Music of Mauritius

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A woman performs the sega in Pointe-aux-Piments, Mauritius. Photographed by Andy Carvin in July 2004.

The island of Mauritius and the island of Rodrigues is known for sega music, alongside the nearby Réunion island, though reggae, soukous and other genres are also popular. Sega is an evolved form of polka and quadrilles from Europe, fused with local rhythms and instruments. Modern sega frequently includes influences from zouk, reggae, soukous and other Latin American musical styles.

Well known singers from Mauritius include Ti Frére, Serge Lebrasse, Cassiya and the France-based Clarel Betsy.

[edit] Sega

The sega is the most typical folkloric dance of Mauritius. The traditional instrumentation includes the ravanne, a goat-skin covered drum, the triangle, and the maravane.

The sega evolved among slaves, and is primarily a fusion of African music with European dances like the quadrille and polka.

[edit] Popular sega

Les Windblows is a well-known sega band from Mauritius, though Cassiya, before many of its original members moved on to pursue solo careers, was probably the most popular group ever to have graced the island. Other well-known performers include Marie-Jose Clency, who often sings in duo with her husband Roger Clency. Their combined careers started over three decades ago with popular songs such as Ortensia and Reprend Mo Mari Anglais.

Over the past twenty years, Mauritian music has been revitalized by a fusion of reggae and sega, known as seggae. This new wave emerged from one of poorer suburbs of Port Louis, known as Roche Bois, with the musician Kaya (Joseph Reginald Topize) and his group Racinetatane as the first major proponent. It gained much popularity among Rastafarians and then more widely among the youths of Mauritius in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

Unfortunately, the seggaeman Kaya died in murky, and still unexplained, cicumstances while in police custody in 1999. He was being held at the time for allegedly smoking a joint at a (pro-marijuana) public rally organised by an aspiring politician. Kaya's death sparked a three-day riot, with widespread looting and a news-blackout that only fuelled the wildest rumours and threatened the fragile social fabric of Mauritius. Amongst the widespread damage caused by these events, another talented seggae musician, Berger Agathe, was shot and killed by the police, then by dealing a double-blow to the Mauritian music scene within a few days. Despite all this, seggae music survives as one of Kaya's legacy and is often viewed as a voice exposing the angst and hopes of many of the poorest Mauritians.

[edit] Asian music in Mauritius

Indian and Chinese immigrants have brought many of their own styles of music and dance, and brought with them instruments like the sitar and tabla. Mauritian-based Bhojpuri music has always been popular with people of indian-descent, but is now gaining mainstream appeal through the work of artists such as The Bhojpuri Boys and Neeraj Gupta Mudhoo. Their fusion of bhojpuri lyrics, sega beats, and more traditional indian, as well as Bollywood-style, music has won the hearts of many Mauritians and given rise to major hits such as Langaroo (by The Bhojpuri Boys) and, more recently, Dragostea Din Te.

[edit] References

• Ewens, Graeme and Werner Graebner. "A Lightness of Touch". 2000. In Broughton, Simon and Ellingham, Mark with McConnachie, James and Duane, Orla (Ed.), World Music, Vol. 1: Africa, Europe and the Middle East, pp 505-508. Rough Guides Ltd, Penguin Books. ISBN 1-85828-636-0