ultimately
xteriorohis
own
being,
nd
herefore
for
ll ts
ense),
meaningless
n
his
ontext;
nd
protester,
econdly,
ince is
desires
obviously
o
save
his
racial/cultural
eing
romhe
gony
f
ndifference
nd
denigration
hat
had
dogged
t
s
"nigger."
FrobeniussSenghor's eaponf pportunityithinWesterniscourse,he
text hat
xposes
he
vulnerable
eel
of
hat
mighty
chilles. s
if
rom
farce,
Senghor
s able o
oke
his
way
nto
ictory
y
s
t
were
masking
ith
he
nemy:
"We et
urselvese
seduced
y
eo
Frobenius'srilliant
hesis
ccording
o
which
the
Negro
oul
nd he
Germanoul
were isters"
"Message"
3-84;
td.
n
Hymans
64-65).
he
underlyingrgument
n
hese
ositions
sthat
hose frican
iscourses
which re
ontingent
n
those f he
West re
lways
nd
necessarily
ominatedr
"colonized."
he
colonial
ibrary
s
he chool rom hich
very ost-
r
x-colonial
African
ubject
raduates.
robenius's
estinyf
ivilizations
hus
ecomes
nother
canonical
ext,
parmi
es
ivres
acres,"
enghor
ays,
de toute
ne
generation
-
8/10/2019 Negritude and History - Senghor's Argument With Frobenius
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2 I
Research
n
African
iteratures
d'etudiants
oirs"
"Negritude"
3)
[among
he acred
exts
f whole
generation
f
black
students].
From he
perspective
f
the
twentieth-century
umanism,
ew
pages
have
convincedme as
thoroughly
s
those
n
Frobenius's
estiny f
Civiliza-
tion""Revolution" 7).
I
want to re-read
enghor
n
Frobeniuswith view to
showing
hat
these
assumptions
oncerning
ow
"Others" ead and use
Western iscourses
may
need
serious
evision;
nd that
enghor's pparentlyenerous ppropriations
f he
West,
farfrom
eing
evidence of
subordination,
oint
to a common
African iscursive
practice
f
"accommodation,"
mode for
negating
hat
kind
of
obsessive
oncern
for
ifference hich s so central o
European
hought
nd
(justifiably)
o the
Fou-
cauldian
method
dopted y
Mudimbe
n
hisefforto
"unmask" heWestern
atio
n
the African
iterary
anon"
(Diawara 80).
This African
mode substitutes
he con-
ceptforANOTHER forONE andOTHER, thence reatingheALL, theconcept
of he
universal" hich s
Senghor's hallenge
o
Western
iscourse. nd
this snot
to
contradict he
point
f
Abiola Irele's
onclusion
in
The
African
xperience)
hat
Senghor's egritude
liesoutside
hehistorical
rocess.
t s
firstnd
foremost dis-
tinctive
mode of
being
nd of
xistence,
articular
o the
black
man,
which an
be
deduced from
is
way
of
ife-and
which constitutes
is
identity,
n
the
original
sense
of heword"
Irele
70-71).
It s
rather o
argue
hat
European
oncept
f dif-
ference" ooted n
the idea of
the absolute
Other"
s,
n
Senghor's
ext,
eplaced
with
different
oncept
of
differenceased on a
necessary eriality
f
dentities.
Because
there s
ONE,
there s
ANOTHER;
hence
OTHERS. The
UNIVERSAL is
ALL. There s nomore
elling
eminderfthis ccommodationist
pproach
nd of
the
particular
cuity
f
enghor's esponses
han
comparison
ith
hecomment f
Nnamdi
Azikiwe
n
My
Odyssey: By
delving
nto
various choolsof
philosophy"
under
he
tutelage
f
Alain
Locke,
Azikiwe ecalls:
...I
was
onvinced
hat
lthough
he
western
ystem
asmore
ystematic
han
the
African,
everthelessfrican
hilosophy
as
practical
n
the
ense hat
people
idnot
waste ime n
ogic
ndfrivolous
rguments.
heir
hilosophy
wasmore
ragmatic
n
hat t
was elatedo
he
ractical
roblems
f
veryday
life
which
hey
olved
y
dapting
hemselves
o
he
ogic
f
eason
nd
xperi-
ence. 120)
Mudimbe
has drawn
ttention o one
complication
rising
rom
he
fact f
African
ndebtedness
o
European
deas,
namely
hat we fail to
appreciate
he
nature
f
the
"Africanization"f
foreign
deas
which
results. n
Mudimbe's
iew,
those ritics
especially
African
ritics)
re
wrong
who
ee
Senghor
s a
promoter
f
"some
famous
ppositions
which,
ut of
ontext,
ould
appear
o
embrace
erspec-
tives
roper
o certain
acist
heoreticians"
ncluding
robenius
94).
But
Mudimbe
equates
Senghor's
use"of
Western
hinkers ith n
appropriation
f
them;
nd
so
constructsn
immense onflict
etween
method nd
theory;
or
nstance,
etween
Marxism s
method nd
Marxism s a
"theory
f
knowledge":
It sone
thing
ouse
Marxism's]
chemesor
nalyzing
nd
understanding
he
complexity
f ocial
ormations,
nd nothero
ccept
he dea
hat ocial
om-
plexities
niversally
it nto he
oncept
f
he lass
truggle
nd
express
he
need o
deny eligion.
94)
For to
consolidate his
opposition
s to
seek to
harmonize he
totality
f
one view
into
the
totality
f
he
other;
o
harmonize
heory
nd
method,
uropean
nd Afri-
can in
another
mperial
rder.
enghor's
ebtto
Marx,
s
to
Frobenius,
s
fraternal,
contingent,
nd
parallel:
We are
ocialists
ecause
we
accept
Marx
nd
Engels
nd
believe n
the
usefulnessf heir
nalysis
f
ocieties"
qtd.
n
Mudimbe
3).
-
8/10/2019 Negritude and History - Senghor's Argument With Frobenius
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Michael
.
C.
Echeruo
1
3
Hence,
here
s an
Africaniew f
discourse
ccording
owhichll
primary
texts
alpha-discourses)
re
fraternal,"
hat
s,
hey
re elatedoone nother
cross
time nd
culture;
ith
achone
sustaining
crucial lement f he otal
inheri-
tance" fthebenevolentather,he ymbolicLL.Every thersAnother-a
serial
atherhan n
oppositional
oment
f
ifference.
enghor's
Universal"ext
is,
hus,
ot he
mperial,olonizing,
ominatingmpulse
hich
bsorbsther
exts
into ts wn
particular
eing,
ut
quilt
f
djacent
ndrelated
exts,
exts
hich
make
ense
ecause,
ogether,
hey
accommodate"-makeoom or-themselves
and thers.his
oncept, y
irtuef
which lltextsre
xpropriable,
s lien
o
he
kind
f
otalizing
hich
nforms
he
uropean
iscourse odel.
