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Colonialismo, golpe e genocídio como evento complementar em Nossa Senhora do Nilo, de Scholastique Mukasonga

Abstract

This article analyzes the novel Our Lady of the Nile by Scholastique Mukasonga, contextualizing it in the genocide of Tutsis in Rwanda and its deep colonial roots. The narrative, located in the high school Nossa Senhora do Nilo in 1973 describes the daily life of students of the boarding school, exploring their conflicts as reflections of ethnic divisions in the country. The objective is to demonstrate how the work fictionalizes the causal relations between the colonial process, the country’s independence and the 1973 coup, suggesting genocide as its complementary event. Methodologically, we propose a bibliographical review of the Rwandan historical process, of the critical fortune of the novel, combining them with the reflections of Fanon (2008; 2022) about colonial sociogenesis. Additionally, we use the notions of Assmann (2011) and Collot (2012) to define the narrative space as symbolic and mediator, and the conceptualizations of Seligmann-Silva (2022) on testimony. As a result, we observe that the novel exposes how the Nile-hamite thesis has disrupted Rwandan society, solidifying social and economic barriers. The instrumentalization of the figure of Gloriosa and the symbolism of the breaking of the statue reveal the transition from hate rhetoric to explicit violence, culminating in collective catharsis. Finally, we conclude that Our Lady of the Nile acts as a powerful witness, constituting a "policy of oblivion" while offering a crucial lens for understanding the historical complexities of Rwanda and for the search for an ontological reconciliation of the black population.