Publisher’s write-up:
‘The year is 1797, and the kingdom of Segu is flourishing, fed by the
wealth of its noblemen and the power of its warriors. The people of Segu, the
Bambara, are guided by their griots and priests; their lives are ruled by the
elements. But even their soothsayers can only hint at the changes to come, for
the battle of the soul of Africa has begun. From the east comes a new religion,
Islam, and from the West, the slave trade. Segu follows the life of Dousika
Traore, the king’s most trusted advisor, and his four sons, whose fates embody
the forces tearing at the fabric of the nation. There is Tiekoro, who renounces
his people’s religion and embraces Islam; Siga, who defends tradition, but
becomes a merchant; Naba, who is kidnapped by slave traders; and Malobali, who
becomes a mercenary and halfhearted Christian.
Based on actual events, Segu transports the reader to a fascinating time
in history, capturing the earthy spirituality, religious fervor, and violent
nature of a people and a growing nation trying to cope with jihads, national
rivalries, racism, amid the vagaries of commerce.’
Note: I read the novel
in French
Segu is the first novel of the historical fiction series written by the
French writer Maryse Condé. The plot takes place in West Africa (roughly around
present day Mali) during the 18th century, before the arrival of
organised religions, that is, Islam and Christianity. The main characters are
from the family of a Bambara nobleman close to the king of Segu named Dousika Traoré.
The story captures the changes in West Africa during this time, with the
arrival or religions, Europeans and the Transatlantic Slave Trade.
The story starts by introducing Dousika Traoré and his family. His son
Tiékoro has adopted Islam and Malobali was lost to slavery and sent across the
Atlantic. The story follows several generations of this family and the impact
the slave trade has had on them, how they end up getting split across the world
and how the adoption of Islam and Christianity has impacted the family, as
well. The story features European families (with slaves), the courts of the
kings in Africa at that time, and also shows certain social problems like the interethnic
tensions between the Fulani and the Bambara. There was also the problem that
the society was largely illiterate and the only way to learn to read was to
embrace these ‘foreign’ religions.
I have never read a historical novel that takes place in the Sahel
region, and in that sense, I learnt a lot of things, including the fact that
the arrival of organised religions to this region is fairly recent. The author
had also done a good job in showing the complicity of some of the African rulers,
who profited from the Transatlantic slave trade with the Europeans, where not
even the nobles were spared (if they were, that does not justify the practice
either, but in most social injustices, those that are privileged are spared the
worst of it).
It is not a novel that is very easy to start given there are several
characters, and I often had to look at the family tree given by the author to
understand the familial connections – similar to what I had to do for an
equally difficult read; One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez.
It is not an easy book to read either given that there are a lot of violent depictions
– including rape, exploitation of slaves and unjust executions.
I found that the character of Tiékoro was most interesting, but again,
was difficult to fully concentrate on him as well given how many different characters
that were there. However, I understand that given this is the first instalment
and you need to set up this base to bring the full story into the picture in
the next book.
To conclude, this novel has provided a good start to the series and I
wish to read the next one. I award this book a rating of seven on ten.
Rating – 7/10
Have a nice day,
Andy
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