African Languages and Literatures in

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Esther Mukewa Lisanza
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African Languages
and Literatures in
the 21st Century
Edited by
Esther Mukewa Lisanza · Leonard Muaka
African Languages and Literatures
in the 21st Century
Esther Mukewa Lisanza · Leonard Muaka
Editors

African Languages
and Literatures
in the 21st Century
Editors
Esther Mukewa Lisanza Leonard Muaka
Howard University Department of World Languages
Washington, DC, USA and Cultures
Howard University
Washington, DC, USA

ISBN 978-3-030-23478-2 ISBN 978-3-030-23479-9 (eBook)

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-23479-9

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 Contents

1 Introduction 1
Esther Mukewa Lisanza and Leonard Muaka

Part I Language and Education

2 Twenty-First-Century North Africa: Nationalism,

Globalization, and the Struggle
for Tamazight Language 13
Ali Alalou

3 Appropriation of Orature for Pedagogy

by Early Yorùbá Christians 43
Damola Adesina and Sola Olorunyomi

4 Swahili Learning in the United States:

What Does It Mean? 71
Esther Mukewa Lisanza

v
vi      Contents

5 Learning That Brings Joy in an African Language Class:

The Power of Reflection and Service Learning 101
Dainess Maganda

6 Linguistic Commodification and Africa’s Linguistic

Identities: Creating a Nexus! 127
Leonard Muaka

Part II Language and Literatures

7 Voicing the Silenced Through African Tongues:

An Examination of Moolaadé and Tumaini 151
Rose Sau Lugano

8 Racism and Identity Crisis of a Muslim Immigrant

in Ahmed’s Mhanga Nafsi Yangu 169
Mohamed Mwamzandi

9 An Examination of Okot p’Bitek’s Song of Lawino

as a Mega Metaphor for the African Indigenous
Languages 191
Martha Moraa Michieka

10 Negotiating a Feminist Musical Language

in a Twenty First Century Senegalese Muslim Society 213
Samba Camara

11 Conclusion 239
Esther Mukewa Lisanza and Leonard Muaka

Index 245
 Notes on Contributors

Damola Adesina is the Convener of the Academy of Yoruba Verbal

Arts (AYVA). She has a Ph.D. in Cultural and Media Studies from the
University of Ibadan, Nigeria. Her doctoral dissertation investigated
the coping mechanisms of non-literate early Yoruba Christians with
Christianity as a “book religion”. She investigates the intersection of
orature and literature. She also practices as a performance poet using a
mixture of both English and indigenous Yoruba poetry forms to inter-
pret Biblical texts as Christian evangelist.
Ali Alalou is an Associate professor of French and Applied Linguistics
at the University of Delaware, Newark. He is the co-author of the
children’s book the Butter Man; he has published articles in Berber
linguistics, pedagogy, and sociolinguistics including “The question
of languages and the medium of instruction in Morocco” (2017).
“Francophonie in the Maghreb: A Study of Language Attitudes
Among Teachers of French.” The French Review, Vol. 82. “Language
and Ideology in the Maghreb: Francophonie and Other Languages”
December 2006. His chapter on languages in the Maghreb appeared
in In Augustin Emmanuel Ebongue, Ellen Hurst (Eds.) Les langues
en/d’Afrique in 2017.
vii
viii       Notes on Contributors

Samba Camara is a Teaching Assistant Professor at the University of

North Carolina at Chapel Hill and holds a Ph.D. in African Literatures
and Performance Studies. His teaching and research interests include
African literatures (oral and written), African film, Black-Islamic popu-
lar culture, and Wolof language teaching.
Esther Mukewa Lisanza is Assistant Professor in the Department of
African Studies at Howard University, USA. She holds a Ph.D. in lan-
guage and literacy from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign,
USA. Her research and publications center on language and literacy
development, politics of language in education, African education, and
women empowerment in Africa.
Rose Sau Lugano is a Senior Lecturer at the University of Florida, in
Gainesville, Florida, USA. She has been teaching Swahili language and
African literature at the Department of Languages, Literatures and
Cultures (LLC) since 2004. She has a Ph.D. (2005) in Comparative
Literature with a concentration in African literature (texts written in
English and Swahili languages), and a minor in Women Studies from
The Pennsylvania State University. She is originally from Kenya, her
research interests focus on Swahili Language pedagogy and African lit-
erature, especially women’s literary production. She is the author of
Beginning Swahili Workbook published in 2014.
Dainess Maganda is the Director of African languages, literatures, and
culture program, Comparative Literature Department at the University
of Georgia. Dr. Maganda holds a Master’s degree in Teaching English
as a Foreign Language, Master’s in Intercultural Studies, Master’s in
Language and Literacy as well as a Ph.D. in Language and Literacy. Her
publications center on language ideologies; on pathways to promote the
use of African languages in schools in the USA and internationally; and
on identity issues for all Africans, especially women. Recent publica-
tions include, The Language of Literature and the Literature of Language
in Africa and the Diaspora (2017).
Martha Moraa Michieka is a professor in the Department of
Literature and Language at East Tennessee State University, USA.
Martha holds a Ph.D. in English language and linguistics with a focus
 Notes on Contributors      ix

on sociolinguistics and ESL from Purdue University. Her research

interests include second language teaching, sociolinguistics, and World
Englishes. Her publications have appeared in edited volumes and
in journals such as the World Englishes Journal, SECOL Journal, and
TNTESOL Journal. She is also the co-editor of The Changing Roles of
English in Eastern Africa (2015).
Leonard Muaka is an Associate Professor in the Department of World
Languages and Cultures at Howard University, USA. He holds a Ph.D.
in linguistics from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, USA.
He has taught in Kenya, Mexico, and USA, and his research focuses
on youth language, language and identity, political language, and
multilingualism.
Mohamed Mwamzandi holds a Ph.D. in linguistics and is currently
a Teaching Assistant Professor at the department of African, African
American, and Diaspora Studies, and the Language Coordinator for
STEM Projects at the African Studies Center, University of North
Carolina at Chapel Hill, USA. He teaches linguistics, and Swahili lan-
guage and culture. His main research interests are pragmatics, corpus
linguistics, computational linguistics, literature, and religious violent
extremism.
Sola Olorunyomi is a research scholar of Cultural and Media Studies
at the Institute of African Studies, University of Ibadan, Nigeria. His
research interests in the last three decades include narrative structures
of African diasporic and transnational discourse(s), particularly on
the continent, the Caribbean and the Americas. He is the author of
Afrobeat! Fela and the Imagined Continent, AWP, NJ, 2003.
 List of Tables

Table 5.1 Weekly reflections 105

Table 5.2 End of program reflection 105
Table 5.3 Thematic analysis-emerging themes 115

xi
 1
Introduction
Esther Mukewa Lisanza and Leonard Muaka

African languages must take on the duty, the responsibility and the
challenge of speaking for the continent. The vitality and equality of
African languages must be recognized as a basis for the future empow-
erment of African peoples. Dialogue among African languages is essen-
tial: African languages must use the instrument of translation to advance
communication among all people (Asmara Declaration on African
Languages and Literature, 2000).

The above declaration was made by writers and scholars from all regions
of Africa who had gathered in Asmara, Eritrea for a conference at the
beginning of the twenty-first century. The African writers and schol-
ars gave African languages the mandate to speak for the continent. In
other words, African languages are to be used in official capacities. This
is nothing new in Africa; during the precolonial time, African languages

E. M. Lisanza (*)
Howard University, Washington, DC, USA
L. Muaka
Department of World Languages and Cultures,
Howard University, Washington, DC, USA
© The Author(s) 2020 1
E. M. Lisanza and L. Muaka (eds.), African Languages and Literatures
in the 21st Century, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-23479-9_1
2    
E. M. Lisanza and L. Muaka

were used at all levels of the society and served all functions in the soci-
ety. They were used at home, in education (including higher institutions
of learning), and in the government (e.g., in Mali Kingdom) (Davidson,
1984) among other domains. Bestowing African languages the man-
date to speak for the continent, empowers these languages. To empower
African languages is to give agency to the African people. The African
writers and scholars gathered in Asmara also recognized that translation
cannot be underestimated. Translation ensures that African people are
able to enjoy and share each other’s culture. For instance, the translation
of Moolaadé film and other cultural products like Song of Lawino (which
are discussed in this volume) into different African languages has ena-
bled dialogues among African people and the languages themselves.
Almost two decades after this famous conference in Asmara, we the
contributors of this volume decided to produce this volume to show
the state of African languages and literatures in Africa and beyond in
the twenty-first century. We wondered whether the African languages
are speaking for the continent or not in this century. If yes, how are
they doing this? If not, what can be done to remedy the situation? The
chapters in this volume provide major means for examining the inter-
play of language, literature, and education in Africa and beyond, in the
twenty-first century. Hence, the main objective of this edited volume
is to provide a deeper understanding of African languages and cultures
in the twenty-first century. The current volume shows how the same
issues that triggered the 2000 Asmara declaration (e.g., marginalization
of African people in national development and mass failure of students
in schools) continue to resurface and how African languages remain
the key and answer to resolving those issues. The twenty-first century
has opened up great opportunities for African languages and cultures.
Even though the world is becoming smaller through the forces of glo-
balization and at the face value one may think that the hegemony of
languages like English may be prevailing, African languages and litera-
tures have found a niche on the global stage. With expansion in tech-
nology and mobility of African people from one country to another, the
twenty-first century has opened up new avenues for African languages
and cultures to be spread all over the world. For example, African lan-
guages (e.g., Swahili) have crossed the seas and are taught abroad
 1 Introduction    
3

(e.g., in America, see Lisanza’s and Maganda’s chapters in this volume).

