A centralidade dos saberes guineenses na poética de Odete Semedo

Abstract

Africa continues to be frequently understood through colonial and Eurocentric narratives, produced between the 18th and 19th centuries, whose impact is still felt today. These narratives seek to annihilate various forms of knowledge existing on the African continent, imposing an ethnocentric culture averse to otherness. Colonial literature on Guinea-Bissau largely reproduces this worldview. This perspective still haunts various spheres of human relations today, such as in the academic-scientific sphere, where the logic of modern Western science continues to be considered the only predominant and legitimate standard for knowledge production, ignoring other realities and worldviews. Given this scenario, it is urgent to promote new epistemological approaches that value the plurality of knowledge. This article aims to spark a debate on Guinean epistemologies, based on the analysis of three poems from Odete Costa Semedo's work "No fundo do canto": “Na Calada da Noite”, "Invocando os irans" and "Bissau Levanta-se". It is based on the assumption that knowledge is neither homogeneous nor exclusive to a single epistemological framework; it manifests itself in plural forms, shaped by diverse experiences and cultural expressions. Overcoming the logic of a single knowledge is essential to understanding the multiplicity of perspectives that make up the human experience.