Why go
Listen for the ravanne drum, metal triangle and shaken maravanne in traditional sega. Their sounds explain more than a genre label does. Seggae, associated with Kaya and Roche Bois, shows how Mauritian musicians later joined sega to reggae. Listen for the different role each instrument plays beneath the Creole voice and dance rhythm.
The full story
Sega is closely associated with Mauritius and is usually sung in Mauritian Creole. Traditional playing uses the ravanne, a skin-covered drum, with a triangle and maravanne, a shaker. Its exact origins are debated, so it is better to hear it as a living form shaped by the island’s history than to assign it one certain beginning. Performers such as Ti Frère and Serge Lebrasse are part of its recorded tradition. In the late twentieth century, musician Kaya, born Joseph Reginald Topize, helped bring seggae to wider attention by combining sega and reggae. His group Racinetatane was linked to Roche Bois, a Port Louis suburb. Kaya died in police custody in 1999, and his death sparked unrest; this history gives the music a social weight beyond its dance rhythm. Mauritius also has Bhojpuri songs connected to Indian indenture, as well as music shaped by Chinese migration and other popular styles. Listening across these forms is one way to hear the island’s layered communities.
Useful to know
- When looking for live music, check the current programme and whether it features traditional sega, seggae or another style.