Translation Review - The University of Texas at Dallas

the African language into the French text without
any accompanying translation:
Mahungu ko
Konkoto ko
Mu bakeno
Konko toko
Ku dia tu mundia
Konkoto ko
Ku lumbu ke
Konkoto ke
Mu gabeno (54).
If this song is introduced without its translation into
French, it is because, as the narrator explains, it is a
song known to all; it is “le chant contagieux des
dieux kongo, connu de nous tous” (54) (the song we
all know, the contagious song of the gods of
Kikongo). Ironically, however, the fact that the song
is only in Kikongo indicates that the all-inclusive
“nous” (we) refers only to the people of the Kongo
who share the same cultural heritage. In fact, it
excludes the monolingual French reader who can
understand the song only after it has been translated.
Thus, in this particular instance, the narrator’s statement
contrasts with an earlier one made about a
song “connu de tous les habitants” (29) (known to
all the people) of the city but that is made accessible
to all readers through its French translation:
Viens voir
Le soleil est tombé fou
Viens boire
Le ciel qui pisse le jour
Le plus bas du monde
Mange le temps qui passe
Et mets tes jambes dans tes yeux (29).
While certain songs are inserted into the text
without any translation (“Kamba ta Biyela ba
muhondele e-e / Kani mwatu e-e / Ko kwa kena e-e”
[56]), the translations of others are found in footnotes
(“Wa luwidi.... kokwa kena” [127], “Bo
Badindamana... Nsakala” [166]), while the meanings
of others are explained in the body of the narrative:
Wa mana bindamana
Beto bala mambu we yola.
Ce refrain dénoncait l’intention de génocide
que les Autorités nourrissaient à l’égard de
Hozanna et de Nsanga-Norda... (159).
Rather than a simple reminder that we are in
the presence of an African text, these Lingala/
Kikongo words, accents, and rhythms are essential
to the structure of the work, to its philosophical,
sociological, and literary ambitions. By introducing
these words and songs, these African turns of
phrase, Labou Tansi deconstructs the form of the
French novelistic genre to produce an authentic
African text. If Les yeux du volcan is the dream of
an African future, it is a dream viewed from a
Lingala/Kikongo point of view.
The novel is also rich in allusions as it makes
references to certain events that have a significant
impact on African history and studies. On page 70,
for instance, the discovery of “pétrole quatorze”
(petroleum fourteen) by a doctor calls to mind the
work of the Senegalese historian and anthropologist
Cheik Anta Diop, who was famous for his work
with “carbon 12,” while the name of Tombalbaye
(one of the cities in which the story is set) and a reference
to “des Tirailleurs tchadiens” (13) recall the
events of the Chadian civil war. (It must be noted
that Tombalbaye was the name of the Chadian president
whose overthrow led to that country’s civil
war.) Elsewhere, the narrator comments on the taking
of the Bastille and refers to this French
Revolution as “un bordel d’une Révolution” (73) (a
worthless Revolution), thus removing the sacred
aura surrounding the revolution on whose ideals
France’s “civilizing” mission may be said to have
been based. Foreign missionary activities in Africa
also come up for scrutiny. Although Labou Tansi
does not devote entire pages to a critique of the
actions of missionaries in Africa in the manner of
Mongo Beti (Le pauvre Christ de Bomba) [The Poor
Christ of Bomba] or Ferdinand Oyono (Une vie de
boy) [Houseboy], (Le vieux nègre et la médaille)
[The Old Man and the Medal], he nevertheless
stresses the dubious character of some of the
European and American missionaries who were in
66 Translation Review