one stanza, however, Minora is quickly separated again; she is the last to enter the river to bathe,
and she comes out alone moment later in response to the return of the drum:
Un bruit lointain s’élève
Il s’éteint. Est-ce qu’un rêve?
Le bruit s’élève encore et de nouveau se perd!
La Betjouanne timide
Abandonna toute humide
Le fleuve qui s’en va plus limpide et plus clair. (III, 21-26)Minora’s question “est-ce qu’un rêve” reflects not only her own concern about the realdanger behind the recurrent sound of distant drums, but since in this stanza it is not clearly
Minora who is speaking, the question could also be that of readers about the reality of this distant
slave past. The danger itself indeed becomes “more clear,” as the dream within this dream-like
sequence gradually turns into nightmare. The accelerated rhythm of this fourth section, “Les
Bochimens,” coincides with imminent and more certain danger; urgency is conveyed through the
imperative, “fuyez fuyez,” echoing yet standing in contrast to the “Dansez Dansez” which
concluded “La Danse.”
Fuyez, filles tendres
Fuyez de toutes parts!
Les Bochimens avides
S’élancent. Leurs regards
Sont des regards d’hyènes,
Ils viennent vagabonds,
Par les chemins de plaine,
Par les chemins de monts!
Tout en eux est farouche.
De misérable peaux
Les couvrent... (IV, 1-11)The arrival of the Bochimens is a sudden and terrifying intrusion. I did not find anyevidence that the “les Bochimens,” the Bushmen or San of south central and eastern Africa, had
any participation in the Atlantic slave trade. The term ‘Bushmen’ came from a Dutch term
meaning “bandit” or “outlaw,” but contrary to what the poem suggests, the San were collectively