Fewof thetheoriesnd
strategies
f
reading
hich
avebeen
applied
r
invokedn
the
tudy
f
African riters
ndthinkers
ave
dequately
onsidered
this spect fbeta-discoursend tsmplications.t sobviousnough,orxample,
in
reading
f
Hegel
hat e
has
n
argument
ith ant. ut
hat
rgument
s n
fur-
ther
laborationf he
ommon
ask f
making
ense
any
ense)
f
sharedden-
tity.
egel
s
not
eading
f
imself
n
Kant's
ext,
ut
eading
ant,
s
f
e
himself
were ant. ifference
xists,
ut he
margins
f uch
ifferencere
not
bliterated;
they
re
hemselves
ounded
y
he
onvergence
f
dentity,
hat
s,
y
he act
hat
neithers he
ubject-matter,
n
ssence,
f
he iscourse.
oundaries
f
hat
ind,
n
fact,
elp
make
or
omposite
ense,
n
accumulationf
nstances
hich,
ogether,
constitute
he
urrent
tatement.
n
this
ense,
egel's
s
not
beta-,
ut
dialectical
intra-muraliscourse.nthe ame ense,lso, artre'seadingfMarx rFrobenius
is
differentrom
enghor's;
s is
Senghor's
use" fMarx nd
Frobenius
ifferent
from
artre's.
he
"original
in" f
Negritude
such
s
Mudimbe,
iting epestre,
postulates),
he rait hich
ventually
destroyed"
t,
may
ndeed erive
romhe
omni-presence
f
Western
nstitutional
ractices,
he
techniques
f
deological
manipulation,"
specially
n
anthropology,
atherhan
rom
ny
ntological
tatus
of
white rblack.
ut
o
ay
o n
"universal"
ermssto
uppose
hat
nthropology
meant
he
ame
hing
o
Senghor
s
it
didto
theFrench
ntellectuals
Mudimbe
87).
When
eopold
.
SenghoritesHegel orFrobenius),herefore,he vent snotdialectical.
enghor's
ntentionsnotto
ncorporateegel
ntohis
ystem
f
thought,
or ven
o
ntegrate
imself
nto
he
Hegelian
raditionf
hought.
e
uses
Hegel
s
a
signifying
vent.
Hegel"
s
thus
lways
o
be
considereds a
brack-
eted r
framed
a
quoted)
xpression
nd tands
ohim n
the
ame elation
s the
French
anguage
tself
oes
to
a
Senghor
sing
t,
namely
s a
language.
n
other
words,
egel's
thernesss
an
instrument
owards
he
reation,
rthe
manifesta-
tion,
f
what s
ssentially
n
underlying
eed/obligation,
amely,
he
rasuref
if-
ference ithoutoss f
dentity.
Differencef
hekindwhich
enghor
adto
deal
with
ame
directly
nthe
nineteenthentury.thad odowithhe ise f he ultsf
Organicism
nd
Progress
in
he
wake f
philosophical
ositivism
hich,
n
pite
f ts
mphasis
n
Reason,
was
essentially
eterministic.istoriansf
the
history
f
hese
deashave
docu-
mented
uguste
omte's
dea hatmen
o
not
t
all times
hink
n
the ame
ways,
that here s a
development
n modes f
thought
rom
he
heological
r
fictive,
through
he
metaphysical
othe
ositive
r
cientific,
nd hat
ach f
hese
modes
of
houghtevelops
istorically,
preading
uccessively
o
differentieldsf
nquiry
(Mandelbaum
69).
This
organic
elationship
fhuman
eason o
a
structuref
epochs,
n
evolutionary
rocess
s twere f
hehuman
mind,
ould
ead o
or
t
-
8/10/2019 Negritude and History - Senghor's Argument With Frobenius
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4
I
Research
n
African
iteratures
least e
subsumed
n)
the oftierdeathat he
history
f
ndividualormsf
on-
sciousness ould e
dentical
ith he
history
f he ormsf
onsciousness
n
the
race.
his, oo,
was
he
rucial
egelian
ormulation;
hat ach
person
s the on
of
hisNation... heSonofhisAge," a child fhisown ime"who annot ossibly
"overleap
is wn
ge"
Mandelbaum82-83).
In
his
ssay
nFrobeniusnd
heRevolution
f
1889,
enghor
rgues
hat
he
dialectical
ationalismf
Hegel
was
part
f traditionf
European
ationalisms,
including
artesian nti-Hellenic
ationalism;
nd
that,
ven
o,
Germany
as
never
eally
atisfied
r
content ith artesian alues. he traditions
ssociated
with
German omanticism
n
the
chlegels,
n
Novalis nd
n
Fichte
Senghor's
instances)
ere
nly
re-enforcementsnd often
egradations
f
quintessential
European
ationalism
"Revolution"9-80).
Hence,
Hegel
was he
orerunner
f
new ialectic hich everthelessetainedome f he ssentialsf he ld radition
ofdifferentiation.n this
ense,
egelianism
hared he
ame radition
ith ous-
seau
nd
Montaigne,
tradition
hich
nder
ressure
rom arwin
nd
Nietzsche,
would
in
due
ourse)
ive
haracter
o
modem
uropean
otions f
ifferencend
so
also
hape
he
nature
f
Africa's
esponse,
n
ts wn
eason,
o
he
ealizationsf
themind f
urope.
hat
esponse,
s
read
t,
s
Negritude
n ts
most
eneric
ense,
a
movemento
dentify
nd
ccommodatelacknessn
theALL of
human
istory
and ivilization.
That hat
nti-Hegel
mpulse
salsobehind
enghor's
egritude
s
manifest
inhis
reference
f robeniusver
evi-StraussndDurkheim
s
nterpreters
f is-
tory.hatpreferences, ndeed, ery
eavily
eflectivefthe nfluencefPaul
Rivet,
imself
disciple
f
robenius,
s
Senghor
imselfdmits
"Revolution"
2).
It s
n
nterpretation
hich,moreover,
rovides
continuumrom
enghor's
ead-
ing
ofhis
earliest
xperiences
t the
Catholic
eminary
n
Senegal
o
his ater
understanding
f the
history
f
Cartesian,
ositivist
nd
romantic
hought
n
Europe.
lthoughenghor
oesnot
laboraten
this,
we
cansee
the
onnection
between
hese
ositions
nd
those
deas,
hemselves
ntegral
o
the
ntellectual
mood f
he
eriod,
hich
uguste
omte riedo
laborate.
