Keywords: Tropical Africa, African literature, sape subculture

Since ancient times, people "met each other by their clothes" - each nation has developed its own costume features, which can easily determine a person's status in society. Clothing and accessories as a form of self-expression have always been given special attention. According to the French researcher R. Barth, the vestimental code * is a sign system in which the relation between clothing and the external world, which postulates the equivalence of the visible and invisible, can be applied only in one way - a kind of reading ¹. One of the most obvious ways of reading this is through the analysis of artistic discourse, since verbal sign systems dominate over any nonverbal codes. In this article, an attempt is made to interpret the African (namely, Congolese) vestimental code inherent in the sape subculture (sap), through the prism of a literary text that has a certain linguistic and cultural specificity.

SOCIETY OF FASHIONABLE ELEGANT PEOPLE: THE ORIGINS OF FORMATION

The origins of the sape subculture date back to the 1920s, when people from both the Congo who fought in the French and Belgian armies during the First World War returned to their homeland, bringing with them real European clothing as a trophy.² In addition to skin color, clothing was one of the main distinguishing features of the colonizers, which means that it was a symbol of wealth, sophistication and elegance. Adopting European fashion, young Congolese hoped to increase their prestige among their compatriots and gain "colonialist" self-confidence due to their appearance. The sape craze was also a form of protest against the mandatory wearing of the traditional African costume, abacost, introduced by dictator Mobutu. A bas le costume europeen-Down with the European costume) ³.

The sape subculture became more or less organized in the 1970s and 1980s in the city of Brazzaville (Republic of the Congo) and soon became very popular beyond its borders, in particular in Kinshasa, the capital of what was then Zaire.⁴ It was there that organized groups of so - called sappers (sapeurs) began to appear-young people who raised the cult of designer clothing to the absolute and organized fashion shows on weekends. Based on the results of the fashion show, the most "fashionable" (sape) grouping in the city was selected.

Fashion shows were held according to a pre-established ritual: participants gathered in the bar, where the audience was already waiting for them. An important role was played not only by clothes, but also by the manner of holding oneself, facial expressions, gait, the ability to move and dance, and, of course, a masterful command of the word. Rival groups sent "spies" to each other to learn the enemy's intentions and change the concept of their appearance and behavior accordingly. The only passion of the sappers was clothing of prestigious brands, the only dream - to be in Paris at any cost. To achieve these goals, any means were good, including not the most plausible ones.

As for the origin of the neologism sape, there are several variants of its origin. Some researchers associate it with the native French argot (slang) lexical unit sape (clothing) and its derivatives (se saper - to dress, les sapes - "clothes").⁵. Others attribute its invention to Christian Loubaki, who in the 1970s worked as a servant in the house of Parisian aristocrats.

* Vestimental (from Lat. vestimentum) - related to clothing.

One day, the owner of the house asked Christian to try on their outfits to see how they look from the outside. Looking at his servant, he said: "Tel que tu t'es habille tu vas saper le moral de tes amis" ("your appearance will discourage your friends.") Since Christian Loubaki was illiterate, he interpreted the verb saper (saper le moral - discourage) used by his host in his own way and, when he came to the Congo for a vacation, declared that he was dressed the best (le mieux sape)⁶. Later, the noun sape formed from the verb turned into an abbreviation, which stands for Societe des Ambianceurs et des Personnes Elegantes (Society of fashionable elegant People).

Unlike rappers of African-American descent, who also like extravagant outfits, minesweeper is primarily a pacifist, and can only participate in verbal contests or compete during fashion shows.

