Sega music

Sega music or Séga is the major music of the Mascarene Islands: Mauritius, Réunion and Rodrigues as well as of the Seychelles. Sega is similar to the Réunionnais music genre maloya. Another form of dance similar to the sega is the Seychellois moutya. Sega music originated among the slave populations of Mauritius and Réunion. It then appeared in the Seychelles and later spread throughout the southwest Indian Ocean. It is usually in 6/8 tempo and has an associated dance form.

Description

The music's traditional form was largely improvised and intensely emotional and expressed the tribulations of a subjugated, initially enslaved, people.It is primarily dance music but was also used for dirges and as part of traditional exorcisms.

Instruments

Traditional instruments include:

• the maravanne (rattle)
• moutia (hand drum)
• the goatskin drum ravanne
• triangle
• and the bobre (bow).

Nowadays, electric guitars and keyboard are used.

Lyrics

The lyrics of sega music usually relate to the lives of the inhabitants; they do not usually relate to the musicians' ancestral homeland.<ref...
Read More