Literary representation of home and dislocation, trauma, healing and African spirituality in Niq Mhlongo’s way back home (2013) and Mongane Wally Serote’s.

Abstract

This dissertation analyses the literary representations of collective disillusionment and emotional dislocation in contemporary South Africa as illustrated in Niq Mhlongo’s Way Back Home (2013) and Mongane Wally Serote’s Rumours (2013). In particular, I am interested in how the protagonists’ repressed memories of apartheid-induced trauma manifest themselves in the present, and how individuals attempt to process traumatic ‘hauntedness’ through practicing various forms of African spirituality as anchored in traditional indigenous knowledge. Through an engagement with relevant critical theories and concepts – home, trauma and African spirituality – this dissertation explores the novelistic representations of the ex-political exiles’ emotional dislocation upon returning to South Africa in the early 1990s. I also examine the impact of past traumatic memories on the protagonists’ narrative present and further explore aspects of traditional indigenous knowledge and spirituality that may assist in one’s search for cultural identity, belonging and emotional healing from traumatic memories of past historical trauma. Both novels present protagonists who have spent many years as political exiles serving under the armed wing of the ANC, uMkhonto we Sizwe, and who – upon returning to their homeland – struggle to integrate themselves into a rapidly changing society. Not only do they feel ‘unhomed’ and alienated, but they are also disenchanted with present-day post-transitional social circumstances. Their emotional dislocation is heightened by the repressed traumatic memories that infringe on their present, and threaten their future. To overcome their traumatic ‘hauntedness,’ both protagonists seek emotional healing through an engagement with traditional healers and indigenous healing methods. However, of the two protagonists, only Serote’s successfully uplifts himself from traumatic ‘hauntedness’ and finds belonging in the present. My main interest in this dissertation is to explore how Serote and Mhlongo suggest ways in which the protagonists hope to process their traumatic ‘hauntedness’ through recourse to African spirituality and traditional indigenous knowledge. Although only Serote’s protagonist actually manages to still the demons of his past trauma, through an in-depth analysis, I suggest that both writers – Serote and Mhlongo – strongly advocate the need for one’s reconnection with indigenous culture, healing practices and spirituality.