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In their article "Nationhood and Women in Postcolonial African Literature" Elda Hungwe and Chipo Hungwe, through an analysis of Pepetela's Mayombe, Achebe's Anthills of the Savannah, and Ngugi's Petals of Blood discuss nationhood and nation in postcolonial African literature within the framework of the postcolonial theory. Postcolonial theory negates master narratives of nation and nationhood, hence it deconstructs such narratives as problematic. Hungwe and Hungwe discuss problems associated with definitions of nation where groups or members are peripheralized. While Hungwe and Hungwe acknowledge that nationalism served a critical role during decolonization, their conclusion is that in postcolonial Africa notions of nation and nationhood represent problematic issues with regard to ethnicity and gender and that globalization in particular impacts and challenges the notion of nation and nationhood. Elda Hungwe and Chipo Hungwe, "Nationhood and Women in Postcolonial African Literature" page 2 of 6 CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture 12.3 (2010):  Elda HUNGWE and Chipo HUNGWE Nationhood and Women in Postcolonial African Literature We begin our analysis with the novel Mayombe by Artur Carlos Maurício Pestana dos Santos aka Pepetela. Portrayed in Mayombe is a diverse mix of people who consider themselves a nation. There are different ethnic groups, the Kikongo, Kimbundu, and Umbundu and it is nationalist ideology which serves their emotional coherence. Mayombe, however, suggests that sharing the same history of colonialism is not the same as sharing the same identity. What unites loosely the freedom fighters during the fight for independence is nationalist ideology and this is what coheres the fighters to achieve freedom for Angola. For example, the figure Struggle assumes mistakenly that after the war there will be peace while Fearless believes that even after the war contradictions arising out of human nature will continue and ethnic differences threatens the struggle for independence. Thus they do not trust the Commander, Fearless, as he is Kikongo while they are Kimbundu. In the struggle to transform the colonized space, the wealth of ethnic cultures is found to be both distracting and hard to absorb, hence the attraction to tribalism (see Davidson). Tribalism is portrayed as a dangerous yet realist ideology which threatens the success of national consciousness. For example, when the Commander asks for volunteers to look for Muatianvua when he did not show, "no one wants to volunteer because Muatianvua is detribalized. Were he Kikongo or Kimbundu, four or five would soon have come forward" (Mayombe 34). Thus nationalism becomes problematic as an artificial construct against the established paradigm of tribalism. There is no homogeneous African identity and thus the question of how competing voices could be harmonized becomes relevant in the processes of reactive and proactive measures (on this, see Tarmer). Another problem highlighted in Mayombe with regards to the creation of nation and the problematics of nationalism is the diversity of missions because the freedom fighters tend to embark on personal missions in the name of nation. Nationalist ideology suggests that all are fighting for liberation but then the question arises, "whose liberation?" For example, the Operations Chief is fighting in Cabinda so that his own territory would have few enemies. Theory's mission is to find acceptance in a world where racial and ethnic hybrids are not recognized. Mayombe's narrative on the construction of nation expounds on the paradigm of nation which is conceived as a unified and culturally homogeneous entity formed around an ethnic core (see Smith). The figure of Theory brings this perspective into play in that his commitment to the struggle is not so much of a developed inner consciousness; rather, it is a result of an external driving force. He first defines himself by where he comes from to legitimize his cause, he acknowledges that he is a colored and as such he is suffering an identity crisis: "I carry in me the irreconcilable and that is my driving force" (Mayombe 1). His mission is to find acceptance in a world where racial hybrids are not recognized and his solution is to join the guerillas. Theory is challenging racism especially in as far as nation building is concerned. This element destroys the essential sameness of the people and by fighting on the side of blacks, Theory is proving a point that color difference does not matter, he is demystifying race to prove that what must be regarded as a parameter of national identity is not race and that identity must be equal to shared consciousness. The problem is that not all guerillas accept this shared consciousness. He, therefore, is prepared to endure physical and spiritual pain and even death, fighting for Angola and its people and hence his refusal to return to the base to recover his injured knee. He has made a choice to