Kesso Barry (born 1948) is a Guinean autobiographical writer in
French
French may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France
** French people, a nation and ethnic group
** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices
Arts and media
* The French (band), ...
.
Her autobiography, dedicated to her daughter, recounts the restrictive gender roles of her traditional upbringing as a member of the
Fulani
The Fula, Fulani, or Fulɓe people are an ethnic group in Sahara, Sahel and West Africa, widely dispersed across the region. Inhabiting many countries, they live mainly in West Africa and northern parts of Central Africa, South Sudan, Darfur, ...
nobility in
Guinea-Conakry
Guinea, officially the Republic of Guinea, is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Guinea-Bissau to the northwest, Senegal to the north, Mali to the northeast, Côte d'Ivoire to the southeast, and Sier ...
, and her escape to a Westernised life in
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
.
Life
Kesso Barry's father was Al Hajj Ibrahima Sory-Dara,
almamy
Almami (; Also: Almamy, Almaami) was the regnal name of Tukulor monarchs from the eighteenth century through the first half of the twentieth century. It is derived from the Arabic Al-Imam, meaning "the leader", and it has since been claimed as th ...
of
Mamou
Mamou ( Pular: 𞤃𞤢𞥄𞤥𞤵𞤲) is a city and sub-prefecture in a valley of the Fouta Djallon area of Guinea. The population is 376,269 (2018 est). Conakry
Conakry ( , ; ; ; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Guinea. A port city, it serves as the economic, financial and cultural centre of Guinea. Its population as of the 2014 Guinea census was 1,660,973.
The current population of C ...
and
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 ...
. She married aged 15, and had two children. In 1966, after divorcing her husband, she moved to Paris. There she pursued a successful career in fashion, married a Frenchman, and wrote her autobiographical novel.
Works
* ''Kesso, princesse peuhle''
esso, a Fulani princess Paris: Seghers, 1988.
References
Further reading
*
Irène Assiba d'Almeida
Irène Assiba d'Almeida is a Beninese poet, translator and literary scholar. She is Professor of Francophone Studies and French at the University of Arizona.
Life
Irène Assiba d'Almeida was born in Dakar, Senegal, to Dahomeyan parents. She was ...
, 'Kesso Barry's ''Kesso'', or Autobiography as a Subverted Tale', ''Research in African Literatures'' Vol. 28, No. 2 (Summer, 1997), pp. 66–82
* Edgard Sankara
L’appropriation du masculin dans Kesso, princesse peuhle de Kesso Barry ''Itinéraires'', No. 1 (2008). Retrieved 24 December 2016. DOI: 10.4000/itineraires.2221
External links
1948 births
Living people
Guinean writers
Guinean women writers
Autobiographers
Women autobiographers
{{Guinea-bio-stub