Comte's ositivism
peaks
o
he ssue f he
otality
f he
human
erson
s
a
conjunctionf ympathy,ntellect,ndaction. hetask,he missionllottedo
the
ntellect
n
the
positiveynthesis,"
omte
sserted,
is hat t
hould
e conse-
crated
o
he
ervice
f
he eart"
Comte
25).
Essentially,
omtewas
e-designing
the
equences
nd he
tructuresf
European
ntellectual
ndeavors
nd
ssigning
an
uncharacteristically
ajor
ole othe
mpathic
aculties.
ccording
o
Comte,
"the
ruth,
nd
t s
mportant
o
recognize
t,
s
that
houghts
ust
e
systematized
before
eelings,eelings
efore
ctions.t
s,
doubtless,
wing
o a
confused
ppre-
hension
f
his ruthhat
hilosophers
itherto,
n
framing
heir
ystems
f
human
nature,
ave
ealt lmost
xclusively
ith ur
ntellectual
aculties"
Comte
24).
That easoning,ppliedo he ssuesf oncernoSenghor,ould ave ed o
a
valorizationf
African
ystems;
r,
n
n
alternative
ormulation,
o
heir
enigra-
tion. or
Comtewas
nxious o
re-establish
system
f
orrespondences
etween
periods
nd
modes
f
hought.
hus,
isdivision
f
history
nto
ncient,
edieval
and
modem,
orresponds,
s it
were,
o
the
tages
f
philosophical
hought
rom
"theological
magination"
hrough
metaphysical
iscussion"o
"positive
emon-
stration."
hence,
omte
oncludes,
by
means f
this ne
general
awwe
are
enabled o
take
comprehensive
nd
imultaneousiew f
he
past,
resent,
nd
futuref
humanity"
Comte
29,
328).
Unfortunately,
omte
idnot
provide
name or
he
iscipline
emanded
y
his
heory.
ndeed,
lthough
e
speaks
ften
-
8/10/2019 Negritude and History - Senghor's Argument With Frobenius
6/14
Michael
.
C. Echeruo
I
5
of
society"
nd
f"practical
ife,"
e
never
ategorically
onceives
f,
r
names,
he
science
f
ociology
n
the
way
n
which robenius
among
thers)
ould n
the
next
entury.
hus
een, ositivism,
s
early
ocialScience: the
bject
f ll
true
philosophys oframesystemhatwill omprehendumanife nderveryspect,
social s well s ndividual.t
embraces,herefore,
he hree inds f
henomena
f
which
ur ife
onsists-thoughts,eelings,
nd
actions"
Comte 20).
Like ll
rationalists,
owever,
omte's
analysis"
as
entirely
nti-romanticnd
conse-
quently)ssentially
till
neo-Cartesian
roposition.
So,
also,
n
ts
wn
way,
as
ArthureGobineau'sssai ur
'Inegalite
es
Races
Humaines.
obineau's
acism as
not,
n
mid-19th-century
urope,
onsidered
o
be the berrationeknow t obe.Gobineau's as rationalist's
econstruction
f
both he
new
biology
nd the
newer ellenismfwhich
Nietzsche's
heBirth
f
TragedyndThus pakearathustraould ecome culmination.obineau'sacism
workedna
logic
s
thorough-going
s
Hegel's.
Nation"
nd
Age"
ecome Race"
and Culture."he
nequality
f
he aceswas he
roduct
f
function: atterver
mind. he formula
emained
onstant;
ut
ecause he
mind
s the reasoner"as
deficient
or
at east
ifferent)
n
some
aces,
he
product
f he
play
fmind nd
matteraried
astly
cross
aces.
f
ourse,
lso
Gobineau
rgued),
he aces
might
indeed
othave
been
uniquely
erived,
hat
s,
have volved
oly-genetically;
nd
that
would
uggest
hat
n
original
hape
or
mis-shape)
f
matter
ight
ave lso
shaped
or
mis-shaped)
he
functioning
f hemind
tself,
ndso
determinedts
quality.But bove
ll,
Gobineau as
working
romirst
rinciples.
he
primacy
fdis-
cursiveeasons
given,
ven
hough
as
thework f
Auguste
omtewas
eginning
to
how,las)
feelings
ad ohave heir
ue
place
n
he
nalysis
f
humanife.
ob-
ineauwas hus
working
ut he
ogic
f
his
prior
alorization
f
European
ociety.
His
theory
fRacerested
ntirely
n the
ropriety
f
n
ntrinsic
and
qualitative)
difference
etween
urope
nd he
est
f
mankind.he
point,
urely,
f
ontempo-
raryuropean
thnographic
tudies asnot o
elebratenew
omparative
nthro-
pologypart,
n the
vent,
f
Frobenius's
chievement),
ut o
categorize
and
o,
confirm)
theology
f
difference;
n
erecting
structuref
easoning
y
which he
"inferior"aceswould e understoodntheir roperondition.obineau's,hus,
was
easoned,
nductive
xplanation.
It
was
Senghor's
nderstanding
hat
Frobenius's
chievement
ay
n
his
breakingway
rom hekind f
tructural
nthropology
f
which laudeLevi-
Strauss as he hief
dvocate,
n
approach
hich
merelypplied
he
ositivism
f
an earlier
rench
ge
to the
tudy
f henew
social
hilosophy"
alled
ociology
("Revolution"
2).
Frobenius asthus
nlike oth
evi-Straussnd even
Durk-
heim. n
Senghor's
iew,
robenius as
not
nterested
n
the
perpetual
ccumula-
tion
of
facts" ut
n
establishing
hat
enghor
alls"a
global
erspective"
nd
elsewhereermsuniversalulture."robenius'sew pproachequiredherejec-
tion
gain
f
discursiveeason
nd
a
(proper)
eturno
feeling
r ntuition
as a
means
f
aining
nsight
nto
alues,
ot
acts r
uantities."
t
was
robenius'sask
to reatea new
ivilization
y
econciling
ll
peoples
f he
arthn
universalia-
logue,"
ringing
nto
lay
gain
hose
chievementsf
African
istory
nd
iviliza-
tionwhich rom
erodotuso
AntaCheik
Diop
had
beenknown
o
have
haped
Western
ulture
hrough
gypt
ndthe
Mediterranean.
t was
his
robeniushat
Senghor
redits ith
he
hree enets f new
thnography:
he
xistencef ul-
tural reas
verywhere
n
he
world,
he
nity
f
Negro
ulture
n
ll
continentsnd
the
ffinitiesetween
eutonic
eoples
"Revolution"
3).
