Political Oratory and Cartooning E-Book

Jennifer Jackson

• Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
• Kategorie: Geisteswissenschaft
• Serie: New Directions in Ethnography
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 492

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2013

Beschreibung

Political Oratory and Cartooning An Ethnography of Democratic Processes in Madagascar "Insightful, detailed, and substantial, this book has much to say to students of language and followers of politics, not to mention those of us passionate about both and how they interact." Virginia R. Dominguez, Gutgsell Professor, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign "Why don't more people write books like this? Jennifer Jackson's brilliant insights on Malagasy cartooning, oratory, and political culture are not only a breath of fresh air for the anthropological study of political language, but a genuinely creative contribution to the study of global democracy." David Graeber, Goldsmiths, University of London Called kabary in the island nation of Madagascar, political oratory jostles with political cartoon satire in competing for public attention and shaping opinion. The apparent simplicity of these modes of political commentary conceals nuanced subtleties, which inform the constantly evolving landscape of politics. Linguistic anthropologist Jennifer Jackson offers an original semiotic analysis of the formative social role played by these narratives in Madagascar's polity. Though political orators and cartoonists rarely come face to face, their linguistic skirmishing both reflects and informs the political process, deploying rhetorical devices that have significant impacts on the vernacular political culture, its language and publics. This new ethnography examines the dynamic interplay between past and new forms of oratory and satire and their effects in social, religious, class, and transnational contexts. Jackson assesses how far they mirror the vicissitudes of political agency and authority, especially under the leadership of President Marc Ravalomanana. The author shows how democracy must be understood as historically contingent, bound in a local and global accretion of social and economic relations, and always mediated by language.

Leseprobe

Table of Contents

COVER

SERIES PAGE

TITLE PAGE

COPYRIGHT PAGE

HO’ANY ANNA.

LIST OF FIGURES

NOTE ON ORTHOGRAPHY

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

PREFACE

Methodological Approach

How to Read this Book

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION

Organization of the Study

CHAPTER 2 A HISTORY OF LANGUAGE AND POLITICS IN MADAGASCAR

The First Period of Literacy in Madagascar

Second Period of Literacy

Language Engineering

Kabary as the Model for the Sermon

Expanding the Reach of the Bureaucratic State through Literacy and Class System

Determining Class Status through Literacy

The Death of King Radama and the “Dark Ages” of Literacy

Language-Mediated Nationalist Insurgencies during French Colonization, 1895

Madagascar’s First Republic

Class Struggle, Language, and Political Resistance within the Nationalist Movements of Postcolonial Madagascar

Bureaucratizing the Ideologies and Objects of Nationalism and Class Struggle

1975–1991: From Malgachization to Socialism to Structural Adjustment Liberalization

Democratic Transitions, Transitions to Democracy

CHAPTER 3 THE STRUCTURAL AND SOCIAL ORGANIZATION OF KABARY POLITIKA

On the Structure and Style of Kabary Politika

The Prototypical Kabary Politika Plan

Beyond the Event: Kabary as Social Contract

On Hasina Power: Notions of Status and Authority Informing Possibilities of Comportment and Rhetorical Strategy

Power and Sharing the Political Stage with an Exemplary Form

CHAPTER 4 THE STRUCTURAL AND SOCIAL ORGANIZATION OF KISARISARY POLITIKA (POLITICAL CARTOONING)

Postcolonial History of Political Cartooning in Urban Imerina

Rites, Membership, and Networks in the Cartooning Community

Speaking in Their Language: Code Choice, Access, and Cartooning’s Audience

Hooking the Talons in Deep: The Conditions of Political Critique as Political Action

Kabary and Cartooning Dialogics: Speaking Disorder to Order

CHAPTER 5 BUILDING PUBLICS THROUGH INTERANIMATING AND SHIFTING REGISTERS

On Being Gasy: Some Background on Fihavanana

Proverbs as Modes of Authority and as Portable Tropes across Space and Time

Cartooning’s Thwarting of Political Opinion and Social Imaginaries of Fihavanana

The Durable Exchange between Proverbs and Scripture

Aza matohatra fa mino fotsiny ihany! “Have no fear, just believe!”

