The Creole port city: cosmopolitanism, intimate encounters and republican ideals in twentieth-century Saint-Louis-du-Senegal

This article attempts to interpret cosmopolitan aspects of Creole port societies through one literary work, Abdoulaye Sadji's Nini multresse du Sénégal. Republican ideals have been found in cosmopolitan Creole port societies for a very long time, and may be connected to both ancient pre-colonial and colonial Creole practices, especially intimate relationships. The text explores accordingly both the pre-colonial roots of these relationships as well as their colonial development. It also indicates that such relationships are central to the work analyzed, as young women of Creole origin are its main characters. Furthermore, the portrayal of those women is closely linked in the novel to issues of political freedom and anti-colonialism. The article moreover attempts to read the novel in the light of what is known of the history of Saint-Louis, stressing both the related presence of cosmopolitan Creole societies, conceptions of hybridity and Republican ideals. © 2012 Journal of African Cultural Studies.