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6 I
Research
n
African
iteratures
This s
not, ndeed,
he
ustomaryay
f
eading
he
vidence. n the
on-
trary,
robeniusas
usually
een ssociatedn African
nterpretations
f
Western
thought,
ith he
predictable
ver-determinismf he
uropean
Other,"
ith
he
celebrationf hemiraculousaradoxf putativeigh African"ulturenan
otherwise
egradedhysical
ndmoral niverse.s
Wole
oyinka
ut
t,
o
dmire
the
ntique
ronzef he fe nd
idiculehe
very
eople
whose andiwork"t
s,
s
a
"directnvitationo free-for-all
ace or
ispossession,
ustified
n
the
rounds
f
the
eeper's
nworthiness"
Soyinka
6-17).
n
the
work
f ierre
eilharde
Char-
din,
uch
aradoxes
ere
o
be
expected,
ndwere
sually
nderstood
n
he
ontext
of n
over-arching
eo-Catholicism
hichwould
ladly
ndorse
uch
entiments
on
theological
rounds.
r,
o
Comtewould ave
rgued,
inceCatholicism
ave
"an
mperfectepresentation"
f
he
heory
f
human
aturend
ailed omake he
"sympatheticnstinctsreponderates far s possiblever he elfishnstincts"
("Revolution"
37).
But
enghor'sxplicit
ndorsementf
Frobenius's
rgument
was
notbased
olely
r ven
trictly
n this ut
athern
ts
ffinity
ith hat
ew
romantic
treak
n
Western
hought
hich
enghor
dentifies
ith
ietzsche,
erg-
son nd
Rimbaud,
nd
which e
dissociatesrom
he
nglish
mpiricists;
rom
ant
and
Hegel
and
indeed rom
uguste
omte nd all
Cartesian
ationalistsnd
idealists.
Senghor's
elight
n
Frobenius,hen,
s not
one
more nstance
f
generic
worship
f
he
West.
n
the
ontrary,
t
riginates
rom
rejection
f
certain
uro-
centrism
Senghor
alls t
"albino-centrism")
hich
nthrones
ationalismf
he
"factual,-materialistic,ookkeeping,ntellectualist"ind"Revolution"3).Fro-
beniuss
a
champion
ecause e
rejected
or
thought
e had
uccessfully
ejected)
the
self-constructs"f
"mechanistic
uropeanogic
which
ays
ttention
nly
o
'material
acts'
levatedo he
tatus
f'objective
ealities',"
hereby
lacing
he
iv-
ilizationf
Africa
n
the
ame
eague
s those
thers
hich
developed
enetically
by
assinghrough
he ame
tages
f
nfancy,
dolescencend
maturity"
"Revolu-
tion"
3,
84,85).
This
formulation
s a clue
to
Senghor's
ifficulty
ecause
robenius,
nlike
Nietzsche,
as
not
eeking
o
re-makehe
Darwinian
volutionary
odel
o twill
fit hehistoryf he oul, omakeHistoryerve,ot he ocial rganismasHegel
had
magined)
ut he
uman
rganism
tself.
ietzsche
osited
momentf
ransi-
tion,
ven f
ranscendence
eyond
mere
volution,
o
the
Age
of
he
uperman.
Frobenius ould
ot
go
that ar. e
was
uite
ontento
use
Nietzschean
omanti-
cism o
accommodateis
basic
proto-Darwinian
oncept
f
cultural
volution.
Infancy,
dolescencend
maturity
ere he
key
oncepts:
he
eriods
f
rt nd
re-
ativity,
f
harmony
etween
eeling
nd
discursive
eason
nd
will;
nd
inally,
f
he
triumph
f
discursive
eason
ver
ntuitive
eason,
practical
pplication
ver
re-
ation,"
exploitation
f
ife
ver he
iving
f
ife."
ather
han
egard
his s
the
highmomentf he volutionaryrocess,robeniusegardeduch nage, ndeed,as oneof
decadence. r so
Senghor
nderstoodim
s
saying.
t s
this
onclusion
which
mplicitlylaces
he ulturesf
Black
eoples
t
the
tage
f
nfancy
ithout
degrading
hem s
primitive
r ven
merely
volving/developing.
Here
gain,
lthough
enghor
either
ays
or
dmits
t,
robenius
ashim-
self
till
e-reading
nd
re-writingegel,
arwin
nd
Nietzschetthe
east. n
that
sense,
s
Mudimbe ould
ay,
robenius
ad
with
im
he
odor f
his
ancestors
about im.
ut hat
enghor
laced
reat remium
nthe
mystical"
nd
magical"
attributesf
what
robenius
as
happy
ocall
Ethiopian
nd
Hamitic
ivilizations,
respectively,
eant hat
ecould
ot
gnore
he ther act
hat,
ven
or
robenius,
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Michael
.
C. Echeruo
1
7
the
esultingompliment
o
Africa,
uch
s t
was,
ad
strictly
hetorical
haracter
to t.
Andherein
ay
n
important
tate
f
ffairs.or
enghor,
hat
ompliment
wasnot hetoricaln he east. he "truth"f robenius'seaningas n he ext f
Book
I
ofThe
History
fAfrican
ivilizations,
ot
n
Frobenius'sntentions.or
he
point
f
Senghor's
xtended
ommentary
n
themovements
f
hought
etween
France nd
Germany,
etween reece nd
Alexandria,
etween ationalism
nd
romanticism-allhat ffortas
part
f
larger
ommitment:o
explain
he
his-
tory
f
white ivilizationndat the ame ime o find
place
within
he
grander
scheme-and
good lace,
oo-for
he
ivilizationf heBlack
eoples.
use
Black
ratherhan
African
nthis
ontext
ecause
enghor
asnot s nterested
n
Africa
in
the
ggregate
ense
s
he
waswith
he
articularhenomenon
f
Black
Negro)
civilization.nd n curiouslyantalizingay,robeniusfferedperfectlyarmo-
nious
xplanation.
y eparating
amitic rom
thiopian,
ystical
rom
agical,
Senghor
as lso enabled o
separate
orth
Africa rom
quatorial
nd
tropical
Africa
although
e
was
to
oin
Frobenius
n
excluding
he
Hottentotsnd
the
Bushmenromhis atter
ivilization).
