This post discusses the evolution of the Sega Ancien and more specifically the development of the moutya and sega and their relationship with similar music genre found in other Indian Ocean Islands.
It is the second post in a series of posts on the moutya and sega. I suggest you read post one in order to get an insight into the origin of the sega ancient from which the Seychellois moutya and sega were born.
Please note that in the Seychellois creole an e is pronounced as if it was an e cute ( é )in French and this is why there is no e cute ( é) in the Seychelles sega.
As mentioned in the first post, the sega ancien is the main source or parent of the following dances and songs: The moutya ancien , moutya modern and sega otantik of Seychelles; the maloya of Réunion: the sega tipik or sega ravanne of Mauritius; the sega tambour of Rodrigues and other old segas of Agalega Island. Another version of the sega ancien was also performed in the Chagos Island up until it became the British Indian Ocean Territory, when all the islanders were removed and resettled in Mauritius and Seychelles.
These dances and songs are briefly described below. They are all very closely related to each other in that they are all danced and sang in the open air in the early evening and through the night; use the drum as main instrument; the words for the songs are improvised and all have a call and response pattern.
The Moutya of the Seychelles
The term ‘moutya’ or ‘moutia’ according to our local anthropologists is derived from the Bantu word ‘mutcira’ which is a dance in the Nampula province located in northeastern Mozambique.
Traditionally, in Seychelles, a séance of moutya dance consisted of a gathering at night, usually on a Saturday after work, around a bonfire made out of coconut leaves. As the drums were warmed, the male members of the crowd would call out various ‘themes’ to which the female dancers responded with very high-pitched voices. These were usually social commentaries, which could feature the day’s events, scandals between spouses and… many lamentations. It had a slow tempo, slower than the sega typik of Mauritius. The moutya themes will be discussed in future posts.
The link below gives an overview of the moutya modern.
The moutya whilst keeping true to its original state, branched off to give rise to the moutya modern and the sega otantik or sega tremble. In turn, the sega otantik was Europeanised or creolised by the influence of the music and dances of the French settlers and this fusion from these two ‘genres’ gave birth to the modern sega, which itself, whilst undergoing slight modern adaptation, has produced some offshoots like seggae, a fusion of reggae and sega. We will discuss this progression in depth in future posts.
Sega Otantik
The traditional sega or “sega otantik” or “sega tremble” in Seychelles is without any doubt of African and/or Malagasy origin. Most of the songs which accompanied it in the past were sung in languages other than Creole, unlike the moutya. It should not be confused however with the modern sega. The instruments accompanying it were essentially hollowed-out coconut trunks with a goat’s skin tied over one end.
The womenfolk could add to the tempo by hitting across a piece of bamboo. The rythm of the sega otantik was much faster than the moutya. The dancers followed the drum-beating with very rapid feet, shoulders and hip movements. Contrary to the moutya, there was no building up of the tempo leading to a climax or trance-like atmosphere.
The sega otantik then evolved into the modern sega which, as mentioned earlier, in turn has fused with other influences to produce the seggae, a blend of sega and reggae.
Le Maloya of Réunion
The word Maloya is derived from the Malagasy “maloy aho “, maloy meaning to ‘speak, say what you have to say’. It is played on instruments that do not differ greatly from those of its origins: the rouler which is a large drum, on top of which the musician is seated, the bobre, which a musical bow with a calabash acting as the resonator, the kayamb which is a percussive instrument made from wood and sugar cane stems filled with seeds, and the piker which is a piece of bamboo, which the musician hits with two sticks. It has a short and punctuated tempo. Like the moutya , the maloya is based on a call and respond structure and unlike the moutya has some elements of Tamil music incorporated into it.
From its origins until the 1980’s, maloya was played in a clandestine manner. The slave owners were the first to forbid the music because of the occult practices that were associated with it. At the end of the 50’s the colonial administration once again forbade maloya, in an attempt to censor the inhabitants of the island and prevent them from communicating about a potential secession from France.
This link below contains some radio recordings in French entitled ‘Ile de la Réunion : sur des rythmes du maloya’ . These recordings are quite long and give a very good insight into the history of maloya. Please click to learn more.
The music survived clandestinely and was played far from houses and public places in spite of the fact that the possession of traditional music equipment was then a severe crime. It is now recognised as a national dance and since 1 October 2009, has been listed as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO.
As with the moutya, the maloya has evolved giving rise to the modern maloya and the Réunion sega. The modern maloya does not differ much from the original except that it now has the guitar, the djembé and the triangle incorporated to the list of instruments used. The Réunion Sega is the creolised version of the maloya , influenced by the music and dances of French settlers and the fusion of these two ‘genres’ gave birth to the modern Reunion sega.