As a matter of fact, over 130 academic institutions in the USA offer
Swahili (Kuntz, 1993). Also, in the twenty-first century many African
creative writers have continued to write in African languages. These writ-
ers include Clara Momanyi and Mohamed Said Ahmed whose works are
discussed by Rose Sau Lugano and Mohamed Mwamzandi respectively
in this volume. Additionally, African songwriters and singers continue
to compose in African languages (e.g., see Samba Camara’s and Leonard
Muaka’s chapters in this volume). Furthermore, African languages (e.g.,
Tamazight) have not been left behind in African education (e.g., see Ali
Alolau’s and Adesina and Olorunyomi’s chapters in this volume).
Essentially, the chapters included in this volume are intentional in
repositioning African languages in Africa’s resurgence and presence on
the continent in the twenty-first century. While there is no denial that
globalization, a byproduct of the twenty-first century may have brought
with it some challenges to African languages and cultural products,
African languages and their arts have also benefitted immensely from
the opportunities it presents (see Alalou’s chapter).
The twenty-first century has also witnessed expansion in the Internet
and Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) than the
previous centuries. There is no question that African languages have
taken advantage of these technologies which are aiding in the teaching,
writing, and positioning of African languages on the globe as it will be
discussed in different chapters of this volume. Also, social networking
platforms like Facebook allow African people to communicate on reg-
ular basis through African languages and other languages as well which
may include hybrids (e.g., Sheng in Kenya). However, given that the
twenty-first century has been marked by the expansion of ICT, it does
not mean that the old ways of communicating like face to face commu-
nication have been neglected. ICT complements face to face communi-
cation as discussed by Adesina and Olorunyomi in this volume.
What follows is the discussion of the book’s contribution by exam-
ining the interplay of language, literature, and education in Africa and
beyond in the twenty-first century. It is important to note that our
definition of literature is broad enough to include cultural expressions
such as film and songs as tools which are used to entertain and teach in
4    
E. M. Lisanza and L. Muaka

African societies and beyond. After the discussion on the book’s con-
tribution we will offer an outline of the book. In terms of the volume’s
contribution to the understanding of African languages and cultures in
the twenty-first century, all contributors foreground Africans’ agency.
The first contribution which the book offers is an in-depth discussion of
the role of African languages in education. This is an intentional deci-
sion because of the centrality of the school as an institutional agency.
In schools, African languages are used as languages of education even
though in many African countries they are only used in lower levels of
education. For example, in Morocco, Tamazight one of the Berber lan-
guages is finding its way into education even though it is facing com-
petition from French and Arabic (see Ali Alalou’s chapter). The fact
that these languages are being used in education, gives them legiti-
macy as vehicles of knowledge in Africa. Moreover, African languages
(e.g., Swahili, Wolof, Yoruba, Amharic, etc.) are taught abroad (e.g.,
in the USA) for academic credits or noncredit classes (see Lisanza’s and
Maganda’s chapters). The fact that these languages are taught abroad,
gives them visibility and respect beyond Africa (Roy-Campbell, 2006).
The second contribution of the book is to show the role of African
languages in cultural expression. These languages are used in both oral
literature and written literature just as they are used as identity mark-
ers and resources in ensuring sustainable development in various speech
communities. As a matter of fact, the African continent boasts of hav-
ing one of the oldest written languages in the world, Geez in Ethiopia.
With writing systems in place, many African creative writers have
written in African languages. The presence of written literature gives a
voice to African literature not only in Africa but on the global stage as
well. African literature can be read by anyone anywhere in the world
so long as they understand the language or if the work has been trans-
lated into the language they understand. For example, Song of Lawino
(Wer pa Lawino in Acholi-Luo) by Okot p’Bitek has been translated
into other languages like English and Swahili. The translation of African
works into other languages gives African languages a voice in the world.
Through African creative writing, global citizens get exposed to African
cultures and African people’s daily experiences. For example, Song of
Lawino which is discussed in this volume by Martha Moraa Michieka
 1 Introduction    
5

forms part of the literature syllabuses in African countries, USA,

Europe, and so on. Also, Swahili literature books like Mhanga Nafsi
Yangu (I Sacrificed Myself ) discussed by Mohamed Mwamzandi in this
volume and Tumaini (Hope) discussed by Rose Sau Lugano in this vol-
ume, are part of Swahili syllabuses in Kenya and Tanzania.
Furthermore, in this volume we show how African languages have
also found their way in multimedia (e.g., film). For example, Ousmane
Sembene who is regarded as the father of African film has produced sev-
eral films in African languages (e.g., Moolaadé, discussed in this volume
by Rose Sau Lugano). The use of African languages in film gives African
languages a voice in the twenty-first century. Also, the fact that these
films have subtitles in English and French, really makes African cultures
and knowledge accessible to the rest of the world.
African languages have been used in composing music since time
immemorial. However, in the twenty-first century with the expansion
of the Internet their presence is felt all over the globe. One just needs
to switch on his/her computer, tab or iPhone and go to YouTube and
search for “African Music” this will open up a plethora of choices. One
can listen to African music (e.g., Wolof Music which is discussed in this
volume by Samba Camara) anywhere in the world. African music is
not only entertaining but empowering to its listeners especially women
as discussed by Samba Camara. Other ways by which African arts are
being revived through the twenty-first-century technology is through
redoing old music videos on the web. The redoing of the old music vid-
eos using modern technology is a sure way of preserving these cultural
products and ensuring generational connections. Next, we will provide
a brief overview of the structure of the book.

Structure of the Book

This book is divided into two parts: Part I: Language and Education.
Part II: Language and Literatures. Part I focuses on African languages
and education in Africa and beyond. This section demonstrates
how African languages serve the needs of the African continent and
the rest of the world. Some of the chapters in this section discuss
6    
E. M. Lisanza and L. Muaka

language policies in African education and how the history of colo-

nialism, neocolonialism, and globalization has impacted language use
in postcolonial Africa. The key questions are whether these language
policies have worked to benefit African languages or if they have actu-
ally contributed to the marginalization of African languages. The rest
of the chapters discuss the teaching of African languages outside the
continent.
Part II focuses on African literatures (i.e., novels, film, and music)
in Africa and beyond. African literatures play a critical role in reflect-
ing what happens in the African society and beyond. These literatures
have been used to empower and enlighten members of the African soci-
ety. For example, Samba Camara’s chapter discusses the role of Wolof
Music in empowering and enlightening women. The main argument of
this section is that African literatures are a mirror of what is happening
locally and globally and therefore they are important sources of infor-
mation and a record of history for the present and future generations.
The impact of the twenty-first century even for the most conservative
traditional practices is discussed. Below is a summary of what each
chapter entails in responding to the African language question in the
twenty-first century.
In Chapter 2, Ali Alalou discusses the evolution of the sociolinguistic
situation of Morocco from the nationalist ideology to the era of twen-
ty-first-century global phenomenon. He discusses how globalization has
impacted Morocco’s multicultural and multilingual landscape. In this
chapter, the ideological contestation between arabization and mother
tongue (Tamazight) is brought to fore and how globalization in the
twenty-first century mediates between these two ideologies.
In Chapter 3, Damola Adesina and Sola Olorunyomi discuss how
Christianity was introduced to the Yorùbá people in Nigeria between
the early and mid-1800s as a society with a high oral practice. This
resulted in tension among early Yorùbá Christians whether to quickly
acquire literacy or develop orature for the new religion. As a result, two
Christian pedagogies emerged (one driven by orature and the other by
literacy). Adesina and Olorunyomi challenge the elite assumption that
 1 Introduction    
7

pedagogy is solely literacy driven. This chapter shows that, although

there are practices that are very conservative, artists and practitioners
have adapted to the twenty-first-century skills that preserve their cul-
tural practices. Importantly, modern scholarship can still be enhanced
in unique ways by the use of orature.
In Chapter 4, Esther Mukewa Lisanza reports on a study which was
done in a Swahili classroom in a Midwestern university in the USA. The
study shows that in the classroom there were varied classroom inter-
actions and literacy activities (e.g., reading news online). The students
also had different motivations to study Swahili. These motivations were
both intrinsic and extrinsic. Because of technological advancement in
the twenty-first century, instantaneous communication with the target
culture was very possible.
Dainess Maganda in Chapter 5 reports on a study which was done
in a Swahili classroom in a US university which is similar to Lisanza’s
study. The study shows how Swahili students shared their knowledge
of Swahili culture and language with an elderly center in their com-
munity through service learning. Through their service learning it is
reported that this boosted the students’ performance as it was shown
in their final exam compared to those students who did not partic-
ipate in service learning. Service learning is one of the noble prac-
tices in the twenty-first century. This practice not only empowers the
people being served but also the people serving as was observed in
Maganda’s study.
In Chapter 6, Leonard Muaka discusses how African languages are
both resources as well as identity markers. The chapter underscores the
important role that African languages play in boasting the economies of
African countries. By viewing African languages as commodities Muaka
argues that the value of African languages can be elevated if its speakers
and stakeholders can accept and embrace them. The once marginalized
and forgotten languages are being adopted by many speakers as they
are made available through the twenty-first-century tools such as the
Internet and multimedia. He further observes that African languages are
also key to entrepreneurship in Africa.
8    
E. M. Lisanza and L. Muaka