In the environment of sappers, there are strict rules governing appearance, gait, behavior and speech. Each color carries a certain meaning: red symbolizes belligerence, white-peace, blue-harmony and temptation, purple-spirituality. No less important are accessories: a tie or bow tie, a pocket handkerchief that matches the shirt, a belt, a watch, suspenders, sunglasses of a prestigious brand, a cigar, etc. Here is a typical description of the sappers, aptly noted by the authors of the book "Notes on Parisian Africa": "Gare Saint-Lazare, exit" E " on the platform of suburban trains. A couple of cheerful young people are taking a decisive step. Two modern dandies, true sappers, real lovers of an easy life. One of them is wearing a thin broadcloth jacket with bright red buttonholes and dark blue trousers with a massive chain, pink converse shoes. One of them is wearing bright green baggy trousers, silver checkered converse jackets, a 100% sheep wool boxing jacket, an orange Hermes scarf, a matching hoodie, a two - tone sports cap, and a pair of smart headphones to boot. Solid designer labels!"⁷

The sapper subculture is characterized by its own jargon. A significant place in it is occupied by borrowed lexical units: for example, ntelo, nkelo (from yaz. lari) - competition in public speaking, miela (from kikongo) - ability to hold on. The actual French words that have changed their meaning (descente - ex. fr. landing - sapper's visit to their homeland, reglage - ex. fr. adjustment - selection of clothes) or acquired a certain connotation (aventure - ex. fr. adventure - moving to Paris) are also used. To denote some phenomena, both French proper and borrowed lexical units can be used: a person who does not know how to dress elegantly-ngaya (from lingala) and taureau (ex. fr. bull), rental

fashionable clothing - mudungu (from Kikongo*) and mine (ex. fr. mine).

During its development, the rules of conduct of sappers have undergone certain changes. The lexical unit used for nominating adherents of this subculture also changed. The Congolese writer Alain Mabankou describes the evolution of the term" sapper "in the novel" Tricolor "as follows:" At first we were called lutteurs, but, unfortunately, this word was used with a negative connotation of brutality and battle, while we sought only refinement, elegance and beauty. Then they started calling us playboys. But it sounded too English or too American. Today we are called sappers, and I am happy with this. < ... > We love secularism, a beautiful life. <...> Today, apparently, the term "sapper" is becoming obsolete, and we have become known as" Parisians"(Parisiens) " ⁸.

SERIOUSLY ABOUT THE FRIVOLOUS

The sape subculture has been the subject of sociological research. For example, in his book Between Paris and the Congo, Justin-Daniel Gandoulou gives it the following definition:: "The term Sape has an Argot origin and is used to refer to a style of clothing that is distinguished by prestige and elegance. The word also refers to the Society of Fashionable Elegant People (SAPE). This style is followed by a very small proportion of young Congolese people, who are called sappers ( sapeurs) - these are mostly urban residents. Sape for these young people is a symbol of the West, and, therefore, success, and represents a separate system of values. For them, only external qualities are important - they seek to adopt the external attributes of success, amuse their own vanity with them, establish themselves at the expense of them in society and thereby strengthen the influence of their "reference group"⁹. The researcher speaks of a huge contradiction between the desire of sappers to imitate their idols, creating the appearance of luxury and success, and the real conditions of their existence. He refers to the sappers who emigrated to Paris as aventuriers, evolving according to the same pattern: CongoleseSapper Adventure (Journey to Paris) - Parisian Adventurer ¹⁰. As soon as they collect the necessary amount of money for a ticket (or illegal transfer) to Paris, they go there and huddle wherever they can, spending the money they get by hook or crook on designer suits, ties, shoes, accessories and skin whitening.

However, as the anthropologist Brice Aoun notes, if the" exam "for the title of sapper is" passed " in Paris, then the official classification among the elegant "aristocrats" takes place in their homeland, which is clearly illustrated by the following fragment: "On the wall in the kitchen above the sink, Fred pinned his action plan with a button: There are 59 days left before the flight to Brazzaville. 59 days to properly use beauty products and impress the whole city with your class and light skin tone. The main thing is to achieve the right combination of cosmetic products: mix Paic citron dishwashing detergent with skin lightening products, add one or two drops of javel water, squeeze the last of the old tubes of cream containing corticosteroids, make a mixture and apply it liberally to the skin every day. So his skin will become lighter than the shade of "coffee with milk", it will be perfect. It doesn't matter that the crust that this mixture turns into burns so much - he just grits his teeth: soon he will land at Brazzaville airport in a Pierre Cardin check suit, Scottish socks, two-tone Pascal Morabito boots with leather soles, a shirt with an Italian violet collar, long johns Dolce & Gabbana, with a borset and Ricci tie. A real Parisian sapper, the very embodiment of success " ¹¹. The remaining compatriots in the Congo call the sappers "Parisians" and look forward to their return home with gifts and stories about their luxurious life in Europe.

