Otwere As Literature In Congo-Brazzaville

This dissertation presents an examination of "Otwere" as literature which is deeply rooted in the tradition of the Mbosi people in Congo-Brazzaville and has also been influenced by other cultures.Today,despite this influence,many observers claim that it is at the heart of the productions of African literature.Of Congolese origin,Otwere is initially a form of expression of the oral culture.But,at the beginning of the first half of the nineteenth century with the proliferation of works by African authors in European languages,Otwere benefits from its first written form and is exported to more horizons.Like Humanism(1530-1600),a European literary movement whose Thematic studied was based on education,war,death,body and romantic relationships,Otwere is interested in the themes of succession conflicts,problems of hierarchy,polygamy,juvenile delinquency,fertility,theft,etc.To solve all these issues,the Mbosi gathered around Ot.were set up a set of customary laws.Each member of society observes them.Otwere,in its infancy,was a mere institution whose role was to ensure social justice.It was defined for the thirst time as,(...)an old institution that dealt with the justice of our "fathers".It has existed it seems in all our tribes in the Congo before being supplanted by colonial or modern justice.It also existed among whites,Jews(Jephthah).But we are going to say here how the "Mbochis" of Alima had understood Otwere in their understanding and in their region.Established for justice,Otwere was the most respectable and respected,the most consistent,the most intangible,the most sacred ancestral institution ever encountered by the Mbochis in the land of Alima.I would like to make known,before defining it in itself,what characterized it,and then reveal the preconditions required to be a member of the institution".(Bishop B.Gassongo,1979).Over time,other functions totally related to narratology,management and economic development have been developed giving it a more scientific character,to be inserted among the social sciences.If Otwere is an institution dealing with justice,then its members,the Twere,can only be law enforcement judges.Experience shows that wherever there is law,there are individuals who are supposed to break it.They are those who defy the established order or who do not want social organization.On the understanding that Otwere had not provided a framework for sentences because often favouring the resolution of conflicts by the repair of faults rather than by the punishnent of the guilty,then the question of its structure arises that of the management of its men so that the cases of recidivism are non-existent?This big question about the management of the city,also poses that of the qualities of Twere on the carpet.Indeed,all these concerns about management policy precipitate,so far,researchers in Alima land to safeguard the gains that Otwere hides.In view of the foregoing,it is inadmissible that a literary person cannot find a particular interest in it.Otwere institution,as some have defined it is not limited to these sectors,it is also a form of literature because it is an expression of tradition.Otwere,despite his presence in the Mbosi milieu since pre-colonial times,was officially recognized as Mbosi literature only in the 1970s when Congolese researchers gave him special interest.In this work we will also present the metamorphoses of Otwere,its stages of transformation,that is to say,from its traditional oral form to that of today called moder or written.Its members are made up of "Twere"(judge of Otwere),"A ngo Twere"(master of the code),"A nga Kwephe"(holders of the game bag),"Abiali"(the notables),and"Ndinga or Mwene"(the majors of the notables).But we will be interested in the Twere,legatee of the powers of Otwere to solve the social disputes as well as other cases which can aggravate the social fabric.We will define his personality,the various assets he has and his organizational sense.