Kum Oguna

The novella (in the domestic literary criticism we also use the term “ story ”) was created from the end of 1963 until the beginning of 1964 in Salvador ^[1] . The work can be considered as the 2nd part of the novel “Shepherds of the Night”, when in its three parts there is a unity of time and place of action with the participation of the same characters; or as a separate work, if you count The Shepherds of the Night as a collection of short stories or short stories ^[1] .

The author describes the adventures of prostitutes and vagrants ^[1] , gambling players and priestesses of the cult of Candomblle ^[2] , drunks and idlers in the capital of Bahia Salvador, but unlike the novels " Pot " ( 1934 ) and " Zhubiab " ( 1935 ) heroes "Kuma Oguna" unrelated to the communist movement. The humor and irony of the story are close to the mood of the “ Unusual Death of Kinkas Sginh Water ” ( 1959 ). The theme of religious syncretism and the coexistence of Catholicism and candomble touched upon in the work is also covered in the novels Gabriela, Cloves and Cinnamon ( 1958 ), Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands ( 1966 ), Shop of Miracles ( 1969 ), Holy Disappearance ( 1988 ).

The novel reflects the wild life of the inhabitants of the Pelourinho district in Salvador, where the writer lived in 1928. Currently, one of the buildings on Pelourinho Square ( Largo do Pelourinho - the square near the Pillory, where slaves were punished) is occupied by the Jorge Amado House Foundation. For the baptism of Felicio chose the church Rosario dos Negrus on Pelourinho square (in Russian: Rosario dos Negros on the Square of the Pillory). On the streets adjacent to the square, the actions of other works of the writer unfold: "Pot", "Jubiaba", "The Unusual Death of Kinkas Sginh Voda".

The novella was first published in July 1964 as part of the novel Shepherds of the Night ^[1] . It has been published as an independent work in various periodicals, separate short-circuited and illustrated issues. In 1995, in connection with the showing of the TV movie Caso Especial , the 1st book edition was published by the Editora Record publishing house with illustrations by the famous Brazilian artist ^[1] .

In Brazil, the novel Shepherds of the Night was reprinted about 50 times. The original language was published in Portugal . Translated into English , Bulgarian , Hungarian , Hebrew , Spanish , Italian , German , Dutch , Polish , Romanian , Russian , Slovak , Slovenian , Turkish , Finnish , French , Czech ^[1] . In the USSR, as well as in Brazil, it appeared as part of the novel “Shepherds of the Night” and as an independent work in collections.

Black Mass makes it difficult to choose a godfather for a fair-haired blue-eyed child named Felicio, whom he recognized as his son. Each of the Negro's friends claims to be a godfather, and he will treat his candidacy as an insult and an insult. During agonizing and exhausting thoughts, Mass in the vision is Ogun , declaring that he will be the godfather of Felicio. In the church at the rite of baptism, the spirit of Eshu tries to hinder the ordinance . But the mother of the saint drives away the evil (in this case) spirit of Eshu, who is replaced by the spirit of Ogun in the godfather and declares his name, António de Ogun, since in syncretism of Bahia Ogun corresponds to St. Anthony . To the joy of the universal rite performed. So in Salvador, a miracle unprecedented happened - the orisha Ogun became the godfather of the child, and Massu - the godfather of Ogun.

In Caboing ( 1992 ), Amadou wrote that he himself, being a communist and an atheist, baptized children, and his godfathers were Pablo Neruda ^[3] , Miguel Angel Asturias ^[4] and Karibe ^[5] .

According to the assessment of I. A. Terteryan , in this work as well as “in the novels from the books“ Old Sailors ”and“ Shepherds of the Night ”- the same equality of legend and reality, the same ambivalence of motivations presented to the reader as in the old the novel " Dead Sea " " ^[6] . Amadou imitates a fairy tale , to which the ornate style of the titles of the novel's novels refers ^[7] . “Kum Ogun”, together with some previous and subsequent works of the writer, is built “on a comparison of two narrative plans: real, everyday — and symbolic (or poetic, by the writer's designation)” ^[8] .

The first book edition

• Amado J. O compadre de Ogum / Capa e ilustrações por Carybé. - Rio de Janeiro: Record, 1995. - 102 p. - ISBN 85-01-04312-5 .

One of the last in the original language

• Amado J. O compadre de Ogum / posfácio de Reginaldo Prandi. - São Paulo: Companhia das Letras, 2012. - 103 p. - ISBN 8535920625 .

In Russian

• Amadou J. We herded the night / Trans. with port. Yu. A. Kalugina // Foreign Literature : Literary and Art Magazine. - M. , 1966. - ISSN 0130-6545 . № 2, 3.
• Amadou J. Interval for the baptism of Felicio, son of Masu and Benedita, or Qom Ogun // Shepherds of the night = Os pastôres da noite / Trans. with port. Yu. A. Kalugina; Preface L. S. Ospovat. - M .: Progress, 1966. - 328 p.
• Amadou J. Interval for the baptism of Felicio, son of Masu and Benedita, or Qom Ogun / Trans. with port. Yu. A. Kalugina // Selected Works: 2 t. / Comp. I.A. Terteryan . - M .: Fiction, 1982. - T. 2. - p. 499-550. - 584 s. - 100 000 copies

• 1976 - Otalia de Bahia , the film by French film director Marcel Camus of the Orfée Arts-Claire Duval studio, was filmed in Salvador, screened in Brazil in 1977 ^[1] called Os pastores da noite ^[9]
• 1995 - Caso Especial , a television movie directed by Robert Talma ( Roberto Talma ), production Central Globo de Produção , 68 minutes, broadcast Rede Globo de Televisão

• Shepherds of the night

• Amadou J. Coasting Swimming: Outline of Memories That Will Never Be Written / Jorge Amado; per. with port. A. S. Bogdanovsky . - M .: Vagrius, 1999. - 413 p. - (My 20th century). - 5 000 copies - ISBN 5264001049 .
• Terterian I. A. The Man-Making Myth: On the Literature of Spain, Portugal, and Latin America / Compiled by I. M. Fradkin , S. L. Kozlov; Preface D. V. Zatonsky . - M .: Soviet writer, 1988. - 560 p. - ISBN 5-265-00429-7 .

• Os pastores da noite, 1964 (port.) . Obras . Fundação Casa de Jorge Amado. The appeal date is February 2, 2019.
• O compadre de Ogum (port.) . Obras . Companhia das Letras. The appeal date is February 2, 2019.
• Os Pastores da Noite on YouTube from 30:30 - Otalia de Bahia, part 2. “Kum Oguna”