The island of Mauritius 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. This article has been temporarily vandalised. ... Reggae is a style of music developed in Jamaica. ... Soukous is a musical genre formed in Zaire and the Congo in the early 20th century, also known as Lingala music in East Africa and Congo music in English-speaking West Africa. ... Polka is a type of dance and genre of dance music; it originated in the middle of the 19th century in Bohemia, and is still a common genre of Czech folk music; it is also common both in Europe and in the Americas. ... Quadrille is an historic dance performed by four couples in a square formation, a precursor to traditional square dancing. ... World map showing Europe (geographically) When considered a continent, Europe is the worlds second-smallest continent in terms of area, with an area of 10,600,000 km² (4,140,625 square miles), making it larger than Australia only. ... Rhythm (Greek ρυθμός = tempo) is the variation of the duration of sounds or other events over time. ... Zouk is a style of rhythmic music originating from the Caribbean islands of Guadeloupe and Martinique. ... Reggae is a style of music developed in Jamaica. ... Soukous is a musical genre formed in Zaire and the Congo in the early 20th century, also known as Lingala music in East Africa and Congo music in English-speaking West Africa. ... Latin American music, is sometimes wrongly called Latin music. ...

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

Sega

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

The sega is the most typical folkloric dance of Mauritius [1]. The traditional instrumentation includes the central ravane drum and triangle and maravane. A woman dances the sega File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... A woman dances the sega File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... For other kinds of drums, see drum (disambiguation). ... The triangle is an idiophonic musical instrument of the percussion family. ...

The sega evolved among slaves, and is primarily a fusion of African music with European dances like the quadrille and polka. Africa is a large and diverse continent, consisting of dozens of countries, hundreds of languages and thousands of races, tribes and ethnic groups. ...

Popular sega

Cassiya is the most well-known sega band from Mauritius, though Marie-Jose Couronne and reggae-sega (sometimes called seggae) fusionist Ras Natty Baby is also popular. Seggae developed in Port Louis and especially among Rastafarians, in the 1980s. The musician Kaya, perhaps the most popular singer of modern Mauritius, died in 1999, sparking three days of rioting. Seggae is a music genre invented in the mid 80s by the Mauritian rasta singer, Joseph Reginald Topize (Sometimes known as Kaya after a song title by Bob Marley) and is a fusion of sega and reggae. ... The arms of Port Louis Port Louis banking district, and the main avenue leading to the Government House (seen in the background) Port Louis (local pronunciation is PAULWEE) is the capital of Mauritius. ... Rasta hairstyle Rastafarianism is a religious movement that believes in the divinity of former emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia. ... // Events and trends The 1980s marked an abrupt shift towards more conservative lifestyles after the momentous cultural revolutions which took place in the 1960s and 1970s and the definition of the AIDS virus in 1981. ... 1999 is a common year starting on Friday Anno Domini (or the Current Era), and was designated the International Year of Older Persons by the United Nations. ...

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. Premla Shahane playing a sitar, 1927 A sitar The sitar is a Hindustani classical instrument. ... The tabla is a widely popular Indian percussion instrument used in the classical, popular and religious music of the northern Indian subcontinent. ...

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

• [2]

External Links

RadioMoris.Com - Internet radio broadcasting music from Mauritius, Reunion and Seychelles.

The Sega - Photographs and video clips by Andy Carvin, July 2004.