Santos, Alexandra DiasSubtil, Filipa Mónica de Brito Gonçalves2017-12-182017-12-182017SANTOS, Alexandra; SUBTIL, Filipa - Literature against the empire: narratives of the nation in the textbook História de Angola and in the Novel Yaka. In: GARCIA, José Luís [et al.] (eds.) - Media and the portuguese empire. Cham: Palgrave Macmillan, 2017. (Palgrave Studies in the History of the Media. Palgrave Macmillan). ISBN 978-3-319-61792-3. pp. 309-326978-3-319-61791-6 (print)978-3-319-61792-3 (online)http://hdl.handle.net/10400.21/7726This chapter offers an original argument regarding the contribution of ethno-history to Angolan nationalism. In the mid-1960s, a group of intellectuals committed to the cause of the MPLA (Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola) forged a counter-narrative to the epics disseminated by the coloniser and created a new ethno-history of Angola that supported the nationalists’ claim for independence. This chapter examines their major accomplishment, the textbook História de Angola, as well as Pepetela’s novel Yaka, in order to understand how the myths and heroes these narratives convey have provided legitimacy for the MPLA. The chapter also analyses more obscure aspects embedded in these founding narratives, such as a praising of violence and the demonisation of ethnicity.engAngolaAngolan nationalismEthno-historyMPLA - Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angolabook part10.1007/978-3-319-61792-3_17