Rose Sau Lugano in Chapter 7 examines how the use of African

languages: Bambara and Swahili in African literature has given a voice
to African women. She examines how the use of Bambara in Moolaadé
film has given women in Western Africa a voice to fight the archaic
tradition of women circumcision or “purification.” While in Tumaini
she examines how the use of Swahili in this book has given a voice to
the Eastern and Central African women to fight child marriage in the
society. Even though these women in the beginning seem to be fight-
ing on their own because of their persistence in their course, men also
join the fight of resisting discrimination of women in the society. The
use of African languages in African literature is crucial to the empow-
erment of these women and future generations who would otherwise
be marginalized if foreign languages like French or English were used
because majority of these women do not speak them (see Mazrui &
Mazrui, 1998).
In Chapter 8, Mohamed Mwamzandi discusses the issue of immi-
gration in a Swahili novel Mhanga Nafsi Yangu. In this novel, a new
immigrant is forced by circumstances (e.g., a search for belonging) to
abandon her culture and religion and finally ends up committing sui-
cide. Immigration is a major issue of the twenty-first century. Although
immigrants may be naturalized by the end of the day they are still
treated as outsiders.
Martha Michieka in Chapter 9 looks at the state of African lan-
guages in the twenty-first century by using Song of Lawino as a
mega-metaphor. She argues that in some African countries these lan-
guages are marginalized because of the history of colonialism and
neocolonialism.
Samba Camara in Chapter 10 discusses how Senegalese Muslim
female singers have used music in African languages (e.g., Wolof &
Mandinka) to challenge patriotic structures which use the Qur’an
in vain to justify archaic practices like polygamy and Female Genital
Mutilation (FGM).
Chapter 11 closes with our concluding commentary.
 1 Introduction    
9

References
Asmara Declaration. (2000). https://www0.sun.ac.za/taalsentrum/assets/files/
Asmara%20Declaration.pdf.
Davidson, B. (1984). The caravans of gold. https://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=rSoZ07LXnKo.
Kuntz, P. (1993). Habari za Kiswahili: Challenges of Swahili instruction. FLES
News, 7.
Mazrui, A., & Mazrui, A. (1998). The power of Babel: Language & governance
in the African experience. Oxford, UK: James Currey.
Roy-Campbell, Z. M. (2006). The state of African languages and the global
language politics: Empowering African languages in the era of globalization.
In O. F. Arasanyin & M. A. Pemberton (Eds.), Selected proceedings of the
36th annual conference on African linguistics (pp. 1–13). Somerville, MA:
Cascadilla Proceedings Project.
 Part I
Language and Education
 2
Twenty-First-Century North Africa:
Nationalism, Globalization, and the
Struggle for Tamazight Language
Ali Alalou

Introduction
Colonized communities and/or regions, which later became nation-
states have witnessed both important social and reification changes in
part because of the educational and administrative systems inherited
from colonial powers. In most cases, the establishment of educational
systems involved the institution of a “Medium of Instruction” (MOI)
which also served for communication in administration, banking, and
the training of armed forces and the political elite. At the same time,
mother tongues continued to coexist with the language of administra-
tion, politics, and power.
Usually the language of the colonial power became the MOI even
when other languages were used for instruction prior to colonization.
As a former French colonial space (1912–1956) and multilingual urban
environment in which Standard Arabic (SA), Moroccan Arabic (also

A. Alalou (*)
Department of Languages, Literatures and Cultures,
University of Delaware, Newark, DE, USA
e-mail: alalou@udel.edu
© The Author(s) 2020 13
E. M. Lisanza and L. Muaka (eds.), African Languages and Literatures
in the 21st Century, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-23479-9_2
14    
A. Alalou

known as Darija) Tamazight varieties (also known as Berber), English,

and Spanish are present (Ennaji, 2005; Sadiqi, 2003), the North
African country of Morocco is especially relevant to this discussion.
The status of mother tongues in North Africa has been affected by both
colonization and the ideology of nationalism. Until very recently, these
mother tongues had almost no role to play in education or official dis-
course. The mother tongues in question are Tamazight and Moroccan
Arabic. These mother tongues have been under the double domina-
tion of SA, the favorite language of the traditional elite, and French,
the language of the westernized elite. Because of the intensification
of globalization, the English language has now gained prominence
in the Moroccan linguistic landscape, as well (Sadiqi, 1991; see also
Battenburg, 1990, regarding English in Tunisia).
Marginalization of the mother tongues was mainly the consequence
of a nationalist ideology whose advocates promoted “one language one
culture”. In North Africa, nationalists supported and argued for the
Arabization policy, which promoted SA as a replacement for French in
education and administration. However, it appears that the Arabization
policy has been more than a replacement of French. As Ahmed Boukous
rightly notes, language planning, like the policy of Arabization and the
elimination of French in North Africa, amounts to “a strategy [that
aims] at planning language inequality and [using language as a tool for]
social production” (Boukous, 2001, p. 26). This language planning pol-
icy appears to have had a hidden agenda, to use Shohamy’s terms (2006,
p. 23). The effects of the North African nationalists’ policies on edu-
cation and its objectives in terms of identity construction and culture
have been studied by a number of scholars (Alalou, 2006, 2017, 2018;
Benrabah, 1999; Bensoukas, 2010; Boukous, 1997; Grandguillaume,
1983, 1984; Vermeren, 2002, 2011 among others). The evolution from
a nationalist ideology to one oriented toward globalization had conjured
complex concepts of identity, education, and modernization. Mother
tongues and local cultures have gained renewed interest due to glo-
balization, which may be seen as a counterbalance to the nationalists’
agendas.
Looking principally at the language policy in post-independence
North Africa, this paper discusses the evolution of the sociolinguistic
 2 Twenty-First-Century North Africa …    
15

situation of Morocco from the nationalist ideology to the globalization

phenomenon of the twenty-first century. The paper explores the effects
of this evolution on mother tongues, education, and culture. While the
discussion focuses on the countries of the Maghreb because of their
common use of French and their similar language planning policies,
special emphasis will be given to Morocco’s sociolinguistic situation.
First, the chapter will provide a brief sociolinguistic profile of
Morocco and discuss the ideologies that have affected the status of
mother tongues, education, and identity. I will provide a working defi-
nition of the concept of “globalization” and look at the relationship
between nationalism and globalization, specifically identifying the
emerging signs of globalization in North Africa and examining its socio-
linguistic and cultural impact. These efforts lay the foundation to answer
the following overarching questions: Does globalization help or hinder
the development and revitalization of mother tongues in multilingual
contexts such as that of North Africa? To what extent and in what ways?
Are mother tongues strong enough to face the overwhelming pressures
of globalization?

The Sociolinguistic Profile of Morocco

Before the arrival of the Arabs from the Middle East in the seventh and
eighth centuries and the introduction of the Arabic language which
became the MOI in traditional schools such as the two famous North
African institutions (or madaris; sing. madrasa) Al-Qarawiyyin in
Morocco and Al-Zzaytouna in Tunisia, other colonizers had established
commercial centers and small colonies on the North African coasts
of the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. These early settlers
introduced a variety of languages, including Punic or Carthaginian,
Latin, and Portuguese. The most profound changes ensued, however,
with the arrival of the Arab populations and the introduction of the
Arabic language and Islam. Despite the resistance of Imazighen (sing.
Amazigh) (also known as “Berbers”), Muslims dominated the entire
region. Arabic became the language associated with Islamic culture and
North Africans embraced it as the language of knowledge. Indigenous
16    
A. Alalou

Amazigh people continued to speak their own varieties of Tamazight

(Berber) and many are bilingual in one of the varieties of Tamazight and
Moroccan or Algerian Arabic.
With the advent of colonization, French (and Spanish to a lesser
extent) began to compete with SA and its underlying cultural values.
This competition was particularly visible in the establishment of a new
French model of administration and a new system of education with the
French language as a MOI and communication. Today, Arabic (in both
its Standard form and its Moroccan varieties), French, and Spanish are
part of Morocco’s linguistic landscape. Nearly half (at least 40%) of the
Moroccan population are amazighophone—uses one of the three varie-
ties of Tamazight—with the proportion dipping to 25% in Algeria and
1% in Tunisia (Boukous, 1995, 2012; El Assati, 2014; Ennaji, 1997;
Lindsey, 2015). The complexity of the sociolinguistic situation is appar-
ent in the streets of Moroccan cities, where the languages mentioned
above are used on a daily basis.
When the nationalist movements took shape and spread the notion
of “one nation-state, one language,” a pan-Arabist movement ral-
lied public support for independence across the Maghreb region. As a
consequence, pan-Arabist ideology seeped into people’s consciousness
and their linguistic awareness, altering their perception of identity.
Following Morocco’s independence in 1956, the nationalist party (the
Istiqlal party) in power began to promote and implement the policy
of Arabization. As Grandguillaume (1983, p. 31) put it, “l’arabisation
constitue pour certains un retour aux sources, à la langue des origines”
[For some, Arabization policy means a return to their roots, to the pri-
mordial language of origin, my own translation]. The underlying ide-
ology would later have a significant effect on education and on mother
tongues’ standing in society.