It
has
not ften
nough
een
ecognized
hat
n
espousing
robenius's
hesis,
and n
hus
ostulatinghistory,
lbeit future
ne,
or
egro
eoples,enghor
as
enabled o
ndulge
isAfricanelf
y
ejecting
rance
as
the oul f
uropeanism)
and
hailing ermany
s
the ude
ut
merging
pirit
f
renewed
urope.
hus,
s
thoroughly
renchs his
ducation
as, enghor
as
nevertheless
eo-Germanic
inhis
eepestllegiances.
rmore
xactly,
e aw nFrobenius's
heory
f he lter-
nationsn
the
history
f
man etweenhe
thiopian
nd
heHamitic
correspon-
dencewith he
lternations
etween
Gallic,
artesian)
ationalism
nd
German,
Herderian)
omanticism.
ndeed,
enghor's
ntire
roject
eems o consistn
the
recognition
f
he
irreplaceable"
ruthf achof
hese
omponents
f
hese ivili-
zations. efore
robenius,
o
Senghor
eld,
ivilizations
scillatedromne
pole
o
another.
ermany
having
ttainedts
maturity
ith German
mastery
n
the
manipulation
f
acts' was oon oreturn
owhat
robenius
quoted y
enghor)
called "sense f
he
eal,
which
lways,
ltimately,riumphs
ver
acts"
"Revolu-
tion" 8). Moder culture asneither allicnorGermanic.wentieth-century
European
ivilization
as,
n
fact,
n
aberration:
a
civilizationhich
as
destroyed
the
elebrated
quilibrium
nd
despiritualized
uro-America
y
ausing
t o ose
ts
Gemut,
ts oul"
"Revolution"
7).
f
he
urrentad
was
Germanic,
t
nly rought
into
ocus hat
enghor
elt he
Negro-African
lready
ad:
true alance
etween
the
wo. he
challenge
f
Negro-African
ivilization
as n ts
ffirmationf
the
equilibrium
etween
eeling
nd
will,
oul
nd
mind"
"Revolution"
7,
88),
a fea-
ture hich
enghor
oted hat
imbaud
ad
rhetorically
pprehended
n
A
Season
in
Hell.
There,
enghor
ays,
imbaud
turs
his
ack
n
blind
ositivism,
nd ele-
brateshe iscoveriesfhisnew rt""Revolution"2).
The connection
ith
imbaud as
not
gone
nnoticed,
ut t
hasnot
been
used o
re-construct
enghor's
eading
f
Frobenius.
anet
.
Vaillant as
noted
that
mong
heFrench
oets
opular
ith he
ntellectualsf
his
generation,
en-
ghor
referred
laudel,
imbaud,
nd
Baudelaireo
"themore
erebral
allarme,
Valery,
r
Verlaine,"
lmost
uggesting
hereby
hat
his
reference
as
ue
o
kind
of
ntellectual
ncapacity
n
the
part
f
Senghor
nd
his
generation
f
Africans
(75).
It
would ave
beenmore
o
the
point
o
relate
enghor's
references
o
his
anti-rationalist,
ro-Romantic
sdistinct
rom
ny
nti-intellectualist
nclinations.
Rimbaud'slaims o
n
"African
ssence,"
ven tface
alue,
would
ave een
uite
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8
I
Research
n
African
iteratures
irrelevant
o the
"essence,"
o to
speak,
f
Africa
tself,
ust
s
Senghor's
German-
ness" o
Germany.
fRimbaud startled
ourgeois
rance
f he
ate
nineteenth
en-
tury
ydeclaring
imself
Negro
nd
eaving
rance
withmuch anfareo
spend
he
rest fhis ifenAfrica"Vaillant75),he was ndulgingimself,otprovidingval-
idating
heory
f
Hamitic
civilization.
n
this
merging
fthe
iteral nd
the meta-
phoric,
fthe iberation fthe
poetic
oul nd the
physical
eparation
rom
urope-
we should ense the
kind
of
difficulty
nherent
n Rimbaud's
wn
words
nd
faiths,
and ofwhat
enghor
wouldhave made
of
t.That is to
say,
herewasno
way
engh-
or's
Negritude
ouldhave made
noble
avage
ofhis
own
being
o himself.
To
say
as
Rimbauddoes
in "A
Season in
Hell"),
"I am an
animal,
nigger"
was
not
to love
Africa r
African
ways,
r to be
an
apostle
of
Negritude.
enghor
knew
that
Nigger
was
a
convenient
wear-word,
term
n
whichwas
perpetually
inscribed cultivated,anguinebutvicarious estialization f theEuropean elf.
Rimbaud
might
ave said ofhimself hat
he was brother nd kinsman o
Beelzebub
and
meant
t in
the same sense that
he
would
peak
of
himself
ntering
the
true
kingdom
f
the sons
of
Ham"
(Complete
Works
96;
"Je
uis
une
bete,
un
negre...
J'entre
u vrai
royaume
es
enfants e
Cham,"
Oeuvres
193).
Rimbaud
makes t
clear
thatthe new aesthetics
would
"determine he form
nd movement
f
every
consonant,
nd
by
means
f nstinctive
hythms,
I would]
latter
myself]
hat
had
invented
poetic anguage
ccessible o
all the senses."That
system,
o which
he
held
the reserved
ight
f "translation" as
actually
parodic
ssertion
f a
deep-
seated
elf-disgust:
The oldtricks
f
oetrylayed
n
mportant
art
n
my lchemy
f
heword.
accustomed
yself
o
plain
allucination:
uite rankly
used
o ee
mosque
in
place
f
factory,
school f
rums
ade
y
ngels,
arriages
n
the oads
f
heaven,
salon t
the ottom
f
lake;
monsters,
ysteries;
ballad itle aised
up
horrorsefore e. hen
explained y
magicalophistries
ith he alluci-
nation
f
words.
ended
y inding
he
isorder
f
my
mind
acred."
Carre
11
And
yet,
enghor
aw n
thatribald
onversion
n
indirect
utwelcome
cknowl-
edgment
f
hisessential
African ifference.
To
the
extent,
f
course,
hat
Rimbaud's
elf-corroding,
urope-flagellating
posturewas seenasa comment nthedeclineof heEuropeanMan,tothat xtent,
paradoxically,
as
Rimbaud's
hrasing
nderstood,
n
the sense
n which
Europe
usually
read"
hegemonic
discourses,
s
an
implicit
ndorsement f
the value
of
HamiticMan. Francewas
correct
n
reading
lluminationss a
testament
f
protest,
as
implying
validation f
hevalues
nd
essenceswhich t
thought
thad
ascribed
to
the
Negro,
he
non-European
man.
