SOAS Research Online

Abstract

The study of emotions in African history is in its infancy, although it is expanding rapidly as a new frontier in scholarly work on the modern era. Considering the violent tumult experienced by the continent over the past two centuries, it seems apposite to begin to explore the role of emotions in the experience and interpretation of those processes of change, which are ongoing at the time of writing. This paper represents an attempt to contribute to the emerging historiography on emotions history in Africa. It is specifically concerned with the power of melancholy, mourning and memory in the context of war and other forms of violent conflict. The paper seeks to adopt a longue durée perspective, encompassing the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, though the bulk of the source material is located in the colonial and postcolonial periods and this is reflected in the weight of the analysis. The analysis itself is concerned with both individual and collective interpretations of the violent past, but the central focus is an assessment of how states and societies mourn the dead; and how they develop processes and systems of socio-political control and memory based on experiences of profound loss and bitter discontent, as well as of supposed military triumph.