‘Le Cantique du rasta’ (2021) by Sharon Paul is inspired by the life and death of famous Mauritian musician, Kaya, who tragically passed away in police custody on the 21st of July 1999 and the riot that followed for days afterwards.
Paul takes me back in time and squeezes out memories of the time of Kaya's death. I find it quite difficult to explain the feeling reading this book. I feel a sense of nostalgia accompanied with anticipation and pride. At times, I found myself putting the book down to listen and really hear the music and words of Kaya, researching and learning about his career and life that I may have missed or too young to remember or care for.
Sharon Paul draws us into the lives of Nas and Majo. Nas and Majo live in the cité (public housinge state) and lead a modest and happy life. I spent months reading this book, even though the book is quite short (108 pages). I did not want to finish it and tried to stay longer with the characters and in the space created by Paul... nostalgia, anticipation, pride...
Throughout the story, I am drawn back to my childhood, visions of life in Mauritius, especially when Sharon Paul describes everyday items and mundane occurrences like the karapats (tics) on the walls in the cité. This is so strange! I can remember my dad killing those huge tics on the walls of our house. We also lived in a cité! And there was even a Jamalac (rose apple) tree around the corner. What does try Jamalac even taste like? It’s soft and crunchy at the same time, beautiful light pink gem-like colour and not too sweet. This fruit is more texture than taste for me ... and the cocotte minute (pressure cooker) that still whistles in my kitchen today... nostalgia, anticipation, pride...
Nas finally meets Mémoire and they embark on their music journey, the seggae.
Je vais vous interpréter la première chanson que j'ai écrite... ça s'appelle du seggae, on a pris le reggae jamaïcain et on y a ajoute note créole mauricien et les sonorités du séga.
I will sing this first song I wrote... it's called seggae, we fused the sound of the reggae and added it to our creole and the sound of the sega.
To talk about Nas, Kaya or the seggae, we also have to talk about slavery, displacement, oppresion and injustice. Sharon Paul, weaves the creole malaise and generational trauma that can still be felt by the characters, through Nas' voice and lyrics: Of the sun that shines for some and burns so hard for others… So they learn to love the night, colour of their skin.
The legacy of Nas and Kaya lives on through the music, the seggae that live on across generations and continue to be a voice for the people.
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