A reconstrução da memória histórica afrodescendente em São Domingos: uma leitura de "O Reino deste Mundo" (1949)

Abstract

The present work addresses the theme “The Reconstruction of Afro-descendant Historical Memory in Saint-Domingue: A Reading of The Kingdom of This World” (1949), authored by the Cuban essayist Alejo Carpentier. The objective of this study is to analyze, based on the theoretical principles of Afrorealism (2005), how enslaved Afro-descendants reclaim African symbolic memory and restructure the historically informed memory of the African diaspora within the narrative context of the novel The Kingdom of This World (1949), set in the French colony of Saint-Domingue. To achieve this objective, we conducted na exploratory study, as we investigated aspects that have been little explored by literary criticism, such as the Afrorealist current, the concept of the marvelous real, and the historical context of the Haitian Revolution as addressed in Carpentier’s work. The results indicate that the particularities related to the reclamation and restructuring of African memory are presented in the novel through the historical figure of the Mandinga Mackandal, who symbolizes resistance by mobilizing enslaved Afro-descendants in the struggle for freedom. He acts as the main agent of African identity and cultural knowledge that remains alive in the Americas and in the African imaginary. We conclude that the discussions presented fulfill the Afrorealist proposal by rescuing and valuing African memory, which has historically been marginalized and distorted by traditional narratives.