''Waiting for the Wild Beasts to Vote'' (French: ''En attendant le vote des bêtes sauvages'') is a satirical French-language novel by the Ivorian writer

Ahmadou Kourouma Ahmadou Kourouma (24 November 1927 – 11 December 2003) was an Ivorian novelist. Life The eldest son of a distinguished Malinké family, Ahmadou Kourouma was born in 1927 in Boundiali, Côte d'Ivoire. Raised by his uncle, he initially pursue ...

, published in 1998. It was first translated as ''Waiting for the Vote of the Wild Animals'' by Carrol F. Coates (University of Virginia Press, 2001) and later by

Frank Wynne Frank Wynne (born 1962) is an Irish literary translator and writer. Born in County Sligo in the west of Ireland, he worked as a comics editor at Fleetway and later at comic magazine '' Deadline''. He worked for a time at AOL before becoming a ...

as ''Waiting for the Wild Beasts to Vote'' (Heinemann, 2003). The novel won the Prix Tropiques (1998), the Grand prix Poncetton (1998) and the

Prix du Livre Inter The Prix du Livre Inter is a prize for best French novel of the year. It is awarded by the radio channel France Inter France Inter () is a major French public radio channel and part of Radio France. It is a " generalist" station, aiming to prov ...

(1999). The story is about the rise of the master hunter Koyaga and his rule as President of the République du Golfe during the Cold War. Koyaga manages to stay in power for over thirty years, despite attempts to overthrow him. The novel is structured in the form of a ''donsomana'', a purificatory

Malinké The Mandinka or Malinke are a West African ethnic group primarily found in southern Mali, the Gambia and eastern Guinea. Numbering about 11 million, they are the largest subgroup of the Mandé peoples and one of the largest ethnic-linguistic g ...

epic told by a ''sora'', that takes place in a series of six vigils. Each vigil has a theme: tradition, death, fate, power, betrayal and how all things have an end. Koyaga and the other African leaders depicted in the novel are modelled after real African leaders of the second half of the 20th century. Additionally, Susan Gorman has drawn parallels between the novel and elements of the Sunjata epic.

Main characters

Koyaga: Modeled after

Gnassingbé Eyadema Gnassingbé is an African name which may refer to: * Faure Gnassingbé, President of Togo (2005–present) *Kpatcha Gnassingbé, Togolese politician *Gnassingbé Eyadéma, President of Togo (1967–2005) See also *Gnassingbé Eyadéma Internationa ...

, president of

Togo Togo (), officially the Togolese Republic (french: République togolaise), is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the east and Burkina Faso to the north. It extends south to the Gulf of Guinea, where its c ...

. Tchao: Koyaga's father. Nadjouma: Koyaga's mother. Bokano:

Marabout A marabout ( ar, مُرابِط, murābiṭ, lit=one who is attached/garrisoned) is a Muslim religious leader and teacher who historically had the function of a chaplain serving as a part of an Islamic army, notably in North Africa and the Sah ...

with the gift of divination. Maclédio: Former national radio presenter of the République du Golfe. Fricassa Santos: Former president of the République du Golfe, modelled after Togo's first president, Sylvanus Olympio. Bingo: ''Sora'' and main narrator of the ''donsomana'', he plays the kora and is a

griot A griot (; ; Manding: jali or jeli (in N'Ko: , ''djeli'' or ''djéli'' in French spelling); Serer: kevel or kewel / okawul; Wolof: gewel) is a West African historian, storyteller, praise singer, poet, and/or musician. The griot is a repos ...

musician. Tiécoura: Bingo's apprentice, called a responder or ''koroduwa''. Man whose totem is the caiman: Also called Tiékoroni, he rules the République des Ébènes ( Ivory Coast) and is modelled after

Félix Houphouët-Boigny Félix Houphouët-Boigny (; 18 October 1905 – 7 December 1993), affectionately called Papa Houphouët or Le Vieux ("The Old One"), was the first president of Ivory Coast, serving from 1960 until his death in 1993. A tribal chief, he wo ...

. Man whose totem is the hyena: Also called Bossouma, he rules the République des Deux Fleuves (

Central African Republic The Central African Republic (CAR; ; , RCA; , or , ) is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Chad to the north, Sudan to the northeast, South Sudan to the southeast, the DR Congo to the south, the Republic of th ...

) and is modelled after Jean Bédel Bokassa. Man whose totem is the leopard: He rules the République du Grand Fleuve (

Zaire Zaire (, ), officially the Republic of Zaire (french: République du Zaïre, link=no, ), was a Congolese state from 1971 to 1997 in Central Africa that was previously and is now again known as the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Zaire was, ...

) and is modelled after Mobutu Sese Seko. Man in White, his totem the hare: Also called Nkoutigui Fondio, he rules the République des Monts ( Guinea) and is modelled after Ahmed Sékou Touré. Man whose totem is the desert jackal: He rules the lands of Djebels and Sand (

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria t ...

) and is modelled after

Hassan II Hassan, Hasan, Hassane, Haasana, Hassaan, Asan, Hassun, Hasun, Hassen, Hasson or Hasani may refer to: People * Hassan (given name), Arabic given name and a list of people with that given name *Hassan (surname), Arabic, Jewish, Irish, and Scotti ...

. Jean-Louis Crunet: Modelled after

Nicolas Grunitzky Nicolas Grunitzky (; 5 April 1913 – 27 September 1969) was the second president of Togo and its third head of state. He was President from 1963 to 1967. Grunitzky was Prime Minister of Togo from 1956 to 1958 under the French Colonial ''loi ...

References

{{Reflist Ivorian novels French-language novels 1998 novels