El séptimo juramento
PAULINA CHIZIANE

Published in November 2008 in Spanish

Original title: "O sétimo juramento"

Confusion. Reality turning into illusion, a magic reality with no need to begrudge anything to narrators like García Marquez, Miguel Ángel Asturias, Alejo Carpentier - the ones who gave South America its worthy place in the world concert of cultures - and like them Paulina Chiziane gives voice to Africa. She immerges us into a fantastic world, a world of fetishes and taboos, of black magic and imagination, of sounds and nightmares, of lights and shades.

Confusion. A world full of inconsistencies in which the manichaeism is continous and titanic. Once transcended this confusion the reality is turning substantial. The world presents itself like we are living it every day in many places on earth. Destruction and corruption. But also a world where the virtues of tradition and wisdom stick out with undeniable beauty.

Once again confusion. A disquieting world, scaring, mysterious. But this time there is some sort of attraction willing to take it all along to a nearly obscure abysm. Admittedly challenges are arising facing this day-to-day reality we all know. More than only one will ask himself - reading this lovely book written by Paulina Chiziane - where reality starts and dreaming ends.

Paulina Chiziane was born in Manjacaze, Mozambique in 1955 and studied linguistics in Maputo. Being a well-known narrator and abiding by oral tradition, her articles and fairy tales could be found in various newspapers of the country. Chiziane published her first novel Balada de Amor ao Vento (1990) short after Mozambique gained independence and furthermore this is the first novel written by a woman from this country.

El séptimo juramento, which was published by the famous Portuguese publishing house "Caminho" and which now was translated by "Takusan" is Chiziane's third novel.

The black feminism of Paulina Chiziane by Adelto Gonçalves (in Spanish)

 

Funded by the Portuguese Institute for Book and Libraries