The African prostitute: an everyday debrouillard in reality and African fiction.

Life in the city requires a measure of debrouillardise. Several African writers have examined the plight of the prostitute as a form of resistance entwined with a daily struggle for survival. Through a cultural and historical background on transactional sex practices in sub-Saharan Africa, the paper examines the role of the prostitute in Cyprian Ekwenski's Jagua Nana and Okot p'Bitek's Song of Malaya as an individual utilizing de Certeauian tactical opposition to counteract victimization. The prostitute in these two works cannot be viewed as solely a victim. She uses - and is used by society. Close examination of the role of the prostitute in these two works will reveal an individual with a unique position in society - an individual who epitomizes the art of debrouillardise, and marks it with a connection to the city. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]