Among the ideologues of modern sappers are iconic figures of local pop culture: famous singers

* The Kikongo, Lari and Lingala languages are widely spoken in the DRC and the Republic of the Congo, and most of the loanwords in Sapper French are derived from them.

(the most famous performer of the Congolese rumba Papa Wemba) and artists (Cheri Samba). Much attention is also paid to this phenomenon by contemporary African writers, especially those living outside their native continent in Europe and the United States. Their attitude to it is much less unambiguous, and often critical.

IMAGE OF SAPIR THROUGH THE PRISM OF ARTISTIC DISCOURSE

Sapper heroes are present in almost every work of Congolese writers: This includes Wuragan from the novel "In Search of Africa" by Henri Lopez, ¹² who shows off fashionable outfits to the main character, who has recently arrived from Africa, and earns an escort service for a living, and Leopold Mpassi-Mpassi from the novel "Black Grandchildren of Vercingetorik" by Alain Mabanku, ¹³ who leaves his family in Africa to fend for themselves. The only goal is to conquer Paris. Among the sappers is the young hero of Emmanuel Dongala's novel "Johnny the Evil Dog" ¹⁴-a sixteen-year-old soldier who carefully keeps designer clothes among his trophies. A. Mabanku describes the sappers as follows: "Parisians" are young Congolese living in France, who got there by an adventurous way. They call themselves members of the Society of fashionable elegant People. They whiten the skin with Nigerian cosmetics. They buy the clothes of leading French couturiers on the rue Faubourg Saint-Honore and come home to show them off during the holidays. The Eden Bar is their favorite place.<...> Near it, they can display their bicycles or cars with Parisian license plates. When they arrive there in the evening, they are greeted at the entrance by onlookers, to whom they hand out French coins or tickets from the Paris metro. " ¹⁵

The image of the sapper is revealed in the most detailed and multifaceted way in A. Mabanku's novel "Tricolor" ¹⁶, dedicated to the life of African emigrants in Paris. The novel shows a different, non-paradoxical side of the sape phenomenon-the numerous dangers typical for illegal immigrants associated with the illegal solution of housing problems and the search for earnings. The novel is a compendium of the main features of the sapper ideology, and each of its characters is a classic example of representatives of this subculture. The story focuses on the fate of three characters: the narrator named Massala-Massala, Moki, nicknamed the Parisian, whom he tries to imitate in everything, and, finally, the elusive crime boss named Prefect, who arranges the life of Massala-Massala in Paris.

Charles Mocky, a native of the poor suburb of Pointe-Noire, illegally emigrated to France, having collected the necessary amount by trading in the fish market. Moki considers himself one of the best sappers in the French capital, where he was initiated into the Rex Club. He started his career as a Parisian together with his friends Benaud, Prefect and Boulou, who still live in Paris today. Once in their homeland, they organized a club called "Aristocrats" in their native quarter, which became the best in the country. Even then, they knew everything about Paris, about fashion, style and life. They used their joint money to buy European clothing at the market, which they then rented out. Moki whitens his skin with hydroquinone-based beauty products, but at home he tells everyone that his skin is getting lighter thanks to the Paris winter. Young Congolese try to emulate him by using cheap products made in Africa, but they don't manage to achieve the same skin tone as the Parisian. The hot climate worsens the side effects and causes allergies, redness and the appearance of bloody streaks on the face. Moki wears blue contact lenses and smokes a pipe, which, in his opinion, gives him a bourgeois appearance. He dresses in custom-made Francesco Smalto suits and silk ties patterned with tiny Eiffel towers. He is the only local resident who has Weston crocodile leather boots, the price of one pair of which is equal to the salary of the local minister.

