Segu essays

Segu essays In the novel Segu, By Maryse Conde, the Islamic religion and culture is very heavily infused within the existing animistic culture of the Bambaras in Segu. The characters are vastly changed because of this infusion, which leads to the development of a whole new culture. The author depicts this new culture because of her personal feelings on the existence of "Africans" in areas around the world. Her position on the blending of numerous cultural identities is that the people within them must accept all of them, not just one. From the beginning of the story, the Islamic religion penetrates itself into the existing culture in the Segu Empire. The traditional religion was one in which there are many gods and spirits that control the lives and destinies of mortal humans. Fetishism was also commonplace in the culture, in the sense that people decorate themselves with various objects in order to please their gods and to maintain a good future for them, as in the case with Nya offering an egg to the family boli to promote peace and a good life for the newborn. Magic was also a staple in Bambara culture, with the existence of soothsayers and fetish priests, who used magical powers to predict the future. Islamic religion first showed its "face" in Segu by the presence of their way of dressing and the eastern goods that existed within the city limits. Merchants also inhabited the city, which instilled a more capitalistic presence in Segu. The mosque was also a display of the presence of Islam within Segu. The character that was the most affected by the presence of Islam was Tiekoro, who easily embraced the religion. Curiosity of something out of the norm was what drew him to the mosque, where he learned of the written word, which was completely opposite of the oral tradition which was existed in Segu. Tiekoro's passion for non-conformity is what brought him into Islam. He liked the fact that in Islam, there was more a more tangibl...