Summary
The novel begins with a meeting of businessmen in a newly independent Senegal—specifically, a meeting of local bureaucrats who are celebrating the appointment of one of their own (i.e., a Black, Senegalese person) as President of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry. They celebrate this good omen for their fledgeling nation, saying that it is sure to pave the way towards economic independence from France. Separately, however, the businessmen gathered also talk of their excitement over the impending marriage of one among their ranks—El Hadji Abdou Kader Beye, a fifty-something man who is so named because of his completion of the pilgrimage to Mecca. This marriage in particular is to be El Hadji's third marriage, a milestone which propels him to the traditional rank of polygamist "captain" and signifies his true ascension into the ranks of nobility.
Here, a brief aside is given on El Hadji's background. Once a schoolteacher, he was dismissed from his post for involvement in union activity, but he eventually found great economic success as an importer-exporter. We also hear a bit about his two other wives, Adja Awa Astou—a convert to Islam who made the pilgrimage with him—and Oumi N'Doye—a lascivious and indulgent woman who enjoys living lavishly. Much like his two wives, El Hadji is described as a synthesis of two cultures—the traditional African culture and the colonial, "modern" culture of European business.
We then turn to the reception of El Hadji's third marriage, where an ostentatious show of wealth is being put on by both hosts and guests alike. Meanwhile, Yay Bineta, the aunt of the third bride (i.e., a position called Badyen), is keeping an eye on everything. After all, when her niece N'Gone (El Hadji's bride-to-be) was unable to continue her education and unable to find a job, it was she who conspired with N'Gone's parents (Old Babacar and Mam Fatou) to marry her off to a wealthy man. Yay Bineta carefully orchestrated a series of visits between El Hadji and N'Gone, increasing their frequency and visibility until El Hadji felt pressure to marry N'Gone as an honorable Muslim. El Hadji was also pressured by Yay Bineta's allusive and aggressive language, which made him cave eventually, despite the fact that N'Gone's mother opposes polygamy. We then flash back to the scene of the wedding, where El Hadji has gifted a car to N'Gone, and the men who married the pair at the mosque in absentia enter in ceremonial dress. N'Gone is about to depart and head to the site of the reception.
Again, we flash away from the wedding to learn more about El Hadji's two wives, each of whom has a home named after her. First, we turn to Adja Awa Astou, who is a stern and strong, yet delicate and fragile woman. She is preparing for El Hadji's third wedding ceremony, but her eldest daughter Rama—who grew up during Senegal's struggle for independence and has the fiery spirit of a freedom fighter—is telling her that polygamy is immoral and degrading to the sister wives involved. Adja counsels Rama that such talk is easy, but the real-life situations of polygamy are far more complicated and ambiguous. Just then, El Hadji enters. Rama confronts him about his polygamy and dishonesty, and he strikes her, telling her that she "can be a revolutionary at the university or in the street but not in my house" (13). He then departs with Adja.
Adja and El Hadji then arrive at Oumi N'Doye's house. Though Modu, the chauffeur, urges Adja to get out and go to Oumi for etiquette purposes, she refuses. Even when El Hadji presses her, she refuses out of a sense of pride and jealousy directed at Oumi, who she feels was a type of replacement for her. Oumi, speaking French to El Hadji, tells him upon entry that she feels Adja pressured him to marry N'Gone out of ill will towards her and their rivalry (i.e., to replace the woman who replaced her). She assures El Hadji that she will not take this fight to N'Gone's wedding, but she teases El Hadji (regarding the fact that he only drinks bottled mineral water) and keeps trying to get Adja to come into her house (which she never does).
Later, the three arrive the site of the wedding, where Yay Bineta greets the two wives euphemistically and insists on unity and cooperation between them. She also wants El Hadji to prepare for a traditional virginity ceremony involving an axe-handle and mortar, but El Hadji refuses. El Hadji is nonetheless whisked away, and Oumi and Adja finally have a moment together. They discuss their rivalry, but Adja insists that Yay Bineta is really their true enemy. Just then, N'Gone enters, and she dances with El Hadji as the festivities continue.
Adja begins to feel ill, and she slips away to return home. She then reminisces on her courtship with El Hadji. Adja's father, Papa John, was born into third-generation African Catholicism on the island of Gorée, so it angered him immensely when she (then called Renée) married a Muslim. Stirred from her recollections, Adja comes to find Rama in her room. She asks after her, then leaves, and our narrator informs us that "as others isolate themselves with drugs [Ajda] obtained her own daily dose from her religion" (22).
Analysis
This first part of the novel is masterfully done in the way it subtly characterizes its cast. Through a combination of subtle and implicit cues, explicit and direct dialogue, and clear actions, the contours of our main themes and personae are laid out. At the same time, however, one does well to keep track of what is revealed explicitly by Sembène and what is only implied, for in his world, what is said is just as important as what is left unsaid.
