Ebano by Ryszard Kapuscinski: A Traveler's Journey into Africa

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Kapuscinski set out in the late 1950s and travelled for approximately thirty years across various African states in search of stories for his travel journal, making the most of what proved to be a remarkable opportunity: the ability to tell the stories of ordinary people scattered across the most unexpected corners of the world.

As a correspondent for a Polish newspaper, he immediately demonstrated his distinctive style by charting a path different from that of typical European journalists—not only because he ventured to less common places, but because he decided to be a reporter who immersed himself in every situation he encountered: he chose to live in the poorest suburbs, amongst corrugated iron and dust, battled relentlessly against scorching heat and giant cockroaches, contracted cerebral malaria and tuberculosis, which did not deter him from his purpose but rather strengthened his resolve, and lived in the midst of clashes between bloodthirsty militias, even risking death itself.

"The Shadow of the Sun" is a collection of essays, a collage of faces, images and stories that offers us a clear and panoramic perspective—that of a true reporter who never judges, but rather provides facts and information as they truly are. Kapuscinski connects us with Africa's difficult daily life and traditions, a continent transitioning from colonialism to independence, showing us both the profound heart and cold cruelty of its inhabitants. He lays out a table where we readers can choose what to see and, most importantly, remain protected from preconceptions and stereotypes.

"Usually people think it is always good to have a precise purpose—that is, to set yourself an objective and pursue it. On the other hand, however, this is a situation that inevitably imposes blinders, because you end up seeing only your own purpose."

Social and political contrasts, the instability of various governments, the inhuman ordeal triggered by the partition of African States since the late nineteenth century, the continuous revolts that always seem to lurk around the corner and are orchestrated by a West still eager to exert its grip on land already ravaged and enslaved for centuries: a picture of instability and unease painted across the pages of "The Shadow of the Sun" by the Polish chronicler, whispering the sad truth that historically affects many parts of the world—namely, that in the end it is always the peoples who suffer, especially the weakest.

Arriving in Ghana in 1957, Kapuscinski closely followed the most brutal events of contemporary African history: the 1966 coup in Nigeria, Idi Amin's rise to power in Uganda, the civil war in Rwanda between Hutu and Tutsi that led to the 1994 genocide, stories of child soldiers and tribal conflicts, puppet governments overthrown by blood-hungry armies thirsty for power.

His acute powers of observation make the mosaic of the book increasingly engaging as you read. A sensitivity that touches the most unfathomable depths of the human soul, recounting with precision the reality that surrounds him.

Yet Africa does not mean only tragedy and horror; Africa also means emotion, magic and ancestral beauty, the most genuine and natural kind. This stark contrast stems from a hostile environment that leaves almost no room for error, for there hangs in the air a perpetual struggle between life and death. Perhaps it is precisely this subtle shadow line, this terribly delicate fragility, that allows what is best in this world to be honed to the point of ecstasy.

A double-edged sword, however, because this sense of precariousness often descends into fear and a kind of inferiority complex inflicted on the African psyche by white invaders. A pain that runs through history and remains as both a psychological and often literal chain binding the peoples of that land.

Everything and its opposite, in other words: the supernatural becoming everyday life, enthusiasm and the desire for freedom spilling into corruption and power struggles, a powerful will to live overwhelmed by feelings of frustration and submission endured for centuries.

"Beyond its geographical designation, Africa does not really exist"

Throughout Africa, each tribe or community has its own culture, its own internal hierarchy, what are known as customs and traditions that determine the differences between peoples—differences that are, unfortunately, becoming increasingly blurred. This is why there is no single culture that can define the entire Continent. Its carefully guarded beauty lies precisely in the countless differences that make it mysterious and fascinating.

The deeply provincial mentality of the various African peoples, for whom the world ends almost at their own village, gives firm belief to supernatural forces, to witch doctors and occult powers. Everything connected to religion, rituals and the spiritual realm exists and is more real than anything material and tangible; one never jokes with higher entities because there is respect and fear.

The culture of exchange—if someone gives me something, I must reciprocate in some way, not necessarily with a material object if what has been offered is symbolic, such as providing attention or information.

The expanded African conception of time, which manifests itself through events as a result of our actions, and which lives on the energy we can grant it: the exact opposite of European thinking.

Africa is perhaps the land where today you can still perceive the power of nature at every moment, a continuous experience, almost as if constantly witnessing the creation of the world, from dawn to dusk, awaiting the new day.

Striking examples told in magnificent fashion in this "Shadow of the Sun," which inevitably intrigue the reader, drawing them into the pages of the book.

"One day in Warsaw, I spoke about Africa to some children. At one point a little boy stood up and asked: 'Did you see many cannibals?' He did not know that when an African returns to Kariakoo from Europe and speaks of London, Paris and other cities inhabited by mzungu, a small African child of the same age also stands up and asks: 'Did you see many cannibals?'"

Those passing through Africa only in transit may cast their gaze upon the surface of the land, hoping to uncover some secret ready to be taken home and shared and displayed.

Western culture is perhaps not equipped to descend into the bowels of the earth to probe what lies deepest in African life; it can never fully grasp its innermost dimension.

Perhaps because, as Kapuscinski suggests, to understand Africa you must be ready to contemplate a puzzle made up of thousands of nuances, constantly changing and which will still dazzle us with its varied richness and its "kaleidoscope of colours".

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