Santé engagé
| Santé engazé | |
|---|---|
| Stylistic origins | Sega music, Indian music and Western music |
| Cultural origins | 1970s Mauritius |
| Typical instruments | Typical Mauritian Sega instruments: ravanne - maravane - triangle Indian instruments: Tabla - harmonium - sitar Western instruments: Guitar - drums - Bass - Djembe - Violin - Harmonica |
| Other topics | |
| Grup Latanier - Soley Ruz - Bam Cuttayen - Siven Chinien - Zul Ramiah - Zenfan Dodo | |
Santé engagé (in Mauritian creole: santé engazé) is a genre of Mauritian music which consists of singing protest songs. It is a way to protest against political/social oppression and repression through music. The genre mixes traditional Mauritian sega with Indian and Western influences.
The 1960s and 1970s (“les années de braise”) have been a very bustling period in the history of Mauritius. It has been a period of high interracial tension leading to more than 300 deaths due to interracial affrays. It has also been an indecisive period with regard to the cultural heirloom of the island with a deep reconsidering of the multicultural image.
Mauritius attained independence from Great Britain in 1968 without real exhilaration. A profound division prevailed between, on one side, the members of the independent movement and, on the other side, the anti-independentists. The island is faced with a vertiginously high level of unemployment and people still had in mind the recent interracial tensions peaking in 1964 and 1968.
Under the pretext of security and law & order, the newly formed government of Mauritius took highly repressive measures against opponents who intended to put forward ideas adverse to those of the governing regime.
Even though independence was declared in 1968, British colonial presence and dominance remained clearly visible throughout the 1970s.
Faced with such restrictions, youngsters (mostly university students) started to set up groups to debate on all ideological topics including politics and culture. Several students, among others Dev Virahsawmy, Jooneed Jeeroburkhan, Tirat Ramkisoon, Krishen Matis, Ah-Ken Wong, Kreeti Goburdhun, Vella Vengaroo created the Club of Students (Club des Etudiants). With the participation of Paul Bérenger, the Club of Students became the Club of Militant Students (Clubs des Etudiants militants). The Club later gave way to the creation of the Mauritian Militant Movement (in 1969) lauding national unity and social justice, inspired from the Libertarian Marxism movement.
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