By Ogova Ondego
Published March 2, 2021
Most people I know find the flora, the fauna, the cultures and the inhabitants of the Indian Ocean islands off the East African coast fascinating. Most things, including the music, seem to be a synthesis. And why not when it is here that the east and the west, the north and the south, and all the other places in between, meet?
Music may be the only item that not only keep people who are forcibly taken away from their home alive but also gives them hope and identity as can be illustrated by the plight of African slaves and Jewish exiles in North America and Babylon, respectively. It is the same with African and Malagasy slaves who were uprooted from their homes and taken to Rodrigues Island for forced labour on sugar plantations.
RELATED: Spoil Yourself with a South-Eastern Indian Ocean Islands’ Adventure
To cope in the new world after work, they drummed, sang and danced to songs from home. These songs, now known as Séga, were later shaped by their mixed African and French descendants known as Creole.
A 12-track album titled Creole Sounds from the Indian Ocean shall be released on ARC Music label of Britain on March 26, 2021.
The music is by Sakili, musicians who are touted as being the most loved séga representatives of the Rodrigues Island.
RELATED: Ill-Prepared Kenya Rolls Out New Education System
As you listen to the songs you are likely to find your head bobbing and your feet beating to the rhythmic and melodious Séga sounds. This is most likely to happen as you listen to Badiou Semez, the third track on the Creole Sounds from the Indian Ocean album. You may even end up joining in the chorus as you respond to the soloist the way East Africans do during worship or rites of passage ceremonies.
Creole Sounds from the Indian Ocean is a mix of waltzes, polkas, mazurka, Scottish and séga drum rhythms which were originally performed by the captured souls at sunset, reminding them of their African homeland. As ‘hope is seeing light in spite of being surrounded by darkness’, beautiful music was created around bonfires at night during moments of weary rest. This rarely-heard art form with strong historic roots is presented by Sakili, with the hopes of making this music known in Europe and around the world.
RELATED: Music Salvages School Drop-Out
Séga, that was made just with vocals, a drum and a triangular cymbal, is popular across the Indian Ocean islands of Mauritius, Reunion, Seychelles, Agalega and Rodrigues; it is most often sung in both French creole and other Creole dialects.
As it sprang out of hopelessness, expect Séga songs to tackle themes like hope, exploitation, inequality, oppression and injustice in society.
Most Rodriguans are of mixed African and French descent AKA Creole and Rodrigues Island is, since 2002, an autonomous area under the jurisdiction of the Republic of Mauritius.
RELATED: Explore Northern and Southern Kenya Holiday Breakaway
Just as we join Boney M in singing Rivers of Babylon, let’s join Sakili in singing and dancing to the 12 ‘blues’ of the Indian Ocean:
- Ma Ninine
- Dan Mo La Kwizin
- Badiou Semez
- Flanbwayan
- Séga Ideal
- Mové Piti
- La ri Latanie
- Ti Pierre Louis
- Misié Benet
- Melda
- Solitaire, and
- Misie semiz afler.