Most Parisian sappers, African students who come to France to study and live outside of Paris, are scornfully referred to by Moki as "hillbillies" (Paysans). He despises them because they don't know how to dress, live on a grand scale, and even talk at home about how difficult life is in France. Moki himself, coming to his homeland, sells dreams, deceiving gullible compatriots. To create an idea of how a sapper is met during his "landing" to his homeland, a fragment from the novel will allow, which, as it seems to us, is appropriate to give in such a significant volume.:

"Moki's daily routine was very simple: sit under a mango tree and leave the house only when invited by local girls. In the morning he read Parisian newspapers. < ... > Local youth, his childhood friends, came to cut and shave his hair. In exchange for their services, they received gifts from Paris. And not just gifts! Moki gave them cards from the Paris metro, which they admired, even though they didn't understand all the intricate routes, the numbered lines that intersect like a map of Chinese rivers. With their zeal, they amazed the Parisian himself: some were able to describe the lines of the Paris metro, listing station after station, as if they had been there, others took the names of these stations as a pseudonym. < ... > To these pseudonyms, they added the address "Monsieur": Monsieur Saint-Placid, Monsieur Strasbourg-Saint-Denis, Monsieur Colonel-Fabien, Monsieur Maubert-Mutualite. Moki also provided them with unfilled travel cards.-

years to which they pasted their photos and fooled the heads of naive girls.

Now the Parisian suffered from the local heat. < ... > He no longer ate the local dishes on which he grew up, and believed that they had no nutritional value. He preferred bread and carefully monitored his diet. <...>

He spoke exclusively in " French French." In the famous French of Guy de Maupassant. < ... > In his opinion, our languages were not created for the normal pronunciation of words. And we didn't speak real French. <...> He used clever words that pleased the ear and delighted the audience. <...>

Moki didn't walk. There was no need for him to humiliate himself by wandering knee-deep in dust and dirt through the streets like an ordinary local. This was out of the question. He couldn't stoop to that, especially since he had two taxis, one of which he confiscated for personal use. His chauffeur was puffing out his chest with pride. He told everyone that he was chosen as his driver by a Parisian. <...>

Moki received visitors. He gave strict instructions to his younger brothers, who had to carefully select guests, with the exception of girls, whose villa doors were always open to them. < ... > Many girls had photos of Moki in Paris, which they bought for a lot of money or paid for "in kind". Who was behind this trade in Parisian photographs? Of course, his two younger brothers. They positioned themselves as its official representatives.<...> The Parisian gave them worn-out clothes that all the local fashionistas wanted to rent.<...> It was best to get the clothes first before they were vilified by other local dudes. The most prudent made an order for a year in advance. The prices were high. It was the price of exclusivity. It wasn't for everyone. <...>

Moki loved to hold bar meetings where he could assert his influence and talk about himself, Paris, and his dandy days at the Aristocrats, a club of young, elegant people in the quarter that he had once headed.

They were talking about Paris. After pompous explanations of the administrative division of Paris into districts, Moki saw puzzled faces around him - no one understood anything. Then he would call one of his brothers, who would bring a stack of photo albums from the car. <".> Moki would explain that you can have dinner at the Eiffel Tower, that he goes there on weekends with friends, and that he used to have a large apartment with a view of this famous monument of architecture erected by Gustave Eiffel, and that every morning, while he was brushing his teeth, he was doomed to contemplate this panorama, so he got tired of it and moved to the fourteenth arrondissement near the Montparnasse Tower. In his apartment, he confided, there were many spare rooms, and he has been letting homeless compatriots from the Northern Railway Station spend the night for many years ... " ¹⁷

Fascinated by Moka's stories, the main character of Massala's novel, Massala, leaves for France on a tourist visa and becomes one of the many debarque, newly arrived illegal squatter emigrants without a permanent occupation, who are obliged to obey the "Parisians" with experience in everything. Together with other illegal immigrants, he illegally lives in a tiny windowless room in a house intended for demolition, where on the wall next to a broken mirror hangs a sample of a letter to a friend who remained at home, telling about the success of the newly-made Parisian. Moki advises him to forget about all his stories about Parisian life and not deviate from the goal - after all, only a "redneck" can return home from France empty-handed. It turned out that Moki, like all "Parisians", leads a double life and earns a living by reselling fashionable clothes, on which his customers spend their last money.

