The book Segu is about telling the story of Africa as if it was a person wanting an autobiography done before its life is over. The history of Africa during the 18th and 19th century was a really vague topic for me to understand. After reading Segu by Maryse Condé my thinking of this period was made clear by the personal experiences of the Traoré family sons. What I came to understand is this book deceitfully explains the decline of West African countries in the eyes and personal struggles of the Bambara people of Segu. In this case it’s the focus on the travels of the four sons of Dousika Traoré. Tiekoro, Siga, Naba, and Malobali all summoned on personal journeys that gave me a better understanding of what actually happened during the 18th and 19th century time period of people who actually experienced it.
Some major themes I picked out while reading is the expansion/spread of the Islamic religion being leaked into African countries, and the Atlantic Slave trade happening in them as well. The spread of Islam from the east extended into the Sahel, into the ear and converted the eldest son Tiekoro’s accustomed beliefs. The conflict that arouses with this is family members have to decide whether or not to convert to Islam or stick with Segu’s customary animist beliefs. This societal and cultural change gives these sons new identities as they moved to different communities. Siga is the complete opposite of his brother Tiekoro’s new belief and doesn’t want any part of it. I feel as if these two brothers represent the struggle many faced in Segu. It was just cool to see this theme being seed on both ends of the spectrum but also because they are brothers.
Of the next two brothers Naba and Malobali were captured by slave traders just ...
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...f their god Allah was destroying the other traditional Gods whom some of Bambara people had believed and some who continued believing in them. This new god Allah was more powerful than them.
After all these tragic events not only in the Traore family but also in Segu there was one thing to be noted that every person had the right to practice his or her own religion and the war that took place between El-Hadj Omar and the Fulanis of Mecina and Segu was not a war of religion but a war to gain personal pride.
“War is good because it makes our kings rich.
Wives, slaves, cattle- it brings them all these.
War is holy because it makes us muslims.
War is holy and good so may it set our skies aflame.”(490)
Works Cited
(2005, 04). Conflicts in the Novel "Segu". StudyMode.com. Retrieved 04, 2005, from http://www.studymode.com/essays/Conflicts-In-The-Novel-Segu-53888.html
This seems to illustrate Sembene’s personal storytelling about the patriotism and its effects on the post- colonial African. As the story of Black Girl seems to be nothing more than a tragedy of...
In David Northrup’s Africa’s discover of Europe, he gives an overview of the encounter between Africans and Europeans from 140-1850. Africans played a huge role of the globalizing of cultural and economic transactions. The first encounters between the two continents were mutual. Both parties tried to gain from each other through their transactions. The purpose of this book is to inform readers that we shouldn’t look at Africans as the victim, rather as an active contributor in the African-European relation.
In the novel Segu, Maryse Conde beautifully constructs personal and in depth images of African history through the use of four main characters that depict the struggles and importance of family in what is now present day Mali. These four characters and also brothers, by the names of Tiekoro, Siga, Naba, and Malobali are faced with a world changing around their beloved city of Bambara with new customs of the Islamic religion and the developing ideas of European commerce and slave trade. These new expansions in Africa become stepping stones for the Troare brothers to face head on and they have brought both victory and heartache for them and their family. These four characters are centralized throughout this novel because they provide the reader with an inside account of what life is like during a time where traditional Africa begins to change due to the forceful injection of conquering settlers and religions. This creates a split between family members, a mixing of cultures, and the loss of one’s traditions in the Bambara society which is a reflection of the (WHAT ARE SOME CHANGES) changes that occur in societies across the world.
Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart, is certainly the world’s most widely read African novel; it focuses on the life of Okonkwo a respected male in the early 1800’s in the Umuofia tribe of the Igbo people. Things Fall Apart, has gained much acknowledgment and recognition by virtue of its unique portrayal of life in the early 1800’s in colonial Africa. It has sparked controversy and debate between scholars; as a result of it being written by an African in 1958, this type of writing had never been seen before. This particular controversy was actually what Chinua Achebe, a celebrated 20th century Nigerian novelist was anticipating, when he composed Things Fall Apart, to describe Nigerian culture and the clash between indigenous African cultures with the traditional European culture.
When the Europeans arrived in Africa during the late eighteenth century the culture and the lives of the people of Africa are altered. Colonialism and Imperialism in Africa has adversely changed the way of life of the African people, and changed their culture, that had developed for so many years, unscathed by any distraction from the outside world. This dominant European influence has led to poverty in the African continent for the next 100 years, because of the institutions that were put into place by Europeans. In Things Fall Apart, it becomes clear that the Ibo culture responds in a distinct way to the European colonization; when compared to other villages and ethnic groups in Africa. These foreigners had such an enormous effect on the Ibo tribe that many of the clansmen decided to abandon the traditional ways or were too afraid to rise against the takeover of their tribe by the Europeans since the natives lacked the adequate technology to fight off the Europeans. The culture collision between Europe’s culture and the Ibo culture causes Nwoye’s sense of identity to be challenged and causes him to distance himself from his family and his tribe because of the introduction of Christianity and western ideals.
