32

This article defends the idea that the experience of slavery remains unconsciously present in the collective memory of the Creole people. In fact, it may be said that they inherit some of the traumas suffered by their ancestors. This collective inheritance shows through in the languages traditionally used in the French overseas departments. The Creole languages thus constitute a memory-bearer of this past that was concealed for a long time. So, this article aims to discuss the way in which this painful history was handed down from generation to generation among the inhabitants of the former colonies. To this end the authors draw in particular on Creole proverbs. They are interested in the way the body is put into words in them in order to identify how the suffering endured by the slaves has left its trace in spite of the passage of time. This article thus studies how the system of slavery contributed historically to annihilating the humanity of the people who were subjected to it, while at the same time analyzing the repercussions of this process. In a more general way, the authors invite us to reflect on the way in which each society manages, over the course of time, to build itself with the collective tragedies that it may have been through.