Ibrahim Al-Koni’s Hybrid Aesthetic

Abstract

"Ibrahim Al-Koni constitutes an important locus for the reconsideration of hybridity, not least with respect to the decentering of the human subject vis-à-vis nonhuman animals and spiritual entities. Al-Koni’s works operate an important synthesis between the cultural space of the Abrahamic monotheisms and the Touareg spiritual cosmos. In his oeuvre, we are treated to tale upon tale of violent invasion and settlement but the actors are not (or very rarely) Western colonial powers versus indigenous Africans. Instead we have beings that are usually considered heterogeneous—human and nonhuman animals, deities and spirits, “inorganic” beings such as earth, heaven and the law...—locked in a struggle for space and sovereignty. In what fol- lows these aspects of his work will be examined with a view to better understanding his novels."