Sega music
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- This article is about Mauritian dance music. For the video game music recording format, see GYM.
Sega music is an evolved combination of traditional Mauritian and Réunionnais music with European dance music like polka and quadrilles. Sega is especially similar to the Réunionnais folk dance maloya. In its modern form, sega is also combined with genres like soukous, zouk and reggae.
Sega music was invented in Mauritius, though Reunion now has its own variation as the theme spread quickly through the Indian Ocean.
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[edit] Sega's origins
Sega evolved out of the culture of the Western Indian Ocean islands, a fusion of elements from across Europe and Africa, in the mid-18th century. Traditional instruments include the rattle maravanne, hand drum moutia, ravanne, triangle and the bow bobre. The music's traditional form was largely improvised and intensely emotional and expressed the tribulations of a subjugated, initially enslaved, people. It was also used as a funereal dirge and as part of traditional exorcisms. Sega is most often considered originally Mauritian, with some specifically citing Rodrigues Island.
[edit] Modern varieties
Though primarily a form of Mauritian music, sega is now popular across the islands of Réunion, Seychelles, Comoros, Mayotte and Rodrigues, along with parts of Madagascar.
[edit] Seggae
Main article: Seggae
Seggae is a fusion of sega with reggae, a kind of Jamaican popular music that is very popular across sega's range. Seggae musicians include Ras Natty Baby and Sonny Morgan.
[edit] Islands
In Reunion, sega is relatively slow, and is danced by couples who are not as physically close as on Mauritius. The traditional form is called maloya. Mauritian traditional sega is sega ravanne and has an accentuated beat compared to Reunionais sega. Traditional Rodriguan sega is sega tambour (or segakordeon), and it is extremely swift compared to other varieties. Sega tambour is sung mostly by women, and is danced only by one couple at a time, accompanied by clapping or the use of improvised percussion instruments like table legs and glasses. Seychellois sega is moutia, and is similar to Reunionais sega. Seychellois music is influenced by Western ballads, and especially country music [1].