Ideology and Its Effect on Education

and Mother Tongues
As an internal factor, the mission of pan-Arabism and its nationalist
ideology was to fight any identity that represented an unofficial and
politically dissident or nonconformist viewpoint. With some indirect
 2 Twenty-First-Century North Africa …    
17

help from totalitarian regimes via the Lebanese intellectual and activist
Chekib Arslan (Bessis, 1978), Algerian and Moroccan nationalists pro-
moted the Arabization policy in order to fight against French coloni-
zation influences. Nationalist proponents of pan-Arabism masterfully
linked Tamazight language and culture to colonization and division fol-
lowing the May 16, 1930 infamous Berber Decree (or Dahir Berbère)
which ignited nationalist passions (Lafuente, 1984). Issued by the
French colonial authorities, the Berber Decree established different legal
systems for Berbers and Arabs in Morocco. Although it was designed to
help the French protectorate, the Berber Decree ignited nationalist pas-
sions and is considered the catalyst of Morocco’s nationalist movement
(Lafuente, 1984). Following the North African countries’ independ-
ence, the push for the policy of Arabization intensified. Nationalists
hailed the Arabic language as the unifying force despite the linguistic
diversity of the population. The effects of this ill-planned language pol-
icy, particularly at the educational level, have been catastrophic.
Over the last three decades, despite the very significant resources that
Morocco has dedicated to education, the poor quality of public educa-
tion is widely recognized by scholars and political leaders (Ennaji, 2002;
HuffPost, 2016; TelQuel, 2005). According to the UN-sponsored study,

Even the King of Morocco noted that the educational situation today
is worse than it was twenty years ago in Morocco, and that ‘this decline
has [therefore] led many families, despite their limited income, to bear
the exorbitant cost of enrolling their children in educational institu-
tions belonging to ‘Foreign Missions’ or the private sector, in order to
spare their children from the problems of public education and allow
them to benefit from a successful educational system’. (Aubry, Qnouch,
Sehoute, & Taltit, 2014, p. 12, report submitted to the UN Committee
on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights)

Magazines and newspapers continue to feature mindboggling stories

of dilapidated and run-down schools, absent teachers, and poor learn-
ing conditions, particularly in rural and remote areas (Elhirch, 2017;
Zerrour, 2013). Furthermore, the curricula and educational outcomes
of functioning schools do not match modern standards. In 2005, the
cover of a special issue of the francophone Moroccan magazine TelQuel
(No. 190) read “Comment l’Education Nationale forme de mauvais
18    
A. Alalou

citoyens” [How public education trains people to be bad citizens]. In

the featured article of this issue, the journalist described students in
public schools as submissive, fatalistic, intolerant, and conservative.
Moreover, the author found that nearly fifty-two percent of the teachers
thought that universal values must adapt to Shari’a law or Islamic law.
Although Morocco has dedicated about 28% of its budget to education,
the country has not performed well in measures such as the Human
Development Index (HDI) (UNESCO Report, Tawil et al., 2010).
HDI measures a country’s achievement in terms of economic, social,
and educational dimensions. According to the international organi-
zations involved in promoting and financing reforms in Morocco, the
country ranks 127th among 177 countries; it occupies the 11th posi-
tion among 14 Arab countries. The poor quality of education is often
attributed to the ill-conceived language planning policy of Arabization,
the marginalization of mother tongues, limited anticipation of globali-
zation and modernity, the lack of planning to face challenges of globali-
zation and modernity (Zniber, 2014, p. 1).
In her article, Zerrour (2013) describes the current state of Morocco’s
education as worrying. The author cites the 2011 World Bank report
which showed that seventy-four percent of the pupils at the fourth-
grade level lack the basic skills in Mathematics, making Morocco
far behind a number of other countries in the Middle East and
North Africa (MENA) region. UNICEF reported (Issue No. 3006,
Wednesday, September 11, 2013) that only thirty-two percent of the
pupils at the fourth-grade level are proficient in the basic skills of read-
ing and writing (Zerrour, 2013). These results indicate that the state’s
efforts to update the curricula and better train teachers have had little
effect on the quality of education. The educational system faces many
challenges including gender inequality, lack of pedagogical supervision,
particularly in remote areas, and high dropout or repeat rates (Zerrour,
2013). The World Bank reported that, in urban areas, only seventy-nine
percent of boys attended school; in the countryside, only twenty-six
percent of girls attended school. Nevertheless, the state’s investment
in infrastructure and the government’s assistance to poor families has
yielded an increase in the number of schooled children. In elemen-
tary school, for example, the percentage of children improved from
 2 Twenty-First-Century North Africa …    
19

over fifty-two percent to a little over ninety-nine percent, a remarkable

increase of nearly forty-nine percent. For middle school, the percentage
went from seventeen and a half to over fifty–sixty percent, an impressive
increase of over thirty percent. And in high school, the percentage rose
from a little over six percent to more than thirty percent, an increase of
more than twenty-four percent. While these numbers are encouraging,
they still point to the fact that a significant segment of the country’s
children lack access to education. Researchers at the World Bank rec-
ommend that the state sustain its efforts and capitalize on the progress it
has made. One specific recommendation advocates reform of the Mode
of Instruction and its harmonization across the educational system
(Zerrour, 2013).
Despite UNESCO (1953, 2016) recommending “The use of
Vernacular Languages in Education” because of the efficiency of mother
tongues as a MOI (UNESCO, 1953, p. 11), little attention has been
paid to this issue at the Moroccan ministry of education level so far.
Attitudes toward vernacular languages or mother tongues, in the case
of Morocco, are changing in a positive direction among the public as
the sciences are taught online in Moroccan Arabic (Boudahhan, 2018;
Crawford, 2002, 2005; El Aissati, 2001; Jilali, 2003; Kozlowski, 2013).
This new development could impact the quality of instruction and the
transmission of knowledge in Morocco’s public schools.
One of the consequences of the poor image of public education and
the decline of its performance is the growth of private schools. Modeled
primarily on the French educational system, with some instead emu-
lating American schools, these private schools cater to the rich and
well-connected upper-class, leaving the public schools for the lower
middle classes and the least well-resourced segments of the popula-
tion. Having become a booming and lucrative business (Kadiri, 2016),
education in selected schools has turned out to be a sophisticated tool
for social production or social engineering (Aubry et al., 2014, p. 2;
Boukous, 2001, p. 26) only those who can afford private education
are able to educate their children well. As for the promotion or use of
mother tongues, it does not appear that any schools have implemented
mother tongues in their pedagogical approaches or the content of their
curricula (TelQuel, 2005; Zerrour, 2013). This is commensurate with
20    
A. Alalou

their focus on preparation for well-paying local and global jobs. Unlike
private school graduates, most graduates of public education continue
to join the growing number of unemployed youth with poor foreign
language skills, particularly in French. Well-paying jobs in sectors such
as banking, computer science, and technologies of communication
require a high proficiency in French or English. High school graduates
of public schools rarely master the basics of French language, the main
foreign language in the country. Take the example provided by Ennaji
(2002, p. 83) who has found that university professors, who still teach
science, biology, mathematics, physics, and chemistry in French, com-
plain that their students “barely speak and write French; [the teachers]
keep correcting [students’] mistakes instead of looking at the content.”
These students, who graduated from high schools where curricula were
Arabized, go on to learn science, biology, mathematics, physics, and
chemistry in French language at the university level. This change of lan-
guage of instruction greatly affects the students because up until the end
of high school, the content is taught in Arabic.
Despite the evidence of French and English’s usefulness, the offi-
cial discourse continues to advocate Arabization. The language plan-
ning, in this case, contradicts the needs and the interests of students.
Additionally, because the content to which students are exposed is
biased toward traditional values, fatalism, and unrealistic views of the
country’s past, future generations are not prepared for the contempo-
rary global marketplace. Meanwhile, proponents of Arabization have
not shied away from sending their children to foreign schools, which
are neither free nor accessible to most Moroccans (Aubry et al., 2014,
p. 12; Sadiqi, 2003, p. 47). The attitudes and actions of the defend-
ers of the Arabization policy and its ideology have exposed its hidden
agenda. Boukous (2002) discerns that this ideology is a strategy to
engineer language inequality and use language for social production.
Others have also criticized the Arabization policy; for example, in his
book The Impact of Arabization on the Educational System in Morocco,
Sayeh (2013) observes, “in a country where science [and technology
are] not produced, using Arabic to teach [science] in higher […] edu-
cation is just a waste of time and energy” (p. 86). Recently however,
“the French Newspaper Le Monde online (Brouksy, 2016) and the
Moroccan website www.yabiladi.com (Jaabouk, 2016) reported that the
 2 Twenty-First-Century North Africa …    
21

Moroccan government has decided to abandon the 30-year-old policy

of Arabization” by reinstating the use of French as a MOI in schools
(Alalou, 2018, p. 1). Some scholars such as Grosrichard (2016) wonder
whether abandoning the policy of Arabization and reinstating French
could solve the serious problems that the Moroccan educational sys-
tem is facing at this point. At the same time, Tamazight and Moroccan
Arabic, the mother tongues of a significant segment of North Africans,
remain marginalized. Recently however, some progress has been made
in the case of Tamazight.
As I mentioned above, factors that affect minority mother tongues
such as Tamazight and Moroccan Arabic can be internal, such as ide-
ologies, local politics, and cultural biases; they may be external as well.
External factors may include “Westernization, urbanization, outcomes
of colonialism and of cultural and linguistic assimilation, […] globali-
zation and global communications” (El Kirat & Ahoujil, 2010, p. 35).
In the case of Tamazight, it is important to mention the influence of
the recent waves of democratization in various parts of the world.
According to Errihani (2006, p. 145), the situation of Tamazight has
been influenced by “the following outside factors: (i) the effects of the
recent waves of democratization that have swept across different parts of
the world; (ii) the new significance that diversity, pluralism, and iden-
tity politics have gained in the last few decades; and finally (iii) the new
importance of minority rights and language rights, especially in multi-
linguistic polities.” These outside factors have contributed to bringing
to the forefront the debate on the rights of minorities such as Amazigh
people of Morocco, the status of their culture and language. The next
section will discuss the twenty-first-century phenomenon of globaliza-
tion and its sociolinguistic effects.