Take the character of El Hadji, for example. In the way of explicit dialogue and action, we see that he treats his wives with little respect, though he loves them on some basic level. He lavishes them with gifts, but he is also quick to dominate them and force them into uncomfortable situations (like his new wedding), if need be. He also physically hits his daughter Rama when she resits his new marriage. At the same time, however, we see that it is these same women who exert undue influence over him. He is a walking bank for Mariem, his youngest daughter with Oumi, and he is a target for the crafty and aggressive Yay Bineta. El Hadji is thus not just a domineer of women, but also their plaything, able to be toyed with and manipulated on account of his male pride. This pairs nicely with the explicit description of El Hadji as a man torn between two cultures: he is inherently a very ambiguous and fraught character along multiple dimensions and axes. Also in the way of explicitly seen actions is El Hadji's refusal to perform Yay Bineta's suggested ritual, as well as his choice to dress in European clothes and drive a European car (i.e., a Mercedes). He is not a traditionalist, and he rejects many of the important cultural practices of his own homeland, instead embracing a modernity coded with Westernization. Finally, regarding the implicit in this part of the novel, we have subtle cues like El Hadji's refusal to drink anything but bottled water. Such a taste reflects a general distrust on El Hadji's behalf for the local tap water—and, by extension, the local people. El Hadji, though torn in many ways, sees himself as at a higher base level than others, but this paradoxically leads to his self-isolation and alienation (reflected also in his inability to participate in real family life).
Adja Awa Astou is also characterized exceptionally well in this first section of the novel. In the description of her home, for example, we get a sense of the stability and neutrality of her character—after all, the house has a wrought iron gate (evocative of stability) and is located in a safe neighborhood with a constant and lazy police presence. In her stated pleasantries towards Oumi and Yay Bineta, too—especially in contrast to her repressed discomfiture with each, and her choice to leave the wedding—we see that Adja is not just even-tempered, but also a very restrained and repressed person that keeps her true feelings down for etiquette's sake. In her recollections of her father, we see that she is a very loyal person who values family over all else, even if it means that she has to live with some pain. Finally, in the fact that she wears only white and in the narrator's own commentary on her religious zeal, we see that faith is both what sustains Adja and also guides her to live a life of humility and modesty (even when there may be pressure to act a different way). Specifically, from the latter source, we learn that religion is a kind of pharmakon for Adja, both rewarding her and isolating her further from those around her.
Oumi N'Doye is a clear foil to Adja in her characterization, and this is reinforced in the rivalry between the two that is mentioned several times in these opening pages. In addition to this however, there are other clues that set the two against each other. While Adja speaks Wolof, the majority indigenous language of Senegal, Oumi speaks in French to El Hadji, reflecting her "modern" leanings and her foreign tastes. This starkly differs from Adja's antiquarian conservatism. Additionally, where Adja mostly remains silent in both the car and at the marriage ceremony, Oumi is more outspoken, speaking to Yay Bineta and scattering drops of her drink on the ground as Yay Bineta watches. Finally, while Oumi's children are seen primarily making demands from El Hadji (i.e., her Mariem asks him for money), Adja's are seen standing up to El Hadji and mimicking her headstrong nature (this is especially true in the case of Rama, who is also discussed below).
Yay Bineta and N'Gone also stand in stark contrast to one another, and this is clear from the way that they are implicitly and explicitly characterized here. For one, while N'Gone is a beautiful and fresh young woman, Yay Bineta is old and dumpy—and, as we will come to find out, is a widow twice over. Where N'Gone is very tractable, easily being managed by her family members, Yay Bineta is far more aggressive, taking control of her niece's wedding ceremony and even ordering around N'Gone's parents in an attempt to help N'Gone marry rich. Finally, and most subtly, a primary contrast between N'Gone and Yay Bineta lies in the fact that Yay Bineta plays a very active role both in life and in the text, taking up lots of space and providing lots of dialogue, whereas N'Gone is more of a passive figure who is only put on display, used as a bargaining chip, and framed as a symbol of physical desire. This directly corresponds to their respective roles in the text—the silver-tongued and obstructive aunt and the passive, sexual, and docile third wife, respectively.
Finally, we have the character of Rama. Though she is only one of El Hadji's several children, her status as the eldest and the fact that she grew up during the revolution cement her early on as an important and distinct figure in the text, as does her courage in confronting her father. At the same time, however, Rama is also made out to be a clear victim of oppression and gender-based prejudice, made clear in the instant that her father hits her for her disobedience. Like her father, then, Rama also occupies a type of intermediary or liminal role. As a further example of this idea, consider Rama's education—Rama is a woman, and her ability to study at the university thus represents a type of progressive or "modern" luxury, but she also chooses to study Wolof and thus holds traditional values like her mother. Just as El Hadji straddled the boundaries between the colonial and postcolonial, then, Rama might be said to serve as a transitional figure situated between the lifestyles of her father and mother, though she also diverges from both of them in key ways.
Looking at these above characterizations, some clear themes emerge that will come to define the rest of the novel. These include tradition, modernity, ritualism, neocolonialism, foreignness, indigenousness, gender, religion, marriage, and family. Though the events of this first couple dozen pages are relatively unremarkable compared to the things that will happen in the rest of the novel, it is thus a marvel that Sembène is able to cover as much ground thematically as he does, and the characterization he is able to accomplish is also impressive. Keeping an eye fixed on these themes and characteristics as the novel progresses will also help reveal the very complex and nuanced nature of Sembène's far-reaching and wide-ranging social commentary.
