One of Côte d’Ivoire’s most prolific writer is, without a doubt, Bernard Binlin Dadié, the maestro. Some of his poems have been translated in many languages, while others have been set to music for movies, such as “Dry your tears” which was set to music for the Steven Spielberg movie Amistad. Bernard Dadié is a man whose work and versatility have blessed countless people around the globe.
Please enjoy ‘Les lignes de nos mains / The Lines of Our Hands‘ which was published in La Ronde des Jours, Edition Pierre Seghers, 1956. The English translation is by Dr. Y., Afrolegends.com.
‘Les Lignes de nos mains‘ / ‘The Lines of Our Hands‘ by Bernard Dadié
| Les lignes de nos mains
Ne sont point des parallèles des chemins de montagnes des gerçures sur troncs d’arbres des traces de luttes homériques.
Les lignes de nos mains ne sont point des longitudes des boyaux en tranchées des sillons dans des plaines des raies en chevelures des pistes dans la broussaille
Elles ne sont point des ruelles pour les peines des canaux pour les larmes des rigoles pour les haines des cordes pour pendus ni des portions ni des tranches ni des morceaux De ceci… de cela…
Les lignes de nos mains ni Jaunes Noires Blanches ne sont point des frontières des fosses entre nos villages des filins pour lier des faisceaux de rancoeurs.
Les lignes de nos mains sont des lignes de Vie de Destin de Coeur d’Amour. de douces chaînes qui nous lient les uns aux autres, Les vivants aux morts.
Les lignes de nos mains ni blanches ni noires ni jaunes,
Les lignes de nos mains Unissent les bouquets de nos rêves. |
The Lines of Our Hands
Are not parallels Of mountain paths Cracks on tree trunks Traces of Homeric battles.
The lines of our hands Are not longitudes Of trench casings Furrows in plains Rays in hair Paths in the bush
They are not Alleys of pain Channels of tears Channels of hate Strings for hanged /lynching/hanging Nor portions Nor slices Nor parts Of this… of that…
The lines of our hands Not yellow Black White Are not boundaries Pits/ditches between our villages Ropes to bind rancor bundles.
The lines of our hands Are life lines Destiny lines Heart lines Love lines. Soft chains Which bind (link) us One to the other, The living to the dead.
The lines of our hands Not white Not black Nor yellow,
The lines of our hands Unite the bouquets of our dreams. |
African Heritage 
Hi,
Thank you for this site. It is very helpful to me as I teach French-speaking students who are learning English. I have put a link to one of Dadie’s poems that you translated on the Wikipedia site for Bernard Dadie. I hope that is okay.
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Hello Kate, yes… thank you for sharing, and feel free to put links to the blog on Wikipedia.
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