Connectivity and the Compression of the World

in the Twenty-First Century
The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines globalization as “the develop-
ment of an increasingly integrated global economy marked especially by
free trade, free flow of capital, and the tapping of cheaper foreign labor
markets” (https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/globalization).
Another random document with
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enumerare, Diotima la cui saviezza fu encomiata da questo grande
filosofo, Erpilli che passò la sua vita con Aristotile ed alla quale ei
legò la casa de’ suoi padri, e Aspasia, che bella e filosofa, maestra
prima di retorica a Socrate, amica di Alcibiade e Fidia, fu poi
amatissima da Pericle, in guisa che l’avesse a sposare, e cui la
Grecia andò debitrice di progresso e incivilimento.
Tanto era costei considerata in Atene, che la sua casa divenisse il
convegno de’ più dotti e celebrati uomini d’allora, come i filosofi
Anassagora e Socrate, Sofocle ed Euripide i due sommi tragici,
Iclino l’architetto del Partenone e Fidia lo scultore degli Dei, e gli si
assegnasse tanta dottrina, che per molti si tenne che i discorsi che
Pericle pronunciava nello Pnice, e alla cui eloquenza nulla resisteva,
fossero composti da Aspasia, come il discorso in commemorazione
dei morti ne’ primi anni della guerra del Peloponneso e riferito da
Tucidide. L’aristocrazia, nemica di Pericle, così ne temeva l’influenza
e il consiglio, che a perderla facesse accusare Aspasia di empietà
da Ermippo, poeta comico, e tratta avanti agli Eliasti, avrebbe corso
gravissimo pericolo d’esserne condannata a morte, se per lei non
avesse perorato Pericle stesso, il qual fu visto piangere per la prima
volta.
È strano il vedere codeste eterie amare e darsi ad uomini
unicamente per le virtù di essi, come la Teodota di Socrate e la Laide
dello schifoso Diogene: la loro storia sarà però sempre più poetica e
simpatica che non quella delle cortigiane di altri paesi. E più strano
parrà che Aspasia venga raffigurata nei dialoghi di Platone come
propugnatrice della più pura morale e, in capo d’ogni altra cosa,
della morale della famiglia.
E così savii infatti ne erano gli ammonimenti, che le più rispettabili
matrone vedevansi condurre a lei le proprie figliuole; onde non
saprebbesi poi comprendere come colla retorica si facesse altresì
maestra d’amore a Socrate, come taluni scrissero di lei, che si
scostasse della virtù, e meno ancora che servisse mezzana agli
impudici ardori di lui per il bello Alcibiade. Molto di lei si favoleggiò, si
scrisse contrariamente a verità e si calunniò, massime da Aristofane
nelle sue commedie-libelli e credo rimanga ancor molto a studiarsi
per rivendicarla interamente dalle brutte accuse, motivate
unicamente forse da ire di parte.
Nè le altre classi della greca prostituzione mancarono di nomi celebri
e basti il ricordare Boa auletride, che fu madre di Filetario re di
Pergamo e Abrotone ditteriade tassata un obolo, che in onta a ciò, fu
madre di Temistocle.
Prima di congedarmi dalla prostituzione greca, dovrò far cenno della
poetessa Saffo, che nacque da distinta famiglia di Lesbo e ricca e la
quale, se non prostituivasi a denaro, teneva tuttavia scuola di
prostituzione la più dannosa, predicando l’amor delle donne, detto
perciò l’amor lesbio. Platone la disse bella; Massimo di Tiro, seguito
pure da Ovidio, nera e piccola: vi fu chi avrebbe voluto riabilitarne la
dottrina e i costumi; ma Dionisio Longino, avendoci conservata l’ode
di lei, capolavoro di passione isterica, tolse ogni attendibilità alla
difesa [148].
L’Egitto, la Fenicia, la Grecia, colonizzando l’Italia, vi importarono coi
costumi anche la religione e il culto di Venere vi attecchì primo fra
tutti. La prostituzione ospitale regnava tra’ monti e nelle foreste, la
sacra nelle città. I dipinti e vasi etruschi che si rinvennero, sono
altrettanti monumenti che attestano in Etruria la prostituzione.
Altrettanto nei primordi di Roma. Romolo e Remo allattati da una
lupa, Aurelio Vittore e Aulio Gellio spiegano che la lupa non fosse
che una meretrice, Acca Laurenta denominata, amante del pastore
Faustolo. In memoria di questa lupa o meretrice, si istituirono le feste
Lupercali, che per rispetto si attribuirono al Dio Pane. Giustino e
Servio con più ragione pretendono che Romolo altro non abbia fatto
se non che dar forma più decente e regolare alle grossolane
istituzioni di Evandro. Tuttavia non modificaronsi di molto le indecenti
azioni de’ Luperci, ovveramente arguir si deve che ben fossero
scandalose ed oscene, se rimasero, sebben modificate, rozze e
invereconde cose e che Cicerone medesimo trattasse il corpo de’
Luperci come agresta società anteriore a qualunque civiltà. In queste
feste lupercali alcuni giovani e i sacerdoti preposti al culto di Pane,
correvano per le vie affatto ignudi tenendo da una mano i coltelli di
cui si eran serviti per immolare le capre e dall’altra delle sferze, colle
quali percuotevano tutti coloro che incontravano. L’opinione che si
aveva che quelle percosse contribuissero a render feconde le donne
o rendessero felice il parto, faceva sì che lungi dall’evitarne
l’incontro, esse si avvicinassero loro per ricevere de’ colpi, a’ quali
attribuivano una sì grande virtù.
Feste e riti congeneri reclamava in Roma anche il culto del Dio
Bacco, epperò designaronsi col nome di Baccanalia, come in Grecia,
da cui vennero, chiamavansi Dionysia. Si appellarono eziandio
Orgiæ ad indicare lo strepito o baccano che si soleva fare ne’ tre
giorni di loro durata. Non altrimenti che in Grecia, anche in Italia
venivano accompagnate dalle più sfrenate dissolutezze.
Dapprincipio si celebravano tre volte all’anno; quindi quasi
mancassero le occasioni alle baldorie ed alle lascivie, si ripetevano
più spesso. Seguendo le tradizioni greche, ed anche egizie, Erodoto
e Diodoro Siculo vogliono che le feste dionisiache procedessero
dalle sacre terre fecondate dal Nilo, non erano che le donne
chiamate in Roma a celebrarne i misteri: poscia, bandito ogni
ritegno, si mescolarono i due sessi, e orribili disordini ne
conseguitarono, tal che il Senato nell’anno 568 di Roma, emise
decreto che tali orgie proscrisse in tutta Italia. L’abolizione dei
Baccanali formò soggetto ad una tragedia di Giovanni Pindemonti, al
suo prodursi applaudita.
Come pratichiamo noi pure di presente nelle feste cristiane di
Madonne e Santi, nelle quali si portano i sacri simulacri
processionalmente, nelle feste di Bacco recavasi la statua del nume
in processione seguita da canefore o portatrici di panieri, coperte di
pampini e da saltanti Tiadi o sacerdotesse con cimbali e trombe, e
da Baccanti con tirsi, dette pur Menadi o furibonde, come si
argomenta dal seguente brano onde si chiude il Carme XVIII del Lib.
1. delle Odi di Orazio:

.... Non ego te, candide Bassareu,

Invitum qualiam: nec variis obsita frondibus.
Sub divum rapiam: sæva tene cum Berecynthio
Cornu tympana, quæ subsequitur cœcus amor sui,
Et tollens vacuum plus nimio gloria vorticem,
Arcanique Fides prodiga, perlucidior vitro [149].

