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An Introduction to the Sega Tipik, genuine Mauritian Music and Dance Art

 

 

  • Programme with my friend Kurwin Castel, great defender of the Mauritian traditional music:

 

Brought by the African ancestors, the sega leaves today a nostalgic taste in mouth, when we think of the riches lost along the way. Facing the evolution, the "ravannes, maravannes, triangles" let their place to the instruments coming from Europe. As some speak nowadays of “sega variété” or of “sega fantaisie” to evoke a soulless music, some others want to come back to the roots.​

No historical reference allows to determine the exact birth period of the sega. However, we know that it is contemporary to slavery. Historians speak of those slaves' songs, at night, after a hard working day to remember their far country. No traces though of these nights around the fire, of the first melodies,

The ravanne hand-making methods have widely changed. In the genuine tradition, a piece of wood is cut a « pye lakol » (creole expression for the gum-glue tree), which is nailed as it is still green. After a rather long drying time, the wood will curve. In the same time, the skin usually from a goat will be prepared. Once washed, the skin is soaked in a lime-based solution, scraped and dried. After this process, the skin is stretched on a wooden circle, which will act as the instrument base.

 

Formerly, the skin was fixed with a glue made of starch and crushed tamarind seeds, but today, ropes are used. Finally, before playing the music, the ravanne is heated on a fire in order to stretch the membrane, which allows to optimize the sound.

Kurwin Castel.

​Concerning the maravanne, it is a kind of rectangular and empty box full of seeds, giving therefore a sound similar to a rattle. Traditionaly, it is made of materials that the slaves could easily find in the surrounding nature : frames are made of wood, panels of sugarcane flowers stems and the whole is maintained by leather straps. To produce the typical sound of the maravanne, seeds or sand are introduced into those 2 compartments, the sound evoking then the waves crashing on a Mauritian sandy beach.

We propose you to come back to the musical roots of the "sega tipik" with a half day-course given by a local and famous sega player:

  • How are the instruments manufactured?

  • Initiation to playing the music and singing,

  • Initiation to dancing.

 

And always with the Moris Otreman spirit, meeting and sharing with the local population! Please contact here!

Start from your accomodation place at  9 AM, back at around 2PM.

 

Rate pps - per person sharing - minimum 2 persons maximum 6 persons: Rs 2,500, Mauritian ti-gajak included.

Please adapt your clothing to the activity: convenient shoes, sun screen, mosquito repellent, hat, sun glasses, swimsuit.

Kurwin Castel, manufacturer, teacher, performer
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