Ancestral Occult Supernatural Conundrum in Chariandy’s Soucounyant

Abstract

Soucouyant is David Chariandy’s poignant debut novel that deals with the nuances of the Caribbean diaspora experience. He uses memory as the prominent technique, and the supernatural realm of resistance and trauma. This mythological folk tales of ‘Soucouyant’ in the view of Adele’s dementia, the novel spans a phantom tradition of generational resentment, cultural displacement, subjugation stories. The story projects the expedition of a boy, who is unnamed here, as he tries to make sense of his mother’s fragmented stories. Through the narration the author brings out how forgetfulness becomes a curse of multifaceted part of survival. This ‘Soucouyant’ appears as a notable metaphor for cultural memory, which depicts the personal traumas and collective experiences of immigrants, a Caribbean spirit by shifting its shape. Chariandy skillfully develops the story by exploring how cultural memories persist across geographic boundaries, juxtaposing supernatural symbolism with intimate family dynamics, transforming individual suffering into a larger story of resilience and transformation. ‘Ancestral Occult’ reframes the history of migrants through a supernatural and profound emotional interpretation, expressing a thoughtful contemplation on identity, memory and the unseen blemish of immigration. A deep consideration of immigrant experience is reflected by the Caribbean-Canadian upbringing of Chariandy, where memory progresses into a supernatural landscape of cultural exchange and survival. In the depiction on Canadian diasporic literature, in the plot, the hardships to maintain their identities of the marginalized communities through fabled and supernatural narratives are taken into consideration. Meticulously, this specific research handles interdisciplinary approaches, integrating anthropological perceptions, sociological interpretations and auto ethnographic narratives. Thus ‘The Occult Ancestor’ grows as a progressive scholarly involvement, disclosing the complex ways in which diasporic residents renovate, recollect and conceptualize their cultural identities through influential narrative stratagems.