Sopra molte pitture in Pompei ed Ercolano si riconobbero

rappresentati Baccanali e Baccanti, soggetto del resto usitatissimo in
bassorilievi antichi e su vasi greci.
Il nome di Baccanti, per le oscene loro opere, diventò presto
sinonimo di femmine rotte ad ogni dissolutezza.
Nè questi erano i soli nomi, che valevano di pretesto alla sacra
prostituzione.
La cortigiana Flora, sotto Anco Marzio, morta ricchissima, avendo
lasciato erede di sua fortuna il Popolo Romano, questi in
riconoscenza ne celebrò la memoria coi giuochi Florali,
confondendoli con quelli istituiti in onore della Dea dei fiori. Quanto
fossero lascivi ed infami, sì che gli attori dei medesimi ne
vergognassero alla presenza dell’austero Catone, ho già in questa
mia opera narrato, nè ho quindi bisogno ritornarvi sopra.
Venere ebbe in Roma molti templi sotto tutti i nomi, di libertina, di
salace, di volupia, di verticordia, ecc., secondo le diverse forme di
lascivia che la fantasia intendeva di divinizzare, e tutti cotali templi
erano ridotti di dissolutezza. Venere Mirtea, così nomata dai
boschetti di mirto che ne circondavano il delubro, era un convegno
alle maggiori lubricità e le veglie che vi si facevano nell’aprile, a’
banchetti, balli e canti si mescevano le oscenità della più sfrenata
prostituzione.
Già nel Capitolo ottavo di quest’opera, il quale tratta dei Templi, io
dissi di queste vigilie che si facevano in onore di Venere,
celebrandosene le feste al primo d’aprile, che per ciò appellavasi il
mese di Venere; narrai come le donzelle vegliassero pel corso di tre
notti consecutive, si dividessero in parecchie schiere e in ognuna di
queste si formassero parecchi cori, aggiungendo come tutto un tal
tempo si impiegasse nel danzare ed inneggiare alla Dea e citai un
brano di un ritmo antico che ne aveva lasciato memoria. Esso non
era che il Pervigilium Veneris, intorno al quale si stancarono gli
eruditi per ricercarne l’Autore. Aldo Manuzio ed Erasmo il dissero di
Catullo, l’amante di Lesbia, ma è troppo casto per esser suo; Giusto
Lipsio l’attribuiva a penna del secolo d’Augusto; Scaligero lo
vorrebbe assegnare ad altro Catullo dei dintorni di Roma, e del quale
parlano Giovenale e Marziale; Boullier, riconoscendovi i segni della
decadenza del gusto, non senza ragione, il credette di Anneo Floro,
del tempo di Adriano, e con lui lo opinò Wernsdorf, ritrovandovi il
metro eguale ad altro poema attribuito allo stesso Autore e intitolato
De Qualitate Vitæ. Vossio finalmente vorrebbe che questo Floro
fosse il medesimo Lucio Anneo Floro, che dettò il Compendio della
Storia Romana, e che io ho pur qualche volta citato in quest’opera.
In ogni modo, se questo Pervigilium Veneris accusa la decadenza,
se non ne è sempre squisita la latinità, reputo opportuno farne luogo
alla traduzione che ne ho condotta, perchè porge i dati acconci a
darne l’idea delle feste di Venere, che si celebravano in Roma e
nelle Colonie, e prima che altrove in Pompei, dove la città stessa
chiamavasi Colonia Veneria e vi aveva culto ed altare. Non è poi fuor
di luogo osservare come, malgrado il libertinaggio più sfrontato che
presiedeva a cotali feste, pure il Pervigilium Veneris si riduca ad
essere un Canto sulla Primavera, senza che vi sia concetto od
immagine, che offender possano il pudore.

PERVIGILIUM VENERIS [150].

Cras amet, qui nunquam amavit,

Quique amavit, cras amet.

Ver novum, ver jam canendum:

Vere natus est orbis.

Vere concordant Amores,

Vere nubunt alites,

Et nemus comam resolvit

 Ex maritis imbribus.

Cras Amorum copulatrix,

Inter umbras arborum,

Implicat casus virentes,

Et flagella myrtea;

Cras Dione jura dicit,

Fulta sublimi toro.

Cras amet, qui nunquam amavit;

Quique amavit, eras amet.

Tum cruore de superno, ac

Spumeo pontus globo,

Cærulas inter catervas,

Inter et bipedes equos,

Fudit undantem Dionen

In paternis fluctibus.

Cras amet, qui nunquam amavit;

Quique amavit, cras amet.

Ipsa gemmeis purpurantem

Pingit annum floribus;

Ipsa turgentes mamillas

E Favoni spiritu

Mulget in toros tepentes;

Ipsa roris lucidi,

Noctis aura quem relinquit,

Spargit humentes aquas.
 Lacrymæ micant trementes
A caduco pondere:

Gutta præceps orbe parvo

Sustinet casus suos.

Hinc pudorem florulentæ.

Prodiderunt purpuræ.

Humor ille, quem serenis

Astra rorant noctibus,

Mane virgines papillas

Solvit hærenti peplo:

Ipsa jussit, mane ut udæ

Virgines nubant rosæ

Facta Cypridis cruore,

Atque Amoris osculo,

Facta gemmis, atque flammis,

Atque cotte purpura,

Cras ruborem, qui latebat

Veste tectus, igneum

Invido, marita, nodo

Non pudebit solvere

Cras amet, qui nunquam amavit;

Quique amavit, cras amet.

Ipsa nymphas Diva luco

Jussit ire myrteo.

It puer comes puellis;

Nec tamen credi potest
 Esse Amorem feriatum,
Si sagittas gesserit:

Ite, Nymphæ; ponit arma,

Feriatus est Amor.

Jussus est inermis ire,

Nudus ire jussus est,

Ne quid arcu, neu sagitta,

Ne quid igne læderet.

Sed tamen, Nimphæ, cavete,

Quod Cupido pulcher est:

Totus est, inermis, idem,

Quando nudus est Amor.

Cras amet, qui nunquam amavit.

Quique amavit, cras amet.

Compari Venus pudore

Mittit ad te virgines;

Una res est, quam rogamus;

Cede, virgo Delia,

Ut nemus sit incruentum

A ferinis stragibus

Ipsa vellet te rogare,

Si pudicam flecteret;

Ipsa vellet ut venires,

Si deceret virginem.

Jam tribus choros videres

Feriatos noctibus
 Congreges inter catervas
Ire per saltus tuos,

Floreas inter coronas,

Myrteas inter casas.

Nec Ceres, nec Bacchus absunt

Nec poetarum Deus.

Te sinente, tota nox est

Pervigilanda canticis.

Regnet in sylvis Dione:

Cede, virgo Delia.

Cras amet, qui nunquam amavit;

Quique amavit, cras amet.

Jussit Hyblæis tribunal

Stare Diva floribus.

Præses ipsa jura dicet:

Adsidebunt Gratiæ.

Hybla, cunctos mitte flores,

Quidquid annus attulit;

Hybla, florum rumpe vestem,

Quantus Ennæ campus est.

Ruris hic erunt puellæ,

Et puellæ montium,

Quæque sylvas, quæque lucos,

Quæque fontes incolunt.

Jussit omnes adsidere

Mater alitis Dei,
 Jussit et nudo puellas
Nil Amori credere.

Cras amet, qui nunquam amavit;

Quique amavit, cras amet.

Cras recentibus Venustas

Ridet ipsa floribus;

Cras et is, qui primus Æther

Copulavit nuptias,

Ut paternis recrearet
Vernus annum nubibus,

In sinum, maritus imber;

Fusus almæ conjugis,

Inde vitam mixtus ardet

Ferre magno corpore.

Ipsa, venas atque mentem

Permeante spiritu,

Intus occultis gubernat

Procreatrix viribus;

Perque cœlum, perque terras

Perque pontum subditum,

Pervium sibi tenorem

Seminali tramite

Imbuit, jussitque mundum

Nosse nascendi vias.

Cras amet, qui nunquam amavit

Quique amavit, cras amet.
 Ipsa Trojanos penates
In Latinos transtulit;

Ipsa Laurentem puellam

Conjugem nato dedit,

Moxque Marti dat pudicam

E sacello virginem.

Romuleas ipsa fecit

Cum Sabinis nuptias;

Unde Rhamnes, et Quirites,

Proque gente postera

Romuli, Patres crearet,

Ac nepotem Cesarem.

Cras amet, qui nunquam amavit;

Quique amavit, cras amet.

Rura fæcundat voluptas;

Rura Venerem sentiunt:

Ipse Amor, puer Diones,

Rure natus dicitur.

Hunc ager, quum parturiret

Illa, suscepit sinu,

Atque florum delicatis

Educavit osculis.

Cras amet, qui nunquam amavit;

Quique amavit, cras amet.

Quisque cœtus continetur

Conjugali fœdere:
 Ecce jam super genistas
Explicant tauri latus:

Propter undas cum maritis

Ecce balantum gregem

Et canoras non tacere

Diva jussit alites:

Jam loquaces ore rauco

Stagna cycni perstrepunt.

Adsonat Terei puella

Subter umbram populi;

Ut putes motus amoris

Voce dici musica,

Et neges queri sororem

De marito barbaro.

Illa cantat; nec tacerem,

Quando ver venit meum,

Quando feci et ut Chelidon,

Meque Phœbus respicit.

Perderem Musam tacendo;

Ni tacere desinam:

Sic Amyclas, dum silebant,

Perdidit silentium.

Cras amet, qui nunquam amavit;

Quique amavit, cras amet.