But
to that
xtent, lso,
Rimbaud's
hetoric
still
oncedes
o
Europe
he
first
laim
to
Reason and
Order.
xile,
n
fact,
ecomes
the
simplest esture
f
his
disappointed eproof;
n
index of
his
frustration
ith
France's
and
Europe's)
failure,las,
to live
up
to its
destiny.
urope
etains
itle o
theprovince fReasonand Order.The Europehe wasrejectingmaybe fake.The
civilization fFrance
n
which
he
businessman,
he
udge,
he
general
nd even
the
emperor
re all fake
niggers,
o to
speak,
may
ndeedbe also
fake;
ut ts inwas
the
price
o
pay
for hecult
of
Reason,
he
price
f
being
Man,
n
theold
rationalist,
og-
ito
ense
of
heterm.
Rimbaud's
egrophilia,
hen,
was a
farcical ut
welcomedrama fhis
escape
from
aradise nd his
hankering
or
Hell,
Satan's
paradise,
he
region
f
thirst
nd
hunger";
f"shouts,
rums,
nd
dance,"
f"Dance, dance,
dance,
dance "
The
cele-
bration s
really
n
anti-masque,
s
Jonathan
gate
has
demonstrated
Ngate,
pas-
sim).
The
language
remains rench nd
Catholic.
Rimbaud's
oetry
f
escape
is
-
8/10/2019 Negritude and History - Senghor's Argument With Frobenius
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Michael
.
C. Echeruo 1
9
laced
hrough
nd
hrough
ith he
anguage
f
Christian
edemption.
isGod
s
always,
n a
sense,
he
riginal
udaic
od,
lthough
is
Hamitic
eaven,
ow
parody
f
aradise,
s
play
lace
or hildren.hereGodwill o
ongerregret
he
age f motionnd eeling,"here vilwill xpresstselfn he bligationimposed
by
white
men)
o be
baptized,et
ressednd
go
o
work"
Complete
orks
97; Je
ne
regrette
as
e
siecle es oeurs
ensibles...."
Les lancs
ebarquent.
e canon
l
faut
e
soumettreu
bapteme,
'habiller,ravailler,"
euvres
93). ndeed,
nd
at
heart,
lluminations
s
closer
o
ThePreludehan asbeennoticed
see
rele
0-71);
and s a
furtherndication
hat
his
Romanticism,
or
ll its ense frevolt
rom
Europe,
or
ll
its
hankering
fterhe
wisdom
fthe
Orient,
or ll
its
fascinated
interest
n
thechildren f
Ham,
was
a
variation
n
an
old
European
rope:
n
invertedelebrationf he
reatness
hatWAS
Europe.
Vaillantays f llthis hat clearly,imbaud asnotpre-occupiedithhe
actual
elationship
etween realAfricand
real
urope,
rwith he
rue ature
of
he
African. e
used he wo s
geographicalymbols
o
express
n
inner
trug-
gle."
n
theworld hus
reated,
nd n certain
oods,"
the
oet ejected
he
and
conventionally
ssumed
o
be
superior,
rance,
or
hat
onventionallyespised,
Africa"
77).
Butwhile
aying
o,
Vaillant
oes
not
eparate
wo
ssues:
imbaud's
use
of
Africa nd
Senghor's
ttachment
o it.
For
Rimbaud
as
not,
xcept
n
a
demonstrably
hetorical
ense,
ayingnything
ositive
bout
Africa.
imbaud's
text
was
nly gesture:
t ouldnever e read
t face alue.
ssentially,
n
fact,
he
surface
ext
fA SeasonnHell
ays
hat ne an
get
o
fed
p
nd o
dissatisfied
ith
the tate fEuropeanormorepecifically,fGallic)civilizationhat newould
wish newere
othing
ut
mere east.
WallaceFowlie's
udgment
n
this,
hough
peaking
o
Rimbaud's
roto-
Freudianism,
s
till
pposite.
owlie
peaks
f
he mother'somb"
s
the first
os-
mos
f
child"
ust
s the
paternal
ouse" s
the econd
osmosn
which
athers
"phantom"
r law"
ndmothers "the
ne
person
e
hasthe
ight
ndthe
gift
f
understanding
nd
oving
ecause e feels o
shame n
her
presence"
15).
The
poetry
f
Rimbaud's
eventh
ear,
owlie
rgues,
as
hat f
"primitive
ite"
nd
the hild
Rimbaudresembled
he
Negro
nd
pagan
f
his
eal
oems
f
ifteen
nd
sixteen"14).Rimbaud'sevolt as kind f reudianomingf ge,markedy he
formal
illing
f he
French ather
o
he
can
become man
assume
esponsibility
forife":
This
rama,
hichs
change
f
iving
nd
mind,
elebrated
y rimitive
ribes
as
the
olemnite f
uberty,
nd
assed
vern
ilence
y
he
ivilizationsf
our
ime,
s ne
f he
mysterious
f llhuman
ramas.
16)
Hence,
Rimbaud's
ejection
f
rance
s well s his
spousal
f
Hamitism,
ere
ut
gestures
f
he
pirit,
struggle
o
discoveris
rue
spiritual
eing"
n
n
age
which
had
destroyed
is
hree
osmoses:
the
aternal
ouse
which
hould
ave
been
he
love f motherndwhich asnot; evolt hich hould avebeen he ove f er-
sons nd
whichwas
not;
he
pirit
hich
hould
ave
been he
oveof
God
and
whichwas
not"
25).
Deconstructed,
owlie's
rgument
ould
mean,
s s
actually
the
ase,
hatRimbaud
as
uffering
rom
heneurosesf
familial
lienation;
nd
from he
frustrationn
never
aving
he
prospect
f
resolving
is
crisis
ither
througharricide
r
ncest. is
protestations
otwithstanding,
imbaud as
nei-
thern
ove
with frica
orwith
fricans.
Senghor's
egritude,
hen,
was
not
a
matterf
Freudian
meta-speak.
is
claim o
the ove f
blackness as
he urface
ext;
s
ndeed
ashis
pride
n
being
a
Hamite.
nd his s
why enghor's
onnection ith
imbaud
ecomes
venmore
-
8/10/2019 Negritude and History - Senghor's Argument With Frobenius
11/14
10
I
Researchn
African
iteratures
important.enghor's
ommenthat
imbaud as
visionarydiscovering
heval-
ues
fNegritude,"
ouches
n/addresses
hat
art
fRimbaud'statementhatwas
f
interest
o
he
African
n
Senghor,
amely,
he elebrationf
form
ndmovement"
andof instinctivehythms,"f newkind f estheticsotnegotiatedrunder-
stood
withinhose onventions
fArt
o
which
urope
sually
aid
ittlettention.
