two prevalent cultural ideologies in the Dominican Republic^128 The literary and cultural
connections between Santo Domingo and Haiti are largely a mystery, and perhaps these
“Haitian” writers, living in the west and writing in French never intended to bring Spanish Santo
Domingo into the literary fold. The similarities, especially concerning a utopian vision of Taino
Indian culture, however brief, nonetheless deserve further exploration during this period in
history. Whether the reasons were political, racially motivated, or linguistically impeded,
Haitian writers contributing to L’Union and the poetry available by Nau and Ardouin does not
address any contemporary conflict or reflect any events concerning the eastern part of the island.
As will become more apparent in the following section, it is pre-Colombian and Revolutionary
history and myth which are of most concern.
Unlike poems inspired by pre-Columbian Taino culture, themes relating to Africa andslavery, the other vein of ‘indigénisme,’ did proliferate in Haiti throughout the nineteenth and
twentieth centuries. Berrou and Pompilus introduce Ardouin’s “Le départ du négrier” in their
anthology as the first poem in Haiti as well in the Caribbean at large to deal with “d’inspiration
africaine.”^129 “Le départ du négrier,” however, is actually the last of five sections which make
up the longer poem, “Les Betjouannes,” as it appears in Ardouin’s collection, Poésies, as well as
in L’Union. “Les Betjouannes” presents a series of related tableaux, weaving together the story,
dance, love, and capture, of an African girl named Minora. Although this title is elusive, since
“Betjouannes,” does not currently exist as a French word, it is apostrophized in the poem as “les
filles d’Afriques.” I will return to a possible explanation of this term when considering other
references in a later part of the poem.
(^128) Fischer 152.
(^129) Berrou and Pompilus 159.