As far back as 1768, travellers
to Mauritius were bringing back tales of slaves' singing and dancing which
seemed to their entranced eyes so different and special.
Bernardin de St Pierre then, spoke of the slaves' passion for music and of
the soft harmony of unknown instruments to match songs with every present love
themes. Milber, in 1803, spoke of sensual dance steps that clearly show their
warm intentions, and Rousselin, in 1860, was one of the many to be inspired to
attempt the capture of the atmosphere of slave dancing in drawings. They had
all witnessed the magic of the black shega dance or music, or as it soon came
to be known; the Sega. They had all heard the music born of African souls
soothed in their lost homelands on rapid drumbeats and pounding rhythms.
African souls now caught in an island's fragrance and soft beauty. From this
unison came the Sega. The travellers had heard the bobre, the ravane, the
maravane and the triangle. New ingenuous instruments never heard before. The
bobre is a long wooden bow kept arched over a large gourd-like, rough skinned,
hollow fruit (the calebasse) by a vegetal string, this being hit by a stout
wooden rod. Its mournful twang has however, sadly, been lost over the years and
it is no longer part of a Sega music team. The ravane is a hide, pulled taught
over a wooden circular frame. Tightened even more to a vibrant limit over a
fire-wood flame, and sometimes ringed with bells, it is at the heart of the Sega's
beat. Its thrilling husky bark is the beginning of the dance. The maravane used
to be a calebasse filled with small stones or dried nuts. The stones or dried
nuts have remained but are now shaken in a wooden frame to send dancers on
along their catchy beat. The triangle is ever the same metal frame on which a
metal rod is beaten, for a high pitched tingling note. The blending of these
sounds causes an irrepressible urge to get up and dance.
The original instruments are fast disappearing, making way for the more
conventional orchestra ensemble. However, all along the coastal fishing
villages the traditional instruments are still being used: The Ravane, which is
a wooden hoop over which has been stretched a piece of goat skin; the Coco,
(Maracas) which represents the percussion section; the Triangle, a triangular
piece of metal which tinkles when tapped with an iron rod.
The traditional guitar which was a single string instrument with an arc
attached to an empty "Calebasse", has been replaced by the more
sophisticated Hawaiian and electric guitar. Stimulated and inspired by local
rum, the fishing folks gather around a camp fire and give full vent to their
emotions. Very often they dance without any music at all and are accompanied
only by the sound of the Ravane, the tinkling of spoons, the rattling of seeds
in a tin, and the clapping of hands of spectators who eventually join in the
melee.
The dance itself is the rhythmic swaying of the hips to the pulsating rhythm
of the Ravane. It starts with a gentle swaying, to a slow and solemn tune, which
gradually rises, consuming the dancers and setting their bodies jerking,
stretching and swaying with animated movements to keep pace with the
ever-increasing tempo.
The beat creeps inside you and as your body responds to the rhythm, you are
carried to heights of ecstasy, generating a vibrating force that shakes the
"lead" off your feet and inspires you to a high-spirited and
unrestrained way of dancing. Tiring perhaps, but ex-hilarating! Never mind if
your movement does not follow the rhythm ... just carry on dancing and you will
be amazed how rhythm and movement synchronize afterwards.
CAP SOLEIL - ILE MAURICE - Tour opérateur (License No. 03430) Membre de AIOM (Association of Inbound Operators of Mauritius) Adresse: 5 Impasse des Ibis - Sodnac - Quatre Bornes - Ile Maurice -
Tel: [230] 427 7454 - 55 -
Fax: [230] 427 0444
Email: plamothe@capsoleil.erm.mu OU alamothe@capsoleil.erm.mu
