"Segu"

Paper Summary:

"Segu" by Conde Maryse, an epic novel on the transformation of African life during the early colonial period, touches on many important aspects of African social change. This paper shows how the rise of Islam, fall of localized tribes, and growing emergence of slavery are set against a vivid backdrop of one family's struggle to stay afloat in a rapidly changing world.

From the Paper:

"The novel Segu portrays a nation caught in turmoil. In its opening pages, one sees the beginnings of the downfall of the Traore family. A seemingly idyllic life is shattered. Dousika's prominent government role is lost unjustly through the jealousy of others, and the stage for the familial decline is set. This decline, of course, is in many ways metaphorical of the decline of the entire kingdom of Segu. During the late 1700's and early 1800's, a variety of historical movements began to draw the African nation into an increasingly precarious situation. Slavery becomes a major factor in everyday life. Perhaps more importantly, however, the rise of Islam began to make inroads into Segu - represented in the novel by the conversion of Tiekoro, the prominent heir to the Traore compound. This influence had already reached much of Africa and had created widespread upheavals and massive change in social structure. Throughout the novel, Segu is portrayed as the last island in a gathering sea of invasive ideology, and the ordeals of the Traore family reveal the complexities and tensions created by the monumental clashes of religion and culture that ensue. Every aspect of Segu life, from government to family to the individual, undergoes radical change as each struggle to adapt to a new way of life."

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