Action Words and the Code of Modernity and Development

Conclusion

CHAPTER 6 “STOP ACTING LIKE A SLAVE”

Introduction

Analogical Groupings of “Fashions of Speaking” and Embodiment in Political Cartooning

Background on an Articulated Class and Ethnic Consciousness in Urban Highlands Madagascar

Theories Mapping Fashions of Speaking to Identity

CHAPTER 7 “THAT’S WHAT YOU THINK”

To Speak Like “That”: Speaking Truth to Power, Power to “Truth”

Controlling the Code to Discipline Access to State Power

Once You Have the Appearance of a Wild Cat, You Are One: Assuring the Aesthetic Qualities of Truth in Speech

The “Local” of Language and Governance

CHAPTER 8 CONCLUSION

History and State Formation

Collective Agency and Democracy

Participant Frameworks in Democratic Process and the Linguistic Market

The Accretion of Actors in Malagasy Democracy

INDEX

New Directions in Ethnography is a series of contemporary, original works. Each title has been selected and developed to meet the needs of readers seeking finely grained ethnographies that treat key areas of anthropological study. What sets these books apart from other ethnographies is their form and style. They have been written with care to allow both specialists and nonspecialists to delve into theoretically sophisticated work. This objective is achieved by structuring each book so that one portion of the text is ethnographic narrative while another portion unpacks the theoretical arguments and offers some basic intellectual genealogy for the theories underpinning the work.

Each volume in New Directions in Ethnography aims to immerse readers in fundamental anthropological ideas, as well as to illuminate and engage more advanced concepts. Inasmuch, these volumes are designed to serve not only as scholarly texts, but also as teaching tools and as vibrant, innovative ethnographies that showcase some of the best that contemporary anthropology has to offer.

Published volumes

1. Turf Wars: Discourse, Diversity, and the Politics of PlaceGabriella Gahlia Modan

2. Homegirls: Language and Cultural Practice among Latina Youth GangsNorma Mendoza-Denton

3. Allah Made Us: Sexual Outlaws in an Islamic African CityRudolf Pell Gaudio

4. Political Oratory and Cartooning: An Ethnography of Democratic Processes in MadagascarJennifer Jackson

This edition first published 2013

© 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Jackson, Jennifer (Jennifer L.)

 Political oratory and cartooning : an ethnography of democratic processes in madagascar / Jennifer Jackson.

pages cm.

 Includes bibliographical references and index.

 ISBN 978-1-118-30606-2

 1. Presidents–Madagascar–Election. 2. Political campaigns–Madagascar. 3. Political consultants–Madagascar. 4. Madagascar–Politics and government–1992- I. Title.

 JQ3468.J35 2013

 324.9691'055–dc23

2012036669

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

Cover image: Supporters of ousted Madagascar president Ravalomanana march in a counter-rally in Antananarivo’s Democracy Square. © Siphiwe Sibeko/Reuters/Corbis.

Cover design by Richard Boxall Design Associates.

Ho’any Anna.

Tsy tonga teto amin’ity toerana ity aho raha tsy nisy anao teo anilako, teo amin’ny fiainako, niara nizara ny rehetra tamiko. Madagasikara dia sady fonenako no fonenanao ary ity asa ity doa vokatry ny fiaraha miasatsika. Misaotra indrindra tamin’ny fitiavanao, fanohananao ary tamin’ny zavatra tsara rehetra nataonao tamin’ny fiainako. Tsy ho adinoko mandrakizay ny zavatra niarahatsika nanorina ary ity boky dia anisan ny porofo manamarina izany.

LIST OF FIGURES

1.1

What

is

Politics?

2.1

Political Map of Madagascar

2.2

A 1972 political cartoon in the popular and controversial

Gazety Hehy

4.1

Aimé Razafy depicts Ravalomanana’s development plans through his purchase of a personal jet, which he names Air Force One after the US president’s plane

4.2

“Route Construction. Let us start it with TIM”

4.3

Jivan’s cartoon suggests corruption in voting processes by way of cracked glass in the otherwise “transparent” voting box

5.1

As a fleeing man screams “Politics Again!” a political candidate states his platform and campaign promises while wearing a sign that says “Choose Me”

5.2

Jivan reports on the excessive spending by the majority TIM Senate and its favors to the president’s business, TIKO

5.3

Cartoon of a man awaiting amnesty after being jailed during the 2002 crisis, poking fun at Ravalomanana’s overuse of Mark 3:6, “Have no fear, just believe!”

