Abdoulaye Sadji (1910 in
Rufisque
Rufisque (; Wolof: Tëngeéj) is a city in the Dakar region of western Senegal, at the base of the Cap-Vert Peninsula east of Dakar, the capital. It has a population of 295,459 (2023 census). ,
Senegal
Senegal, officially the Republic of Senegal, is the westernmost country in West Africa, situated on the Atlantic Ocean coastline. It borders Mauritania to Mauritania–Senegal border, the north, Mali to Mali–Senegal border, the east, Guinea t ...
– 25 December 1961 in
Dakar
Dakar ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Senegal, largest city of Senegal. The Departments of Senegal, department of Dakar has a population of 1,278,469, and the population of the Dakar metropolitan area was at 4.0 mill ...
)
was a Senegalese
writer
A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles, genres and techniques to communicate ideas, to inspire feelings and emotions, or to entertain. Writers may develop different forms of writing such as novels, short sto ...
and
teacher
A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching.
''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. w ...
.
Life
The son of a
Muslim
Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...
priest, a ''
marabout
In the Muslim world, the marabout () is a Sayyid, descendant of Muhammad (Arabic: سـيّد, Romanization of Arabic, romanized: ''sayyid'' and ''sidi'' in the Maghreb) and a Islam, Muslim religious leader and teacher who historically had the f ...
'', Sadji was educated in a
Quranic school
Madrasa (, also , ; Arabic: مدرسة , ), sometimes romanized as madrasah or madrassa, is the Arabic word for any type of educational institution, secular or religious (of any religion), whether for elementary education or higher learning. ...
[Wästberg, s. 292.] before attending French schools. After training as a teacher at the
École Normale William Ponty in
Gorée
(; "Gorée Island"; ) is one of the 19 (i.e. districts) of the city of Dakar, Senegal. It is an island located at sea from the main harbour of Dakar (), famous as a destination for people interested in the Atlantic slave trade.
Its populatio ...
, he became one of the first African high-school teachers, working in various parts of Senegal.
[Akyeampong, Gates, p. 242.] In 1932, he became only the second Senegalese person to earn a bachelor's degree.
In the 1950s, Sadji worked for a radio station in Dakar and in 1953, together with
Léopold Sédar Senghor
Léopold Sédar Senghor ( , , ; 9 October 1906 – 20 December 2001) was a Senegalese politician, cultural theorist and poet who served as the first president of Senegal from 1960 to 1980.
Ideologically an African socialist, Senghor was one ...
, he wrote a reading-book for elementary schools.
[ Entitled ''La Belle Histoire de Leuk-le-Lièvre'', this book preserves traditional Senegalese oral tales and is regarded as a classic collection of traditional stories from Africa.]Négritude
''Négritude'' (from French "nègre" and "-itude" to denote a condition that can be translated as "Blackness") is a framework of critique and literary theory, mainly developed by francophone intellectuals, writers, and politicians in the Africa ...
'', Senghor referred to Sadji as a pioneering practitioner of the values associated with ''Négritude''.
Sadji published two novels, ''Maïmouna: petite fille noire'' (1953) and ''Nini, mulâtresse du Sénégal'' (1954), along with a number of short stories, of which "Tounka" (1952) and "Modou-Fatim" (1960) are the best-known.[ His works often revolve around young girls from the countryside who are trying to adapt to a life in the city.][
]
References
* Curry, Ginette
''"Toubab La!": Literary Representations of Mixed-race Characters in the African Diaspora''
Newcastle: Cambridge Scholars Press, 2007.
*
*
Notes
1910 births
1961 deaths
People from Rufisque
People of French West Africa
Senegalese educators
Senegalese novelists
{{Senegal-writer-stub