Antillanité
Encyclopedia
Antillanité is a literary and political movement developed in the 1960s that stresses the creation of a specific West Indian identity out of a multiplicity of ethnic and cultural elements.
's stress on the retention of Africa
n cultural forms in the Caribbean
, dwelt rather on the creation, out of a multiplicity of constituent elements, of a specifically West Indian cultural configuration to which, in time, the name "Antillanité" came to be given.
It seems to have been René Ménil
, a former collaborator of Aimé Césaire
, one of the principal champions of the Négritude movement, who, in an article entitled "Problèmes d'une culture antillaise" first clearly formulated the idea of a West Indian specificity (spécificité antillaise) that would enjoy such success in the years that followed.
French West Indian culture, according to Ménil, is: "neither African nor Chinese
, nor India
n, nor even French
, but ultimately West Indian. Our culture is West Indian since, in the course of history, it has brought together and combined in an original syncretism
all these elements derived from the four corners of the earth, without being any one of those elements in particular."1
, which published the results of its discussions on Caribbean identity in the short-lived journal Acoma
(1971-73).
Like its predecessor, Négritude, Antillanité is, at its base, an assertion of the difference in the face of the encroachments of the same. The whole of Glissant's theoretical work may be seen as a sustained polemic
, conducted in the name of "le Divers," (the different) against the claims of the universal, to which a succession of derogatory epithets are attached in a more or less routine fashion.
For Glissant, "the preoccupation with the universal is the alienated reverse side of the uniquely western pretension to exercise universal control"2, and it therefore follows that proponents of Antillanité must adopt a "firm opposition to any ideology of universal culture."3 Where Antillanité differs most markedly from Négritude is in its conception of the constitution of the different. For Négritude, the different was monolithic, being essentially African in character; however, in the view of Glissant, the different is, itself, diverse, complex, and heterogeneous, made up of a multiplicity of relations held in place by a complex process of attraction and repulsion. Thus, it could be said that while Négritude looked inwards, to African heritage, for its models and values Antillanité looked both inwards, and outwards, towards the Caribbean and Meso-America as a whole, in its quest for self-invention from which proponents conceived identity as an archipelago of signifiers, none of which enjoys primacy over the others and whose unity lies not in the fact of possessing a single source but, rather, in the complex amalgamation of these myriad forces which hold themselves in relation to each other. One of the major advances made by Antillanité is that it has, in large measure, shed the regressive, matrocentric orientation common to both assimilationism and Négritude.
Background
From the early 1960s, a new way of envisaging French West Indian identity began to be articulated by a number of Martinican thinkers, which, in contrast to NégritudeNégritude
Négritude is a literary and ideological movement, developed by francophone black intellectuals, writers, and politiciansin France in the 1930s by a group that included the future Senegalese President Léopold Sédar Senghor, Martinican poet Aimé Césaire, and the Guianan Léon Damas.The Négritude...
's stress on the retention of Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
n cultural forms in the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
, dwelt rather on the creation, out of a multiplicity of constituent elements, of a specifically West Indian cultural configuration to which, in time, the name "Antillanité" came to be given.
It seems to have been René Ménil
René Ménil
René Ménil was a French surrealist writer and philosopher who lived on the island of Martinique.Born and raised on the island of Martinique, Ménil was one of several of the island's natives who studied in France and returned to influence the independence movement with the ideas of Marxism, and...
, a former collaborator of Aimé Césaire
Aimé Césaire
Aimé Fernand David Césaire was a French poet, author and politician from Martinique. He was "one of the founders of the négritude movement in Francophone literature".-Student, educator, and poet:...
, one of the principal champions of the Négritude movement, who, in an article entitled "Problèmes d'une culture antillaise" first clearly formulated the idea of a West Indian specificity (spécificité antillaise) that would enjoy such success in the years that followed.
French West Indian culture, according to Ménil, is: "neither African nor Chinese
Chinese people
The term Chinese people may refer to any of the following:*People with Han Chinese ethnicity ....
, nor India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n, nor even French
French people
The French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...
, but ultimately West Indian. Our culture is West Indian since, in the course of history, it has brought together and combined in an original syncretism
Syncretism
Syncretism is the combining of different beliefs, often while melding practices of various schools of thought. The term means "combining", but see below for the origin of the word...
all these elements derived from the four corners of the earth, without being any one of those elements in particular."1
Theoretical Principles
Originally intended as a counter to the doctrine of Négritude, and its stress on an African rather than Caribbean identity, Antillanité was positively received by a number of prominent Martinican intellectuals, in particular the Groupe de Recherches de l'Institut Martiniquais d'Etudes headed by Édouard GlissantÉdouard Glissant
Édouard Glissant was a Martinican writer, poet and literary critic. He is widely recognised as one of the most influential figures in Caribbean thought and cultural commentary.-Life:...
, which published the results of its discussions on Caribbean identity in the short-lived journal Acoma
Acoma
Acoma may refer to:* Acoma , a scarab beetle genus of subfamily Melolonthinae* Acoma Pueblo, a Native American pueblo* Acoma Township, McLeod County, Minnesota, United States, more than one ship of the United States Navy...
(1971-73).
Like its predecessor, Négritude, Antillanité is, at its base, an assertion of the difference in the face of the encroachments of the same. The whole of Glissant's theoretical work may be seen as a sustained polemic
Polemic
A polemic is a variety of arguments or controversies made against one opinion, doctrine, or person. Other variations of argument are debate and discussion...
, conducted in the name of "le Divers," (the different) against the claims of the universal, to which a succession of derogatory epithets are attached in a more or less routine fashion.
For Glissant, "the preoccupation with the universal is the alienated reverse side of the uniquely western pretension to exercise universal control"2, and it therefore follows that proponents of Antillanité must adopt a "firm opposition to any ideology of universal culture."3 Where Antillanité differs most markedly from Négritude is in its conception of the constitution of the different. For Négritude, the different was monolithic, being essentially African in character; however, in the view of Glissant, the different is, itself, diverse, complex, and heterogeneous, made up of a multiplicity of relations held in place by a complex process of attraction and repulsion. Thus, it could be said that while Négritude looked inwards, to African heritage, for its models and values Antillanité looked both inwards, and outwards, towards the Caribbean and Meso-America as a whole, in its quest for self-invention from which proponents conceived identity as an archipelago of signifiers, none of which enjoys primacy over the others and whose unity lies not in the fact of possessing a single source but, rather, in the complex amalgamation of these myriad forces which hold themselves in relation to each other. One of the major advances made by Antillanité is that it has, in large measure, shed the regressive, matrocentric orientation common to both assimilationism and Négritude.
Sources
- 1. Burton, Richard. "KI MOUN NOU YE? The Idea of Difference in Contemporary French West Indian Thought." New West Indian Guide 67.1 and 2 (1993)P 14
- 2. Glissant, Edouard. Le discours antillais. Paris: Editions de Seuil, 1981. P 224.
- 3. Glissant, Edouard. Le discours antillais. Paris: Editions de Seuil, 1981. P 213.