5.4

The character stands at the divide in a road, puzzled over which way the sign marked “development” points

6.1

Cartoon depicting supporters of Ravalomanana’s ruling party, TIM, declaring their membership to the nation by stating in the exclusive second person plural, “We are the children of the father”

6.2

Graffiti painted on the retaining wall of the Hall of Law and the Rights of Man states “Merina is enough,” implying there is no need for any other ethnic group

6.3

Chinese and

gasy

cartoon

6.4

Cartoon suggesting the type of woman who competes in the pan-African Miss Malaika Pageant

6.5

Cartoon recreating a game show scenario with Ravalomanana and his ministers as participants

7.1

“Results Day”

8.1

The character depicts the ease of flow – from resources to legal agreements – between Malagasy officials and foreign private and public entities

NOTE ON ORTHOGRAPHY

Malagasy uses the Latin alphabet.

The alphabet consists of 21 letters: a, b, d, e, f, g, h, i, j, k, l, m, n, o, p, r, s, t, v, y, z.

The orthography maps to English phonetics, except for some vowel pronunciation.

O is pronounced /u/.

The letters i and y both represent the /i/ sound (where y is used to end a word, joined as a compound noun, it is omitted and an ‘ is used).

The affricates // and // are written tr and dr, respectively, while /ts/ and /dz/ are written ts and j.

The letter h is often silent.

All other letters have essentially their IPA values.

Mp and occasionally nt may begin a word, but they are pronounced /p, t/.

Nouns beginning with v change to b, h to k in compound nouns.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Without a community of Malagasy friends, mentors, and associates, this project would not have been successful, or even possible. Throughout the seventeen years I have been traveling and working on and off in Madagascar, my understanding of the lifeways of this island has grown from a circle of people who have welcomed me into their homes, shared meals and amazing conversation with me, taught me the language, helped me out of trouble, nursed me back to health, directed and facilitated my academic and personal explorations, and adopted me as one of their own children. My heartfelt gratitude goes to all of these people who are a part of my memory, my mind, and my heart.

Misaotra betsaka to the cartoonists, speechwriters, musicians, ministers, actors, and journalists in Antananarivo who shared their thoughts, time, patience, and focus with me. Any acknowledgment I give you here amounts to only a small token of my appreciation for all that you have given to me, and all of the ways you have taught me to think, question, care, laugh, and let go. I respect and honor all that you do to build a stronger voice for Malagasy people.

I offer sincere thanks to my government hosts who facilitated my access to the president’s office as well as invitations to work with mayoral candidates across Imerina. Thank you for letting a stranger in for a backstage glimpse.

I thank the professors at the University of Tana and the Museum of Art and Archaeology, in particular Professor Bernardin Rasolo, and most of all, Elie Rajaonarison. Thank you to my patient language trainers at home, in the market, and at the Alliance Française. Also, I extend gracious thanks to my first friends and family: Patrice, Mama i’dRodrigue, the “neighbor-children,” the shopkeepers, and Mayor Jean-Claude, all of Sambava. And, lastly, to the steadfast and true, I extend a heartfelt Misaotra i’ Hanta, i’ Alice, ary i’ Rivo, the family who gave me a home away from home.

Thank you to Esther for her diligence and perseverance in provid­ing this project with handwritten transcriptions of over 500 hours of audio and video. And to my translators, Elior, Fabrice, Johary, and Benja: I will always think of you with every idiom and proverb I stumble upon. Thank you for helping me translate the many kabary that confounded my Malagasy language skills but made your English skills shine.

No amount of gratitude expressed here to my academic committee – J. Joseph Errington, David Graeber, and Bernard Bate – could measure proportionate to their contributions and commitment to my work and progress as a scholar. Their patience and confidence in this process encouraged an organic development of my ideas and my strengths to explore, analyze, synthesize, and communicate. My mind and sense of the world have been shaped and enriched by these individuals, and I have this group and the department, in general, to thank for my continued energy to pursue and develop scholarship.

Without the commitment to scholarship that the Yale University community upholds, I could not have had the financial, intellectual, and creative freedom to pursue the initial and most critical stages of this book project as I did. Lux et veritas.

My sincere thanks go to fellow scholars and friends who supported my process and helped me shape the trajectory of this research and the writing of its outcomes. My thanks for the blessings from Maurice Bloch, Kamari Clarke, Frank Cody, Hal Conklin, Girish Daswani, Naisargi Dave, Alessandro Duranti, Andrew Gilbert, Candy Goodwin, Jane Hill, Joseph Hill, Paul Kroskrity, Michael Lambek, Pier Larson, Paul Manning, Janet McIntosh, Norma Mendoza-Denton, Amira Mittermeier, Andrea Muehlebach, Alejandro Paz, Jennifer Roth-Gordon, Elinor Ochs, James Scott, Rupert Stasch, Kirsten Stoebenau, Kathryn Woolard, and Eric Worby. Also, I thank my students at the University of Toronto and at UCLA, all of whom have played a great role in inspiring new ways of thinking about my work.