abandon his family in order to prove his identity. Pepetela's argument is that there is a need to transcend ethnic boundaries of the homogeneous nature of the definition of nation from a Western point of view. At the same time, he stresses the idea of nation as being important in the fight against colonialism. Thus, Pepetela emphasizes the importance of nationalism against individualism as reflected by the symbol of "The Mulberry tree" where Fearless sees: "A giant mulberry tree in front. The trunk is distinguished from the forest's syncretism but if I let my eyes follow the trunk up, its foliage merges in the general foliage and is again part of the syncretism. Only the trunk is distinct, is individual. Such is Mayombe, the giants are such only in part, at the level of the trunk the rest is lost in the mass. Such is man" (182). Here we have a picture of a society which is made up of individual units where individual members of society are equivalent to the giant mulberry tree. The picture of nation portrayed demonstrates the value of the syncretism of Elda Hungwe and Chipo Hungwe, "Nationhood and Women in Postcolonial African Literature" page 3 of 6 CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture 12.3 (2010):  the collective brought about by Fearless's death. He is buried together with Struggle in the same pit which reflects that a commander and a soldier are one in a revolution. The death of Fearless leads to the development of a nationalist consciousness that transcends barriers of narrow tribalism and individualism which ultimately results in the formation of a nation where individuals participate as a collective. In addition to the above described matters of nation and nationhood narrated in the novel, the matter of gender presents a further problematic issue. Ondine, a female figure in the text represents the Angolan nation. Her relationship with other characters implies that Angola cannot be liberated with theoretical propositions alone but only when they are put into action. As a woman, Ondine not only symbolizes Angola but also Africa whose virginity has already been devastated by colonial forces throughout history. The fact that she does not enjoy sex is a pointer to the fact that a nation does not enjoy or is not satisfied by theories only but practice by leaders and this point is portrayed in sexual imagery. Deep down she loves the Commissioner, but this love is not consummated. Fearless, on the other hand, represents pragmatism and he manages to fulfill Ondine sexually. Pepetela's novel makes nationalism appear an exclusively male pre-occupation whereas women's lives are said to center elsewhere. The liberation movement in Mayombe consists of men while females are seen to play minor roles such as teaching. Nation and nationhood appears in the novel specifically men's prerogative and it is men who are associated with the notions of liberation, colonialism, and nationalism Chinua Achebe's Anthills of the Savannah contains reflection on how the above referred to aspects of masculinity promote corruption, selfishness, and greed which in turn foster bad governance and the denial of rights, as well as military coups and thus Achebe's novel negates the concept nation. The novel is set in a fictional West African state called Kangan ruled by a dictatorial president with a military background. He rules the country with a tight grip and a corrupt government. In Anthills of the Savannah Achebe is re-writing his earlier A Man of the People with a gendered perspective and thus Achebe shows evolvement with regard to the question of nation and nationhood also from the above described perspective of gender. The problematic of the African tradition of masculinity which fosters the marginalization and subordination of women is expressed in the novel by the male figure Braimoh who says "so l think our tradition is fault there" (23) and another figure, Beatrice, challenges male chauvinism when she says "that every woman wants a man to complete her is a piece of male chauvinism bullshit I had completely rejected before I knew there was anything like the Women's Lib (88). Speaking through his alter ego Ikem, Achebe acknowledges that the malaise Africa is experiencing results from excluding women from the scheme of things. Thus, with Beatrice, Achebe projects a new vision of women's roles and clarifies Ikem's hazy thoughts on the issue. Ikem accepts that his former attitude towards women has been too respectful, too idealist. Through Beatrice, Achebe strives to affirm the moral strength and intellectual integrity of African women especially since the social conditions which have kept women down in the past era are now largely absent. Urbanization and education have combined to broaden women's horizons. Achebe's newly envisioned female's roles are to be expanded, articulated and secured by women themselves, and the modern African woman is doing just that. Beatrice inhabits the postcolonial world of Kangan as a senior assistant secretary in the Minis