Sega Tipik or Sega Ravann of Mauritius
It must be remembered that Mauritius, then known as ‘Isle de France’, when it became French, was first populated by families from Réunion, then called ‘Ile Bourbon’, who were relocated by the French East India Company. In addition, the slaves that the Company brought to Mauritius came from the same regions of Africa and Madagascar as the ones transferred from Réunion. Mauritius and Réunion being populated by people from the same countries during the enslaving period of their history, it is natural to think that the practices of the ancien segas and sega typik were very close, even identical.
This link below is a documentary of the Sega Tipik. It is in Mauritian Creole and is very enlightening.
The ensemble of the three traditional instruments described below forms the basis of the sega tipik. The ravanne, which is a large, drum-like object, made with a wooden hoop which is then covered with stretched goatskin. The maravanne, which is a type of rattle made up of a wooden box which is then filled with sand or seeds. The triangle, a later addition, as the name suggests, is a metal instrument made in the shape of a triangle and it makes a tinkling sound when struck with a small metal rod.
The lyrics, normally in Mauritian Creole, though sometimes in French, are improvised themes include suffering, daily life incidents or stories.
The Performance
The dance is always performed around a fire which is used to warm up the ravanne. It is performed by couples or one woman dancing with several partners in a circle formed by the musicians and the audience. The songs are usually sung in a minor key and gradually increase in tempo, as dancers move their hips and hands to a percussive beat, using short steps to manoeuvre around each other in a variety of different formations. Traditionally, women dancers wear long skirts and petticoats while men wear rolled-up trousers, colourful shirts and straw hats.
The Sega Typik also evolved
As is the case with the moutya and maloya, the sega tipik has also evolved with the times. Around the late 1950 the addition of acoustic and electric guitars, accordions, drums and trumpets reinvigorated the sega typik, and by the mid 1960s the sega moderne had emerged from the confines of private gatherings to become openly popular throughout Mauritius.
The sega moderne, in its turn has evolved from its traditional roots to a modern-day version often fused with other genres like jazz and reggae. To give rise to the seggae, sega engage , sega bolywood and sega rap. The sega engage is a new type of sega that came about after the liberation of Mauritius in 1968 and it is said to be a type of ‘political’ sega during which the lyrics would centre on political issues of the day.
As of 27 November 2014, sega tipik morisien has been inscribed on the UNESCO Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
Sega Tambour from Rodrigues Island
Sega Tambour of Rodrigues Island is a vibrant rhythmic performance of music, song and dance performed all over the island, in the homes and on the streets, at formal and informal functions. It has a tempo which is faster that the maloya, moutya or sega pyke.
As the name implies, the leading percussion, is the tambour or drum accompanied by the clapping of the bwat, and mayos. The bwat are two tins that are knocked together to produce a musical sound and the mayos are two pieces of wood that are struck together to also produce a musical sound. From then on, the triangle was added and it remained like this for a while. It was then forced to evolve in order to survive. It evolved into the Sega Accordeon.
How did the Séga Tambour evolve into the Séga Accordéon or Ségakordéon?
The sega tambour, because of its root in the sega ancien, was a musical event adopted to a large extent by the black population and these festivities were distrustfully viewed by the clergy who did not appreciate at all the sega tambour, perceived back then as a pagan and “satanic” dance.
The link below gives a very comprehensive exposé on the Sega tambour of Rodrigues Island courtesy of UNESCO
On the other hand, the accordeon and dances originating from Europe were allowed. To circumvent the forbidden, the accordeon had been included in various musical styles originating from the old continent but blended with rhythms close to the sega. As the tambour or drum was a spurned instrument, only the triangle could bring a strong support destined to accentuate the rhythms of the accordion dance. The “Séga Quadrille” and the “Ségakordéon” were then born. The link below gives and small introduction to the rythm of the Ségakordeon.
The Rodriguais then developed a sega for many major activities. These include, for example, sega planté (planters’ sega) and sega haricot ( haricot beans sega) which relates to the work on the farms and plantations and sega la guerre ( fighting sega) relating to political events…
This video clip below entitled: ‘Ile Rodrigues : Musique et danse traditionnelles de Rodrigues avec la Troupe de l’Union de Rodrigues (extraits). Réalisation : Pierre Argo et Philippe de Magnée’ illustrates some of the traditional dances of the island.
The sega tambour was inscribed in 2017 on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
In our next post we will discuss the tambour moutya or the moutya drum, its origin and how it was made.
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Sources:
The Seychelles ‘moutya’ as a theatre prototype and historical record- By Penda Theresia Choppy
Attitudes to slavery and race in Seychellois Creole oral literature- By Penda Theresia Choppy
Le moutya à l’épreuve de la modernité Seychelloise : Pratiquer un genre musical emblématique dans les Seychelles d’aujourd’hui (Océan Indien) –Marie-Christine Parent
European slave routes in the Indian Ocean- Aparajita Biswas
Creolisation of language and culture- Robert Chaudenson
Seychelles News Agency
Featured Image courtesy Slaveryimages.org
Rodrigues Tourism Office