Thanks to my dear friend and colleague, Sarah Vogel, for the countless brainstorming sessions we inevitably found ourselves in over morning coffee, in the backyard with Kunya and Tavy, on East Rock, or closing down Sterling Memorial Library on a Friday. I hope I have touched the heart in your work as much as you have mine.

I wish to thank the School for International Training (SIT-Tana), its director and my family, Anna Prow, and her staff for their aca­demic and personal support. This project could not have found any direction and would have faltered many times without the love and care from Anna. In Madagascar, institutional affiliation was generously extended by the Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Political Science at the University of Tana, and the Museum of Art and Archaeology.

Lastly, I thank my partner in crime, Ryan Christie. Not only might the references look perfect in this book because of her great attention to detail, but the writer knows her way because of the faith and confidence this person has inspired. I thank you for your willing ear, your tireless support, and the energy you bring to the process of writing the story of people’s lives.

Financial and academic support for the beginning stages of this research was provided by the Social Science Research Council International Dissertation Research Fund (SSRC-IDRF) and post-dissertation workshop, the Yale University Center for International and Area Studies (YCIAS), the Yale University Program in Agrarian Studies, and the Yale University Department of Anthropology.

Financial and academic support for later stages of the book project was provided by the University of Toronto’s Department of Anthro­pology, and the University of California-Los Angeles Department of Anthropology. Financial support was provided by the Connaught Fund, the government of Canada’s generous Standard Research Grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, and start-up grants from the UCLA Dean’s Office, Division of Social Sciences. I thank, in particular, Maria DaMota for orienting me to the bureaucracy that is research funding and making research life far away so much easier.

PREFACE

“Inona vaovao? What’s new?” he asks.

“Nothing much except it is hot. Inona vaovao?” I answer, smiling.

“Nothing, hot, yes. Are you here at the Alliance with a school group?”

“No, I am here by myself but I am working on a school project.”

“How long will you be here in Diego?”

“Probably a while. I’ve been in Tana for a while. I need a break, be by the sea.”

Jorge’s broom bumped into the edge of the stage riser where I sat, and with its thump we both noticed the resonating sound of a live microphone on the stand just to my left. I lowered my voice, worried it might be picked up by the mic and disturb those working in offices all around us. Jorge, however, stepped up onto the stage, tidied the floor on his way over, set down his broom, and pulled the microphone from its stand.

“Is this your first time in Madagascar?”

Startled that Jorge was now holding his part of the conversation through the live microphone, I hesitatingly answered in a whisper, “Um, no, I’ve been coming here since I was 19, so a long time.”

“Not a long time, you are still a baby,” Jorge suggests, as his voice carried through the seven speakers surrounding commons and the loft of offices above us.

“Well, I’m 29, but … ” I paused hoping to model with my own voice the volume we should both share.

“Do you have a husband?”

“No, not yet.” I chuckled to myself thinking of a popular song’s refrain asking the same question.

“Do your parents know you are here? They’re with you, yes?” Jorge followed up.

At this point, I could only manage smiles for answers, as though my silence might temper his loudness. Doors began to open and well-coiffed French ex-pats emerged from their Alliance Française offices, stared out wondering what event had just begun, and why it didn’t sound like an event even though to them it had the accoutrements of one, a stage and a microphone. Jorge put down the mic, dropped his head, and began sweeping again. I felt bad that just drawing the attention of workers was enough to signal to Jorge his transgression. But then I realized that to Jorge his only transgression was putting down his broom, not picking up the microphone.

On a typically busy Monday morning in Tana, I agreed to give an interview to Ralanto’s newspaper. Tall, lanky, always moving at 100 miles a minute, Ralanto is a journalist and cartoonist for a major daily in the city. He drew or wrote every morning while I sat at his side. I distracted him with questions and political discussions, asked him how to talk slang, pressed him to explain the stereotypes he drew in cartoons, and at the end of it all, ran his endless errands and walked him home for dinner. Ralanto graciously endured my daily visits and the awkwardness with which I developed my project and its direction. He saw the process, wide open and exposed, just like I saw his cartooning process, from the inspiration for that first drop of ink in the frame to the last swish of color and turn of phrase between his characters. If I had one minute of his voice on my tape recorder, I had a thousand. It seemed fair to give him this interview. And so we met at a busy café and I readied myself for some time of Q&A.