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Edition 4 (1964) Winner
Birago Ismaël Diop
ビラゴ・イスマエル・ディオプ
Birago Ismael Diop
Profile
- Gender
- Male
- Born
- 1906-12-11 （Ouakam (Dakar), Senegal）
- Died
- 1989-11-25 （Dakar, Senegal） age 82
- Nationality
- Senegalese
- Languages
- French, Wolof
- Residence History
- Ouakam (Dakar) → Saint-Louis (attended Lycée Faidherbe) → Toulouse (studied veterinary medicine) → Maisons-Alfort (internship) → France (various temporary stays) → French Sudan (now Mali) → Ivory Coast, Upper Volta (now Burkina Faso), Mauritania → Tunisia (as ambassador) → Dakar (later life base)
Career
- Occupations
- Poet, Storyteller, Veterinarian, Diplomat
- Active Years
- 1925-1989
- Affiliations
- Circle associated with the Négritude movement (connections with Senghor, Aimé Césaire, Léon Damas), Veterinary services of the French colonial administration, Senegalese diplomatic service (served as ambassador to Tunisia)
- Influenced By
- Léopold Sédar Senghor, Aimé Césaire, Léon Damas, Wolof griots and storytellers such as Amadou Koumba, Victor Hugo, Charles Baudelaire, Edgar Allan Poe (poetic influences)
Education
| Institution | Faculty | Department | Degree | Period | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of Toulouse (veterinary studies) | — | Veterinary Medicine | 獣医学士 | 1928–1933 | France |
University of Toulouse (veterinary studies)
Veterinary Medicine
Degree:
獣医学士
Period:
1928–1933
Year of Graduation:
1933
Country:
France
Included internship at the Institute for Exotic Veterinary Medicine in Maisons-Alfort. Afterwards served as a veterinary surgeon for the colonial government.
Awards
| Year | Award | Work | Category | Organization | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950 | Grand Prix littéraire de l'Afrique occidentale française | Les Contes d'Amadou Koumba (Tales of Amadou Koumba) | — | Literary body of French West Africa | 受賞 |
| 1964 | Grand prix littéraire d'Afrique noire | Contes et Lavanes | — | Grand prix littéraire d'Afrique noire (awarding body) | 受賞 |
| — | Officier de la Légion d'Honneur | — | — | French government | 叙勲 |
| — | Chevalier de l'Étoile Noire (Order of the Black Star) | — | — | French-related awarding body | 叙勲 |
| — | Chevalier du Mérite Agricole | — | — | French government | 叙勲 |
Grand Prix littéraire de l'Afrique occidentale française
1950
Work:
Les Contes d'Amadou Koumba (Tales of Amadou Koumba)
Organization:
Literary body of French West Africa
Result:
受賞
Grand prix littéraire d'Afrique noire
1964
Work:
Contes et Lavanes
Organization:
Grand prix littéraire d'Afrique noire (awarding body)
Result:
受賞
Officier de la Légion d'Honneur
Organization:
French government
Result:
叙勲
Chevalier de l'Étoile Noire (Order of the Black Star)
Organization:
French-related awarding body
Result:
叙勲
Chevalier du Mérite Agricole
Organization:
French government
Result:
叙勲
Awards & Nominations
Works
Major Works
Les Contes d'Amadou Koumba (Tales of Amadou Koumba)
1947 Folktales / Short storiesA collection of folktales recorded from Wolof griots and retold in French. Combines humor, fantasy and realism.
Oral traditionAnimal fablesInteraction of supernatural and everyday life
Translations
- English translation by Dorothy S. Blair (Oxford University Press, 1966)
Les Nouveaux Contes d'Amadou Koumba
1958 FolktalesA follow-up collection of folktales, containing additional tales based on oral tradition.
Preservation of traditionSocial moralsHumor
Contes et Lavanes
1963 Folktales with commentariesContains tales accompanied by commentaries and reflections, exploring the literary treatment of folktales.
Interpretation of storiesCultural memory
Leurres et Lueurs (Lures and Glimmers)
1960 PoetryA collection of poems written between 1925 and 1945, lyrical and resonant with aspects of the Négritude movement.
HomesicknessCultural awarenessDescriptions of nature
L'Os de Mor Lam
1977 Drama / TheatreA theatrical adaptation of his short story "L'Os", experimenting with performance and oral storytelling modes.
Dramatization of storytellingVisualizing oral tradition
Adaptations
- [Theatre] L'Os de Mor Lam (1977)
Memoirs (La Plume raboutée, etc.)
1978 MemoirMemoir series published between 1978 and 1989 recounting his life, literary work and relationship with oral traditions.
Autobiographical recollectionLiterary testimony
Bibliography
- Les Contes d'Amadou Koumba (1947)
- Les Nouveaux Contes d'Amadou Koumba (1958)
- Contes et Lavanes (1963)
- Leurres et Lueurs (1960)
- L'Os de Mor Lam (drama, 1977)
- La Plume raboutée (1978)
- À Rebrousse-temps (1982)
- À Rebrousse-gens (1985)
- Du temps de... (1986)
- Et les yeux pour me dire (1989)
Adaptations
- Stage adaptation of L'Os (L'Os de Mor Lam, 1977)
Translations of Works
- Tales of Amadou Koumba (English translation by Dorothy S. Blair, OUP, 1966)
- Selected tales in Contes Choisis (ed. Joyce A. Hutchinson, 1967) and other selections
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- Concise, clear prose that transposes oral tradition into written formFable-like, narrative storytellingPoetic elements reflecting cultural consciousness of Négritude
- Recurring Motifs
- Animal-centered fablesInteraction between supernatural beings and humansTradition and memory
Legacy
Birago Diop helped establish Wolof oral traditions in the French literary sphere, revitalizing interest in African folktales and making a major contribution to the Négritude movement and African literature. His work as a poet and storyteller influenced subsequent writers and folklorists.
Quotes
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"Here, far from my home in Senegal, my eyes are surrounded by closed horizons. When the greens of summer and the russets of autumn have passed, I seek the vast expanses of the Savannah, and find only bare mountains, sombre as ancient prostrate giants that the snow refuses to bury because of their misdeed...."
Source: "The Humps" (from Tales of Amadou Koumba) (1966)
Trivia
- By profession he was a veterinarian and also served as a diplomat (ambassador to Tunisia).
- He once stated he had "broken his pen" (cassé sa plume) implying a pause in writing, but later resumed literary activity.
- Known for collecting and retelling Wolof oral tales recorded from griots such as Amadou Koumba in French.