Literatura africana e mistério : o romance policial de Angola e Moçambique

Abstract

This research aims to analyze detective fiction produced in Angola and Mozambique, focusing on how these narratives are constituted both in their structures and in the incorporation of cultural and social elements. The objective is to understand how the plots represent and reinforce aspects of angolanidade and moçambicanidade, in contrast with European and North American models that historically shaped the genre. The selected corpus is composed of O último voo do flamingo (2016) by Mia Couto, Rabhia (2022) by Lucílio Manjate, and Jaime Bunda: Agente Secreto (2022) by Pepetela. The research is structured around two main focus areas: the structural analysis of detective fiction and the investigation of cultural indicators. In the first area, the study draws on the works of Massi (2011, 2015) and Todorov (1971), which are fundamental to understanding the constitution of classical detective narratives and their contemporary variations. In the second, four cultural dimensions were examined. Religiosity was approached through the lens of animist realism, based on Garuba (2012) and Paradiso (2015), who discuss the centrality of the sacred in African social formation and its literary representations. Oral tradition was analyzed drawing on Campos (2008), Bâ (2010), and Fonseca (2016), who emphasize orality as a cultural archive and as a foundation of African literatures. The linguistic dimension, concerning the use of native languages, was addressed through Thiong?o (2003) and Timbane (2023), who examine the multilingualism of the PALOP countries, and Mariani (2008), who problematizes linguistic imperialism. Finally, coloniality and its enduring effects were discussed in light of Fanon (1968) and Carbonieri (2016), whose contributions reveal the long-lasting impacts of colonialism and the necessity of decolonial approaches. The findings indicate that, although the analyzed works engage with the structure of classical detective fiction, they reframe the genre by integrating distinct cultural elements, reaffirming local identities and challenging the colonial legacy. It is concluded that detective fiction from Angola and Mozambique expands the horizons of the genre, displacing it from Eurocentric frameworks, and offers readers new perspectives of interpretation situated in a field of cultural resistance and the valorization of African literary diversity. [resumo fornecido pelo autor]