The Sankofa Spirit And African Community Construction In Ayi Kwei Armah’s Novels

Ayi Kwei Armah(1939-)is widely recognized as one of the most revolutionary and widely read novelists in contemporary Africa.His works not only shed light on the problems that trouble present-day Africa,but also propose remedies for the continent’s social issues.In his works many African cultural elements are embodied,with the Sankofa spirit occupying a prominent position.In Akan culture,“Sankofa” is a significant cultural symbol,and its popular image is a bird flying forward while looking back,serving as a metaphor for the acting of looking back at history to guide the way forward,while also emphasizing the importance of community construction,All of which are expressed in Armah’s novels.In his Fragments,The Healers,and Osiris Rising,Armah vividly depicts how the African people can look back on Africa’s extensive history,comprehend the essence of traditional culture,draw lessons to cope with current realities,promote the rebuilding of African community,and ultimately achieve African revival and unity.These three works by Armah embody African people’s Sankofa spirit and hold high research value.Using the meaning embodied in Sankofa as the framework,this thesis examines how the themes expressed in Armah’s works resonate with the Sankofa spirit,taking these three of his novels as the key texts of this study.Firstly,this thesis starts by examining the social situation of African society as depicted in Armah’s novels,analyzing how the problems including the diaspora,culture change,African’s loss of identity,and the collapse of social community continue to trouble African society even after its independence.Secondly,this thesis analyzes the Sankofa-style looking back at African history in Armah’s novels,pointing out that Armah believes both Western colonial powers and internal divisive force within Africa are the root causes of Africa’s dismemberment and suffering,and that he highlights the significance of past experiences of hardships and rich traditional culture and spirit for Africa’s revival and unity.Thirdly,this thesis examines Armah’s Sankofa-style aspirations for the future development of Africa,as expressed in her novels,and the measures that need to be taken to address Africa’s social problems.Armah identifies the challenges faced by the existing political systems,social consciousness,and education system in Africa in these three novels,emphasizing the importance of taking appropriate measures.Fourthly,this thesis explores the concept of community embodied in Armah’s novels.In the oral folktale,the Sankofa bird eventually returns to the community,regains her identity and self-confidence with the help of the collective,and repels the malice from the outside world.Through the depiction of the characters’ return to the collective in his novels,Armah advocates for the return to and rebuilding of the African community among black people,viewing it as the key to addressing Africa’s current issues,and the notion of community spirit in his works undergoes a process of continuous refinement.Just as the Sankofa bird stretches her neck backward to pick up the fallen egg,Armah looks back at African history to illuminate the way forward for Africa,emphasizing the importance of historical experience and rebuilding community for Africa’s development.The Sankofa spirit presented in Armah’s works calls on the African people to learn from history to address present challenges and build a better future for Africa through collective efforts that emphasizes the values of African community.