Senghor
elished
n
that
oncept
f
a
poetic
word
accessible,
t
one time
r
another,
o all the
enses,"
hat
would,ndeed,
efine
the
stheticsf
Negro
Art"
("Revolution"2).
But heRevolution hich
enghorpeaks
f nhis
ssay
s,
ll
said,
ot
he
Frobenian,
ut he
Bergsonian
ne.
This
needs
mphasizing
n
this
ontext.en-
ghor
wells
n t
specially
ecause
f he
ontrast
t
nables
im omake
with he
Nietzscheanvent n
Germany.
oth
Bergson
nd
Nietzsche,
nthis
eading,
ere
re-interpretingristotle.escartes adearliere-interpretedhe ripartismf he
Nichomachianthics
y ettingp regime
fMind
nous)
nd he ubordinationo
it
of
hefacultiesf ensation
aisthesis)
nd
desire
orexis).
escartes's
evolution
then
ay
n ts
eplacing
f
Aristotelian
ripartism
ith
he
ystem
f
duality,
he
opposition
f
discursivend ntuitive
eason,
fdianoia
nd
theoria,
s
Senghor
points
ut.Nietzsche
dopted
his
artesiancheme ut et t
up
on a
foundationf
Schopenhauerianessimism
o
produce
hat
enghor
alls
"symbiosis
f
eeling
and
ntuition,
iscursiveeason nd
will"
"Revolution"
0).
The Revolution
f
1889,
he
Bergsonian
vent
rising
rom
he
publication,
as
Senghorpecifies,
f ssai ur es
onneesmmediatese a
conscience
Time
nd ree
Will),wasnot o much revoltgainst eason sagainst ationalism'sisplace-
ment
f
ntuition
s
an
analogous
aculty
o
Reason. rmore
xactly,
ergsonpoke
out
against
what
enghor
alls rationalism's
intellectualist
eviation"nd its
"materialistic
ositivism."
n
place
f
heCartesian
uality
f
discursive
nd ntu-
itive
eason,
ergson
et
p parallelsymbiosis
f
eeling
nd
ntuition,"
henew
(and
in
Senghor's
iew,
he
"true")
meaning
f
Aristotle'sous. n
that
ense,
although
he
Bergsonian
evolution
ought
o
supplant
he
Cartesian,
t
was
not
altogether
or
primarily)
ntended
o
reject
Reason,
but
in
contrast o
the
Nietzscheanism,
ut n
the
pirit
fthe
humanism
fthe
French
evolutionf
1789) o ffirmhe values f ifendfreedom"hilelikeNietzsche's)ultivating
"man's
reative
otential"
"Revolution"
1-82).
There
was,
hen,
nthe
nviron-
ment
f
1889,
oth
strong
nti-humanist
German)
momentum
in
Nietzsche)
and
deeply
elt umanistic
French)
mpulse
in
Bergson)
hich,
ogether,
ade
the
poetic
evolt
f
Rimbaud
n event f
ome
momentor
enghor.
t
was
his
moment
hich,
n
hindsight,
ade he
laims
f
Frobeniusn
Destinyf
Nations
compelling.
hat robenius
id
was
o
onsolidate
he
tate
f
mind
isposing
en-
ghor
ndhis
lack
olleagues
o
the
ssertionf
heir
articular
ivilization.n
Sen-
ghor's
atherxact
hrasing
f
hematter:
Wehad
no ack f
rguments
ith
hich
to ttractur ellowfricansndNegroesf he iasporao he enaissancefBlack
Culture....
Yet
we
began
o seek
other ven
more
triking
rguments
fter e
encounteredrobenius"
"Revolution"
7).
In
many ays,
hen,
enghor
ighlights
ome
ronic
moments
f
history.
he
revolutions
f
889 nd
1936had
onsecrated
wo
rucial
momentsn
he
history
f
European
scendancy.
n
both
evolutions,
urope
ad
created
Caucasian
model
of
progress
rom
hat
may
e
termedhe
ommon
istory
f
hemankind.
pecifi-
cally
he
Surrealist ovementn
Art
which
urope
aw
s itsown
definitionf
excellence
ecame
symbol
f
Europe's
wn
imitations.f he
Revolutionf
1889
was a
returno
Romanticism,
o was
the
Surrealist
ovement
ndeed lso
an
-
8/10/2019 Negritude and History - Senghor's Argument With Frobenius
12/14
Michael
.
C. Echeruo
I
11
acknowledgment
f
Africa.twas
oubly
ronichat
urope
as
e-defining
tself
n
terms
f
curiousombinationf
lements,
fricanndGerman.
imbaud's
ejec-
tion f
Gallic ivilizationhus
ecame
variant
f
he
ejection
fDescartes
nd he
Greek raditionsowhichtwas ssociated.twas lso nembrace,y mplication,
of
German
xpressionism
nd he
dentical
ife f he
aideuma,
r
he
oul,
oth f
Africand
f
Germany,
hich
robeniusad
laimed ad
merged
romis
tudy
f
the
ocietiesnd ultures
f
Africa.
Senghoruotes
robenius'sefinition
fpaideumaas
a
psychological
otion
which
esignates
he
piritual
tructure
f
people
o
he
xtenthat t smanifested
in ulturalehavior"
"Revolution"
6).
t s n
his
oncept
hat
enghor
and
Fro-
benius)
ome losest
othe dea f validatable
wentieth-century
odernism.
or
in
their
cheme,
egritude
ot
nly
llowed or
he efinition
f
thiopian
ulture
asbelongingoNegroes,"ut above ll"thedefinitionf he deaofpaideumas
applied
oour
wn
entury.
n
retrospect,enghor's
raise
fGerman
xpression-
ism
mplied
n his
rejection
fFrench ationalismas
doubly amning
ecause t
was
Germany
ndeed hich
n
hose
ery
ears
as
cting
ut he nner onclusions
which treached romts
elf-appointed
ask
f
estoring
he
glory
fGreece nthe
guise
f heGermanoul.
n
ts ask f
ppropriating
reece,
ermany's
ontempt
for he
plebeian
mpiricism
f he
English
nd he ffete
ationalism
f
France id
indeed lso ead othat
egradation
f
he
negro/Africanerson
hich ad
hitherto
been imited
n German
hought
o theAfricanontinent.he
grand
istory
f
Hegel ecame he randeracismf ven robeniusnd heGermanrain-weighers
and
geneticists.
ate eems omehow o have found semiotic
ropriety
n his
adopted
irst
ame,
eopold.
t
hasnotbeen
ufficiently
oted,
enghor
ays,
hat
Frobenius
puts
he
Germans,
long
with he
Negro-Africans,
nto
thiopian
ivili-
zation,
hereas
he
rench,
he
nglish,
nd he
Americans
re
laced
ntoHamitic
civilization"
"Revolution"6-87).
