''La Grève des bàttu'' () is the second novel by

Aminata Sow Fall Aminata Sow Fall (born April 27, 1941) is a Senegalese-born author. While her native language is Wolof, her books are written in French. She is considered "the first published woman novelist from francophone Black Africa". Life She was born in ...

, published in

Dakar Dakar ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Senegal, largest city of Senegal. The Departments of Senegal, department of Dakar has a population of 1,278,469, and the population of the Dakar metropolitan area was at 4.0 mill ...

, Senegal, in 1979 by Nouvelles Éditions Africaines. In 1980, the book won the

Grand prix littéraire d'Afrique noire The Grand prix littéraire d'Afrique noire (one of the major literary prizes of Black Africa for Francophone Literature) is a literary prize presented every year by the ADELF, the Association of French Language Writers for a French original text ...

. An English-language translation by Dorothy Blair was published under the title ''The Beggars' Strike'' in 1981 by

Longman Longman, also known as Pearson Longman, is a publisher, publishing company founded in 1724 in London, England, which is owned by Pearson PLC. Since 1968, Longman has been used primarily as an imprint by Pearson's Schools business. The Longman ...

. ''La Grève des bàttu'' was republished in France in 2001 by Le Serpent à plumes.

Plot

The novel describes the revolt of beggars against a politician who expels them from the city, and the consequences of their begging strike in a society where alms are a matter of both religious and social obligation. Beggars, cripples, lepers, and children left to their own devices, the poorest, are in the habit of begging with their bowl in the busiest places in the city. They station themselves near mosques, crossroads, pedestrian crossings where residents, practicing Islam or having to make sacrifices to obtain a favor, give them alms. The authorities, concerned about the country's image with tourists, expel this poor population far from the city. In reaction, they unanimously decide to strike and refuse alms from anyone. The director of the sanitation service of the city of Dakar, who wants to become vice-president, is ordered by the

marabout In the Muslim world, the marabout () is a Sayyid, descendant of Muhammad (Arabic: سـيّد, Romanization of Arabic, romanized: ''sayyid'' and ''sidi'' in the Maghreb) and a Islam, Muslim religious leader and teacher who historically had the f ...

to give portions of sheep to the poor as a sacrifice. The distancing of the poor, which he himself organized, and their refusal of the slightest alms, turns them against him.

Bibliography

* *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Grève 1979 novels Satirical novels Senegalese novels

Plot

Bibliography

Further reading

References