Ovidio, nel quarto libro dei Fasti, forse prima dell’autor del
Pervigilium, aveva splendidamente descritte le feste e le veglie di
Venere, e data la ragione dell’essersi scelta la primavera a
celebrarle. E narra in tal libro come, fra l’altre cerimonie, madri e
spose latine traessero al mirteto di Venere, dove sorgeva il simulacro
della Dea e quivi sciogliessero dal di lei candido collo il monile d’oro
e le gemme e la lavassero interamente, e prosciugata poi di loro
mano la riornassero di quelle preziosità e fregiassero di corone; poi
dovessero esse medesime lavarsi pure, in memoria di quando la
bella Iddia uscita dal mare e ignuda, tergendo gli umidi crini,
sorpresa da impura frotta di satiri, ebbe a riparare appunto sotto un
bosco di mortella. E il lavacro che tutte le vedeva denudate era
presso il tempio della Fortuna Virile, quasi a dire ch’esse le dovesse
proteggere dagli sguardi degli uomini e intanto, pur in memoria di
quel che Venere bevve, quando fu condotta al marito, bevessero
esse bianco latte con pesto papavero e miele; e tutte queste
supplicazioni e cerimonie compissero, a renderla propizia, perchè
reputassero procedere dalla Dea, bellezza, costume e buon nome:

Supplicibus verbis illa placate; sub illa

Et forma et mores, et bona fama manent [157].