The hero meets the legendary friends of Moki: Beno, who sells electrical appliances on the black market, Bulu, nicknamed "realtor", who is looking for abandoned houses for demolition, in which you can settle the next illegal immigrants, a digger who steals and illegally cashes checkbooks. But the most influential representative of the diaspora is the Prefect, who arrived in Paris in the hold of a merchant ship and gradually became a central figure among African emigrants. The prefect is a trendsetter, a favorite customer of expensive shops on the Champs-Elysees and the most influential person among the sappers. He went to prison "only twice," which was a bit of a feat in itself. He is constantly changing names and addresses, is elusive to the police, has a keen sense and knows how to calculate the situation.

At first, Massala-Massala serves as a cook, preparing dishes of traditional African cuisine (one of the main tasks of sappers is to gain weight, which is a sign of success). The hero is hiding from the police, as his tourist visa has long expired. Over time, he inevitably comes to the attention of the Prefect, who gets him a fake identity card, for this he forces him to buy subway tickets using the checkbook stolen by the Digger, and sell them on the black market. Abandoned by the Prefect to his fate, Massala-Massala falls into the hands of the police. The hero is in prison for a year and a half. "This is my France!" he exclaims ¹⁸. At the end of his sentence, the hero is deported to the Congo, from where he again dreams of escaping to France - having failed in the first adventure, finding success in Paris becomes a matter of honor for him. The sapper's spirit is invincible...

As a result of the pursuit of a ghostly Parisian happiness, the hero becomes a hostage to the situation and loses everything: the connection with the family, freedom, even personal identity - his patron is Prefect Lee-

It does not require his own name, meaning "what was, is, and will be", which was borne by all his ancestors. "But I thought that the name is sacred, that it can not be changed like clothes," says hero ¹⁹.

The author puts into the mouths of his characters statements that characterize the basic life principles of sappers: "We were only interested in clothes, elegance and the opportunity to go to Paris one day "²⁰," Clothes are our passport. Our religion. France is a trendsetter, because it is the only place in the world where you still meet on clothes"²¹," Parisian changes clothes three times a day "²²," Jeans are banned. Aristocrats don't wear jeans. " ²³

The author also shows the different attitude of Parisian sappers to their families who remained in their homeland. If Moki had built a new home for his father and provided for his family's well-being by buying two cabs, the Prefect did not maintain any ties with his mother and brothers, who were eking out a miserable existence, and did not even come to his father's funeral.

The author sympathizes with his naive hero, deceived by the promises of an easy life in France, and condemns the sape propagandists, who give their former compatriots unfulfilled hopes for quick success and push them to spend all their money on clothes and appearance and drag out a miserable existence at the same time.

SAPPERS ' IDEALS - TO THE MASSES!

If at first the sappers were focused exclusively on imitating Europeans (bleaching their skin and getting expensive clothes), then gradually they developed not only their own specific style, but also their worldview. According to one of the main ideologists of the movement, the aforementioned musician Papa Webb, " the white man invented the costume, and we turned it into art."²⁴. The ideas of sappers are borrowed by such famous fashion designers as, for example, Paul Smith. Today, sape is not just a certain style of clothing - it is a whole life philosophy, a certain way of life that has given rise to a separate direction in the French beauty industry, working exclusively to satisfy the interests of the target group of consumers (clothing stores, beauty salons, etc.), including contributing to the flourishing of the shadow economy: "In a parked Peugeot, Armand bargained for jeans tight fit. Citroen has a Dolce & Gabbana leather belt. In a hurry, right before the police raid, he managed to buy some worn purple Weston shoes. What about the shirt? The shirt was bought for him by his brother Otapo directly at Hermes, where he works as a storekeeper. " ²⁵

According to a number of sociologists and anthropologists, sape acts as a catalyst for development for its adherents, the only incentive for their existence, an attempt to at least outwardly break with the poverty surrounding them and beautify their lives.