Of
ourse,
or
enghor,
robeniusasnot acist.Ithasnotbeen
ufficiently
noted,"
enghorays,
that robeniusnsists
pon
ulture,
ot ace"
"Revolution"
86).
Indeed,
enghor
ctually
ays
hat
robenius
asa
"consistent
nti-racist"
(85).
And twould o more
avematteredhatasJohannesabian asrecently
suggested)
robenius
poke
with hevoice f he
Herrenmensch,
he ace hatwill
enslave nd utilize he labor
ower"
f
the
Negro"
Fabian
0).
Frobenius as
anti-racistecause e subscribed
o
the
dea
of
the
unity
fhuman
ivilization"
(84),
a
unity ruly
ormed
romhe
diversity
f
ts
many
ormsr
styles,
ach of
which culture
kultur)
f ts wn. There reneither
rimitive
eoples
or
rimi-
tive aces"
85).
What
hey
ll
shared
n
was
history;
ore
xactly
morphology,
character-of-beingnalogous
othat f
hehuman
rganism
tself.
his tructuref
being
was
volutionary,
ot n theDarwinian
ense
y
whichMan
wasnot
really
Manuntil
e
hadevolvednto
Man,
but
nthe
developmental
ense n
which
he
child, heyouthndtheMan are lltruly en houghmanifestingachone the
style
r
piritppropriate
o ts
istory
nd ts oul.
Ethnic
haracterology,"
henew
sciencewhich aul
Grieger's
amous
ork
ad
naugurated,
as,
n ts wn
way,
furtheronfirmationf
robenius's
nalysis.
or t
rgues
or common
raitf mo-
tivity
etween ermans
nd
Africans,
wo
thno-types
alled
fluctuants"nd
"introverts"ecause newas
slower"han he thern
reactiono motional
tim-
ulus"
87).
Senghor
as
ery
much aken
y
his
hought.
robenius's
laborate
ypology
of
nfancy,
dolescence,
nd
maturity
ecame
or
enghor
ot he
igures
f idicule
-
8/10/2019 Negritude and History - Senghor's Argument With Frobenius
13/14
12
I
Research
n
African
iteratures
and
mockery
hich
hey
ssentially
ere utmomentsf
high
raise
nd
pprecia-
tion. he
"kingdom
f hildhood" hich
enghor
peaks
f
n TheRevolution..."
is
heworld f ulfillment
nd
ulture.
nthat
ingdom,ong
eforeis ontact
ith
his rencheachers,
enghor
ad xperiencedpriorand ntuited)ejectionf he
lessonwhich
is eachers
rged
n him. n the
village,
e had
mbibed
he three
essentials
f
Negro-African
esthetics:he
ymbolicmage;
he
melody
f ormsnd
movements,
ounds
nd
colors; nd,
inally,
he
rhythm
f
symmetricalarallel-
ism"
"Revolution"8).
The
maturity
f
hildhood,
ike
he
ationality
f
motions,
markedhe
ogic
fboth robeniusnd
Senghor.
t was
learly
he
point
hat or
Senghor
s for
many
ther frican
hinkers,
he
uggestion
f
nfancy
as
not
yn-
onymous
ith henotion f hildishnessnd
naivete,
utwith
hat
f
romise
nd
innocence.
frica,
s other frica hinkers
nd
writersontinued
o
say,
was
he
continentf he uture.twas continent
rowing
nto ts wn uture
aturity.
he
image
f
nfancy
erved
lso
o
ustify
t
the
lobal
evel he ase
for
he ecadence
of
urope.
For
enghor,
hen,
othing
ould avebeenmore
ystematic
nd
non-racial
than
scheme
hich oth
cknowledged
he
ntiquity
fAfricanultures
well
s
its
promise
f
uture
evelopment.
robenius ade t
possible
o ove he
past
nd
hope
or future.
t
especiallyut
ther
hings
ntheir
lace, ncluding
he
attern
he was
lready
ttachedo s a
history
f
uropeanhought,amely
he
teady
nd
destructivenfluencefrationalism.o claim oul ndemotionorNegroAfrica
was
nly preliminary
tatement;
he ull ssertionas hat oul nd motion ere
the
principal
haracteristicf he
Negro-Africaneoples.
n
that ense
eeling
nd
emotion,
ot reason nd
ogic,
were he essential haracteristicf
negro-Afri-
canness,
f
Negritude.enghor
oes
peak
f
robenius'sorks a
project
ocreate
"a
new ivilization
y econciling
ll
peoples
f he
arth na universal
ialogue."
But he
phrase,
universal
ialogue,"
omes,
otfrom robenius
imself,
ut rom
Teilharde
Chardin,
he
hilosopher
hose
atholicism,
atherhan
e-incarate
the
rationalism
f
Senghor'seminary
urriculum,
pened p
new
possibilities
o
Senghoror he ull mbracefEuropetogetherithtsnon-Cartesianlements)
("Revolution"3).
Senghoroints
ut,
hough,
hat
robenius
resages
eilhard
e
Chardin
nd
his
vision f "Civilizationf he
Universal'
(87).
But,
s
o
often
n
para-discourses
ith
urope,
he
Africanabit s o
ccom-
modate
make
oom
or)
lementsf ther
ystems
atherhan oabsorb
or
olo-
nize)
hem.t s
this eaturef
ccommodation,
re-eminently,
hat
ives
his
uch
an
mportant
ut
mbiguous
mportance
o he
igure
f
Bergson
round
hose rev-
olution"
enghor
hus uilds is
regime.
n
an
important
dentificationith
nd
departure
rom
ergson's
IntuitionS
method,"
enghor
eems obe
affirming
is
own African)ssertionhat ntuitions ALSO methodsee Deleuze, h. 1;
Grogin).
ntuitions
not he
Other,"
ut
Another."Black"snot
he Other"
o
"White"
ny
more han Reason" s
the Other" o
"Emotion."
he
problems
f
dualismnd
monismrise
irectly
nd
nevitably
ven romhe
Bergsonian
ormu-
lation.
hey
re
endered oot
y
enghor's.
ergson
nd
Frobenius,
lthough
till
European,
ade
enghor'segritude
anifest.
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8/10/2019 Negritude and History - Senghor's Argument With Frobenius
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Michael
J.
C. Echeruo
1 13
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