Sega as voice-work in the Indian Ocean region

Abstract

ABSTRACTThe island societies of the southwest Indian Ocean offer rich worlds that reveal shared discourses regarding the natural environment, politics and identity the region. This article draws on anthropological research and in particular, recorded video for its aesthetic analysis of voicework in Mauritius and Seychelles to discuss the role of voicework in revealing cultural regionalization and identity politics. It is proposed that the Sega (a musical genre), its lyrics and performance, foreground shared identity and responses to historical oppression in the region. The songs invoke the islanders’ resilience by referring to enduring elements in the natural environment. African descendants in the islands use the Sega and its performance, to locally (and naturally) embody resistance to the historical elite. Following literatures on bodywork in the social sciences, this article offers two concepts: voicework and voicescape. Voicework is multisensory, trans-contextual, impromptu and discursive expression in Sega music. The voicescape refers to the often island-specific political and cultural context generated by voicework. The article emphasizes the embodied nature of voicework, anthropological research experience and embodied social expression in the Indian Ocean region (IOR).