Nè erano le peggiori inverecondie quelle che si commettevano in

onore di Venere: i misteri d’Iside ho già detto altrove quanto fossero
peggiori ed orribili, e come avessero, per le loro infami oscenità, a
provocare ben dieci volte il bando da Roma il culto dell’egizia Dea;
nè qui pertanto mi farò a ripetere le stesse cose, rinviando il lettore a
quelle pagine [158].
Oltre le feste di Flora e di Pane, di Bacco, di Iside e di Venere, tutte
invereconde, celebravansi eziandio le Priapee in onore di Priapo. Sa
già il lettore come in Egitto si portasse in processione il phallus, suo
primo attributo e distintivo, e i mitologi anzi affermano che Oro colà
fosse quanto in Grecia e in Italia Priapo. Se tale l’origine, il suo culto
passò quindi in Grecia, dove naturalizzando il dio, lo fecero nativo di
Lampsaco, frutto degli adulteri amori di Venere e di Bacco. Grecia ne
fe’ dono all’Italia ed ebbe tempio in Roma sul colle Esquilino. Come
in Grecia, anche in Roma, gli impotenti mariti faceangli offerte e
sagrifici e le donne dissolute tributavangli un particolare culto, nel
quale la licenza era spinta all’ultimo eccesso.
Poscia crebbe in venerazione, perchè a questo nume si assegnò la
speciale protezione e custodia degli orti e inalberavasi a spauracchio
degli uccelli voraci, onde Virgilio il chiamasse custos furum ed
avium [159] e fu ben anco tenuto come scongiuro contro le male
influenze e detto perciò Fascinus, come già m’avvenne di dire, e
così gli emblemi itifallici portati perfin da fanciulli e da donzelle al
collo, come farebbesi ora del più innocente gingillo, e publicamente
esposti su’ fondaci e botteghe. Si sa inoltre che le nuove spose
fossero dal rito obbligate disporsi a cavalcione d’un priapo, di che è
memoria in una piccola statua che si conserva in Roma, e forse vi
accenna quel grande fallo di bronzo rivestito di lamina d’argento,
rinvenuto in Pompei e che si conserva nel gabinetto degli oggetti
riservati al Museo Nazionale di Napoli, e il quale è in forma di
quadrupede itifallico, avente le sole gambe posteriori, e la coda di
cui termina pure in fallo. Esso è cavalcato da una donna. Pendono
dalle zampe, affidati a piccole catene, due tintinnabuli quadrati, ed è
sospeso ad una catena con anello [160].
Le feste Priapee celebravansi dalle donne soltanto. Un basso rilievo
fatto incidere da Boissart, che riproduce la cerimonia, rappresenta la
sacerdotessa che asperge la statua del Dio, mentre le altre donne gli
presentano canestri di frutta ed anfore di vino. Altre ancora sono in
atto di danzare suonando uno strumento molto somigliante ad un
cerchio: due suonano la tibia, una tiene il sistro, in che manifesta
l’origine egizia; un’altra vestita da Baccante porta sulle sue spalle un
fanciullo; altre quattro sono occupate al sagrificio dell’asino che
veniagli offerto, questo essendo l’animale appunto odioso al Dio, per
avergli co’ suoi ragli più volte turbati i suoi impudici tentativi sulla
ninfa Lotide dormiente e sulla Dea Vesta egualmente addormentata.
E priapee dicevansi pure certe oscene composizioni fatte in onore
del Dio di Lampsaco, che s’appendevano alle statue di lui, per lo più
in esse rappresentato sotto la forma di Erme con corna di becco,
orecchie di capra e con corona di foglie di vite o d’albero, e collocate
ne’ giardini ne’ boschetti e presso le fontane.
Ma se in Roma aveva l’impuro nume culto ed altare, maggiore
venerazione otteneva nella Campania. Ercolano e Pompei ne
fornirono irrecusabili prove. Io pure ho qualche segno itifallico di quei
luoghi: l’opera mia ha già di tali prove più d’una volta tenuto conto al
lettore.
Odasi Winkelmann che ne dica:
«Gli amatori e gli intelligenti dell’arte distinguono a Portici (nel
Museo), nel numero delle figure, un Priapo che è veramente degno
di tutta l’attenzione. Non è egli più lungo di un dito, ma è desso
eseguito con tant’arte che si potrebbe riguardarlo come uno studio di
notomia, tanto preciso che Michelangelo, per quanto fosse egli gran
notomista, nulla di meglio avrebbe potuto eseguire. Sembra che
questo Priapo faccia una specie di gesto comune agli italiani, ma
affatto ignoto agli stranieri, quindi difficilmente potrò far loro
intendere la descrizione che m’accingo a farne. Questa figura tira al
basso l’inferiore palpebra coll’indice della destra mano appoggiato
all’osso della gota, mentre la testa verso la stessa è inclinata.
Convien credere che un tal gesto fosse usato dagli antichi pantomimi
e che avesse diversi espressivi significati. Quello che lo faceva stava
in silenzio e parea che mediante quel muto linguaggio volesse dire:
non fidarti di lui; egli è scaltro e ne sa più di te; oppure: ei crede di
prendermi per giuoco: io l’ho colto: o finalmente: tu t’incammini bene!
Tu hai trovato pane pei tuoi denti. Colla mano sinistra, la figura
medesima fa quello cui gli italiani appellano far castagne, gesto il
quale consiste nel collocare il pollice fra l’indice e il dito di mezzo,
per far allusione alla fessura che si fa alla scorza delle castagne,
prima di arrostirle.
«Nello stesso gabinetto, si vede un Priapo di bronzo, attaccato con
una piccola mano facendo il medesimo gesto. Tal sorta di mani
frequentemente s’incontrano ne’ gabinetti, e tutti sanno che presso
gli antichi tenean luogo di amuleti, oppure, lo che è lo stesso, si
portavano siccome preservativi contro gli incantesimi e le cattive
occhiate. Per quanto ridicola fosse quella superstiziosa pratica,
nulladimeno si è essa conservata sino a’ nostri giorni nel basso
popolo del regno di Napoli. Io ho vedute parecchie di queste mani,
che alcuni hanno la semplicità di portare appesa al braccio o al
petto. Il più di sovente si attaccan eglino al braccio una mezzaluna
d’argento chiamata nel loro vernacolo la luna pezziara, vale a dire la
luna puntata, e che essi riguardano come un preservativo contro
l’epilessia; ma è d’uopo che quella luna sia stata fabbricata
coll’elemosina raccolta da quella persona stessa che dee farne uso;
e che poscia venga portata a un sacerdote affin ch’egli la benedica.
Potrebbe darsi che il gran numero di mezze lune, le quali trovansi
nel gabinetto di Portici servissero allo stesso oggetto di
superstizione. Gli Ateniesi le portavano al cuojo del tallone della loro
calzatura sotto la cavicchia del piede.
«Nel gran numero dei Priapi, alcuni se ne veggono con ali e con
campanelli appesi a catene intrecciate, e spesse volte la parte
superiore in una groppa di un lione, il quale si gratta colla sinistra
zampa, come fanno i piccioni sotto le loro ali, quando sono in amore,
e per eccitarsi, da quanto dicasi, al piacere. I campanelli sono di
metallo, legati in argento; il loro suono doveva produrre
probabilmente un effetto a un di presso somigliante a quello de’
campanelli che veniano posti sugli scudi degli antichi; questi erano
per ispirare terrore; quelli avevano per iscopo di allontanare i cattivi
geni. I campanelli facean parte eziandio del vestimento di coloro che
ai misteri di Bacco erano iniziati.»
Ora, visitando il Museo Nazionale in Napoli, dove tutti gli oggetti più
importanti degli scavi, sì d’Ercolano che di Pompei, sono stati
diligentemente radunati e si vanno illustrando sotto la direzione
dell’illustre Fiorelli, si può visitare il gabinetto dove furono rinchiusi
tutti gli oggetti d’arte pornografici, come pitture erotiche, statuette
lubriche, emblemi itifallici ed altre congeneri curiosità, ed anzi dagli
studiosi, che pur da tutto argomentano per la storia del costume
antico, può essere acquistata separatamente presso l’Economo
della Amministrazione la Raccolta Pornografica, che forma una
sezione del Catalogo del Museo Nazionale.
Mette conto di qui far cenno delle sorti subite dalla Raccolta
Pornografica, epperò lascerò che parli il Fiorelli nello speciale
proemio mandato innanzi da lui al Catalogo summentovato di essa.
— La Raccolta Pornografica, scrive egli, fondandosi anche su
quanto ne scrisse il suo predecessore Marchese Arditi, venne
costituita nell’anno 1819, a richiesta di Francesco I, Duca di
Calabria, il quale nel visitare il Museo osservò che sarebbe stata
cosa ben fatta di chiudere tutti gli oggetti osceni, di qualunque
materia essi fossero, in una stanza, alla quale avessero unicamente
ingresso le persone di matura età e di conosciuta morale [161]. Essa
fu composta di 102 oggetti, ed ebbe nome di Gabinetto degli oggetti
osceni, che il 28 agosto 1823 mutò in quello degli oggetti riservati,
con l’assoluta inibizione di mostrarsi a chichessia, senza averne
prima ottenuto il permesso dal Re. Durò in tal guisa più o meno
visibile sino al 1849, quando la ipocrita religiosità degli agenti del
Governo provocò ordini severi, onde fossero chiuse e ribadite le
porte di quella Raccolta, e tolte dalla vista dei curiosi tutte le Veneri
ed altre figure ignude dipinte o scolpite, qualunque ne fosse l’autore.
E questo sacro fervore andò tant’oltre, che nel 1852 il Direttore del
Museo, dopo aver trasportati in un antro tutti i monumenti che già
avevano formata quella collezione e murata la porta di esso,
chiedeva che si distruggesse qualunque esterno indizio della funesta
esistenza di quel Gabinetto e se ne disperdesse, per quanto era
possibile, la memoria. Nè contento di ciò, nel marzo 1856 espulse
dalla Pinacoteca e rinchiuse con triplice e diversa chiave in luogo
umido ed oscuro la Danae del Tiziano, la Venere che piange Adone
di Paolo Veronese, il cartone di Michelangelo con Venere ed Adone,
le Virtù di Annibale Caracci ed altri 29 dipinti, insieme a 22 statue di
marmo, giudicate corrompitrici della morale, tra cui la Nereide sul
pistrice, che sarebbe stata distrutta, se lo scultore Antonio Calì non
si fosse ricusato più volte ad occultare con restauri di marmo le
nudità della figura.
Finalmente, il giorno 11 settembre 1860, per ordine del Dittatore, gli
oggetti riservati rividero la luce, e si procedette al riscontro dell’antico
inventario nel 19 dicembre dello stesso anno. Fu allora che molti se
ne rinvennero non descritti, perchè trovati in Pompei posteriormente
alla chiusura di quelle sale, e furono aggiunti all’antica collezione,
che venne più opportunamente denominata Raccolta Pornografica.
Un accurato esame di tali oggetti avendo dimostrato che non tutti
erano veramente osceni, e che molti di essi avrebbero potuto
ritornare alle rispettive collezioni senza offendere per nulla il pudore
de’ riguardanti, alcuni di questi furono restituiti alle varie classi, onde
per tal ragione non fanno più parte del Catalogo pornografico.
Il quale enumera 206 oggetti, divisi in due classi principali: la prima
de’ Monumenti greci ed etruschi; la seconda de’ Monumenti romani;
suddivisa quest’ultima in varie sezioni: a, dipinture e musaici; b,
sculture; c, amuleti; d, utensili: e di tutti questi oggetti descritti dal
Fiorelli, ben centocinque furono raccolti dagli scavi di Ercolano e di
Pompei. Io mi dispenso dallo scenderne a maggiori particolari e il
discreto lettore ne comprenderà di leggieri la ragione.
Faccio ora ritorno al più concreto argomento della prostituzione
sacra, per compiere il quale, finalmente debbo dire della festa che si
celebrava in onore della Buona Dea, i cui misteri già narrai come
fossero stati violati da Publio Clodio introducendovisi sotto spoglie
femminili, quando essi celebravansi nell’anno di Roma 678, nella
casa sul Palatino di Giulio Cesare pretore. Forse codesta dea
rappresentava la terra, la dea Tellure, e quantunque il suo tempio
veramente sorgesse tra Aricia e Bovilla, secondo si raccoglie
dall’orazione di Cicerone pro Tito Annio Milone, la sua festa
avveniva in Roma prima nel dicembre, e dopo la riforma del
calendario fatta dallo stesso Giulio Cesare, nel primo di maggio. Si
celebrava essa al chiaror delle torce, nella casa de’ primi magistrati,
come consoli, pretori, o del primo Pontefice. Non si ammettevano
che donne, intervenivano anche le Vestali. Perfino si escludevano gli
animali maschi e la cautela d’escluderne il sesso giugneva a tale da
velare statue o quadri che avessero alcun maschio rappresentato.
La superstizione insinuava che un uomo che avesse assistito a
questi misteri, anche senza intenzione di sorta, sarebbe rimasto
cieco; quegli che vi fosse studiosamente penetrato, se patrizio,
voleva la legge fosse multato di un quinquennio di carcere
mamertino e quindi di perpetuo esiglio; se plebeo, di morte. Clodio
provò il contrario rispetto alla cecità, e alla pena seppe sottrarsene
per corruttela di giudici.
La narrazione di questo curioso episodio è splendidamente
pennelleggiata da quel robusto ed originale ingegno ed amicissimo
mio che è Giuseppe Rovani, nella sua dotta, amena e squisitissima
opera La Giovinezza di Giulio Cesare, testè uscita per le stampe alla
luce a soddisfare la universale legittima aspettazione, e vi rimando il
lettore che amasse gustarvi la leggiadria di tutto quanto il racconto:
io credo far cosa grata al lettore collo spiccarvi qui almeno quelle
eleganti pagine le quali forniscono la descrizione della festa:
«Varcato il pronao e un ampio spazio che divideva l’antico palagio
dal nuovo, un lucente vestibolo biancheggiava delle conteste ossa di
elefanti indiani; cinque porte rivestite di ebano davano accesso
all’aula magna, e su quelle erano intarsiati i dorsi di testuggini eoe,
dagli occhi delle quali usciva la verde luce degli smeraldi. Il procinto
vi si aggirava dentro un cerchio; a quello facevan corona binate
colonne a capitelli d’oro, sulle quali rispianava un dorato architrave
che sosteneva tre colonne riproducenti in aria il giro delle sottoposte.
Le pareti interne erano di serpentino con intrecci d’armi. Gli onici e le
sarde lastricavano il pavimento, nel mezzo del quale sfolgorava un
mosaico d’Eraclito, che Cesare aveva fatto trasportar là dai giardini
di Servilio. Non v’eran lacunari, ma l’azzurro del cielo e le stelle e la
luna mandavano i loro raggi là dentro a mettere gara tra il cielo e la
terra.
«Le vestali, siccome voleva il rito, agli ornati architettonici avevano
aggiunti a profusione quelli della più fragrante flora romana, con frutti
e fiori d’ogni albero, escluso il mirto, siccome quello che pareva
interdire i pensieri della castità, chè le donne si preparavano alla
festa colle più rigorose astinenze; così almeno era creduto. Le mogli
per una settimana s’involavano agli amplessi maritali. Le fidanzate e
le fanciulle dovevano affannarsi a liberare la testa e il cuore dai
desiderj tentatori.
«Il simulacro della dea sorgeva nel mezzo del recinto. Una ghirlanda
di pampini ne cingeva la testa; un serpente era attortigliato intorno a’
suoi piedi. Innanzi alla base del simulacro stava un gran vaso colmo
di vino. Quel vino significava la religiosa tradizione, che ricordava
essersi la dea ubbriacata, mentre dimorava ancora in terra; onde
Fauno l’uccise con un bastone di mirto, facendola degna in così
strano modo dei doni immortali della divinità.
«Pure quel vino, che poscia veniva bevuto senza ritegno,
chiamavasi latte, a conciliare l’idea dell’astinenza coi protervi effetti
che produceva, e Mellario il vaso che lo conteneva, onde è a
sospettare che quelle donne stessero innanzi alla dea, velate di
devota incontinenza, preparando così la frase al poeta futuro.
«Quando la vestale damiatrice s’inginocchiò davanti al simulacro,
tutte le vestali, candide come cigni depurati dal rio,
s’inginocchiarono, e con esse quante matrone e spose e fidanzate e
fanciulle eran là convenute. Più presso al semigiro delle vergini
sacre stava l’insigne Aurelia, la madre di Cesare, venerata in Roma
per l’alto senno e le virtù volute e le consuetudini sante. Aveva
raggiunto il nono lustro: pure il freddo raggio lunare, turbato dalla
calda luce delle resinose faci, così beneficamente la vestiva, che
due lustri parevano scomparsi dal suo nobile volto. Accanto a lei
stava genuflessa Pompea, la moglie di Cesare, non amante della
suocera, che non amava lei. La beltà tramontante di Aurelia,
dall’occhio espanso, lento e solenne, e dai contorni che Tullio
chiamò scientifici, e li dicea segnati dal geometra Euclide, faceva
contrasto colla diversa severità della olimpica Pompea, severità
ostentata per dissimulare le intime accensioni.
«Non lungi da Pompea, vestita come una regina asiatica, coi piropi
al collo, alle braccia, ai brevi orecchi, si vedeva Servilia, la moglie del
penultimo Bruto, la madre dell’estremo. Peccatrice nata, pure il
peccato ella rendea perdonabile coll’intensità dell’affetto concesso
ad un uomo solo. Accanto a lei, volgevasi alla dea una giovinetta