Enthusiasts of the movement (for example, restaurateur Ben Mukasha) are trying to create some kind of religion or even pseudo-science - the so-called "sapelogie". So, for example, he created the motto of the sappers: "To You, who fill my days with joy and joyful speeches, to you, to whom I have dedicated my body and my spirit, I sing glory." He also proclaimed the commandments of sappers, including the commitment to peace and nonviolence ("do not be cruel and impudent"), the need to promote your ideas ("subdue the saperophobes") and the rule of "three colors", which must necessarily be present in the outfit of every follower of this "philosophy" ("The ways of "saperology" are unknown to everyone). someone who is not familiar with the three-color rule")²⁶.

* * *

Thus, the sapper subculture is ambivalent. On the one hand, according to her followers, " even if the Congolese did not have lunch, but dressed well, he is happy."²⁷. On the other hand, our analysis of works of art shows the opposite: in the pursuit of a ghostly dream and external brilliance, a person can lose everything, including their own dignity. For African sappers, the elements of the dialectical combination "man - artifact" change places, and the object world dominates people and dictates its conditions to them.

^{Bart R.} 1 Fashion System. Articles on semiotics of culture, Moscow, Izdatelstvo im. The Sabashnikovs. 2003, p. 60.

^{Kameneff M.} 2 La SAPE ou l'elegance pour religion http://www.amabilia.com/contenu/societes/sec08_418.html

^{Nantet B.} 3 Dictionnaire de l'Afrique: Histoire. Civilisation. Actualite. Paris, 2006, p. 267.

^{Noutchie Njike J.} 4 Civilisation Progressive de la Francophonie. Paris, 2003, p. 50.

^{Hanon T.} 5 Lexique de la Sape : un outil construit dans le cadre d'une etude anthropologique - http://www.unice.tr/ILF-CNRS/ofcaf/21/Hanon.pdf; Le Nouveau Petit Robert. Dictionnaire alphabetique et analogique de la langue francaise. Paris, 2002, p. 2361.

⁶ Societe des ambianceurs et des personnes elegantes // Wikipedia. L'encyclopedie libre - http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/SAPE

^{M'Boudi C} 7, Korkos A. Les Garnets de 1'Afrique a Paris. Paris. 2011, p. 23.

^{Mabanckou A.} 8 Bleu-Blanc-Rouge. Paris. 1998, p. 78.

^{Gandoulou J.-D.} 9 Entre Paris et Bacongo. Cit: Cazenave O. Afrique Sur Seine: a new generation of African writers in Paris. Oxford, 2005, p. 57.

¹⁰ Ibidem.

^{M'Boudi C.} 11, Korkos A. Op. cit., p. 127.

^{Lopes H.} 12 Le Chercheur d'Afriques. Paris, 1990.

^{Mabanckou A.} 13 Les petits-fils negres de Vercingetorix. Paris, 2002.

^{Dongala E.} 14 Johnny chien mechant. Paris. 2002.

^{Mabanckou A.} 15 Op. cit. 2002, p. 153.

^{Mabanckou A.} 16 Op. cit. 1998.

¹⁷ Ibid., p. 62-73.

¹⁸ Ibid., p. 203.

¹⁹ Ibid., p. 127.

²⁰ Ibid., p. 77.

²¹ Ibid., p. 78.

²² Ibid., p. 89.

²³ Ibid., p. 77.

^{Devey M.} 24 Sape: une Commedia dell'arte a la Brazzavilloise! // Afriqu'Echos Magazine - http://www.afriquechos.ch/spip.php?article2213

^{M'Boudi C} 25, Korkos A. Op. cit., p. 14.

²⁶ Ben Mukashi's blog - http://sapelogie-sapologie.skyrock.com

^{Kameneff M.} 27 Op. cit.

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