Mazrui, Ali A. "The Re-Invention of Africa: Edward Said, V. Y. Mudimbe, and Beyond." Research in African Literatures 36, no. 3 (Autumn 2005): 68-82.
This essay will provide a brief overview and personal opinion of the Modern African Literature of “Things Fall Apart”, “Efuru”, and “So Long a Letter”. These books directly identify the transformation required by each individual for their survival within the groups/clans where they resided. The main characters identified in each book were faced with making decisions that would alter and impact the course of their lives. These difficult decisions not only required them to regard their own well being but the well being of the community as a whole.
Toyin, Falola. “The Power of African Cultures.” Woodbridge, Suffolk, United Kingdom: University of Rochester Press, 2003. Print
In the Islamic conquest, Muslims conquered large areas consisting of distinct religion members. Muslims believed that all religions should be treated respectably; hence Jews and Christians followed ...
History has been told through various forms for decades. In the past, history was more commonly expressed through word of mouth, but more recently in the past century, through written text. While textbooks and articles give formal information with little to no bias, novels give a completely new perspective from the people who experienced it themselves. The Novels, God’s Bits of Wood, written by Sembene Ousmane, and No Longer at Ease, by Chinua Achebe give a more personal account of the effects of colonization. These two novels tackle the British and French method of colonization. God’s Bits of Wood takes place in the late 1940s and sheds light on the story of the railroad strike in colonial Senegal. The book deals with different ways that the Senegalese and Malians respond to colonialism during that time. No Longer at Ease is set in the 1950s and tells the early story of British colonialism and how the Nigerians responded to colonization. Comparing the two novels, there are obvious similarities and differences in the British and French ways of rule. African authors are able to write these novels in a way that gives a voice to the people that are most commonly silenced during colonialism. This perspective allows readers to understand the negative ways that colonization affects the colonized. Historical fiction like God’s Bits of Wood and No Longer at Ease are good educational tools to shed light on the history and effects of colonization, but they do not provide a completely reliable source for completely factual information.
Works of Fiction are very valuable in the study of the African Igbo history since they help us learn more about the different aspects of culture in their society. These aspects are what make every culture different and unique. Some examples include women’s role in the society, the significance of the Igbo cultural beliefs, and the importance of friends and family to the people who live there. Things Fall Apart, by Chinua Achebe, is a very well-written book which lets readers know more about the African culture. Achebe wrote it because he believed that “today, things have changed a lot, but it would be foolish to pretend that we have fully recovered from the traumatic effects of our first confrontation with Europe”(The Novelist as a Teacher
And while they are young they are the village cowhard and spent their childhood days in the grazing field. since from childhood Thouba the elder brother has always been very protective of Ningthem or Tomba as he calls his younger sibling. they are very poor but not the less they are quite happy with their old grandmother. When they are both in late teens their grandmother pass away, and after her death the boys have a very hard time trying to make two ends
Each step he takes, waves of guilt, desperation, and despair crash upon him, making each step heavier than the last. As a little ruffian running around with his brother to play cricket, escaping the airport guards, all these images flash before him, splaying out his entire life, making him realise he has spent his entire life, every minute of it with his brother. Even liking the same book, The Three Musketeers, and ultimately being known as Athos and Porthos, happy memories of their child hood surface within him. Yet right now, there he is, his little brother, Jamal, walking to what he thought was an audition for his singing skills and here, is the caring mature brother guiding his brother into the arms of Maman. Yet, unbeknownst to the younger brother, the end of the path to Maman also signifies the end to his eyesight. Though this is clearly known to Salim, thoughts on his future with wealth, women and power kept him leading his brother to a blind future. Selfish, to sacrifice is brother for such measly wants, yet it is human nature to brush aside moral and ethical concepts and r...
There is no doubt that European colonialism has left a grave impact on Africa. Many of Africa’s current and recent issues can trace their roots back to the poor decisions made during the European colonial era. Some good has resulted however, like modern medicine, education, and infrastructure. Africa’s history and culture have also been transformed. It will take many years for the scars left by colonization to fade, but some things may never truly disappear. The fate of the continent may be unclear, but its past provides us with information on why the present is the way it is.
Having done the above analysis on my favourite text, “Anowa” by Ama Ataa Aidoo, I realise that my like for the text have heightened because the analysis of Anowa has given me a deeper understanding of Africa’s colonialism. I now know what actually led to our colonialisation (the betrayal) and how it began(the bond of 1844) through the personal lives of Anowa and Kofi.