Franco Lelli and Rebelion Bubi 1998: History and Testimony in Okiri

Abstract

Through the theoretical approach of testimony and, based on the studies of John Beverly and DoriLaub, this essay analyzes the novel Okiri (2006) by Franco Lelli. Okiri recounts the events related to the 1998 rebellion of the Bubi people in Equatorial Guinea and give information about the Movement for the Self-Determination of Bioko Island (MAIB), that was established in 1993.The novel stems from the urgency to denounce the injustices that have oppressed the Bubi ethnic group, native to the island of Bioko, since the independence from Spain in 1968. In particular, it denounces the violation of human rights inflicted upon them by the dictatorial regime of Teodoro Obiang Nguema, in power since August 3rd, 1979 to present. I will analyze the informing nature of the novel, as the only written historical memory of the event. I will stress the testimonial features that characterize the narrative and literary resources, and will consider the experience of Lelli, as a witness who lives the same atmosphere of repression even though he is not part of the bubi group. The analysis of Okiri not only contributes to the historical reconstruction of the bubi rebellion of 1998, but it adds other features to the testimonial genre.