[messages-by-music-senegal-in-transition--Film-list-image]

2013 / 76 minutes

Directed by
Cornelia Strasse
Country of production
Switzerland Senegal

The traditional musicians in Senegal were in charge of retaining the history of their ethnic group, along with ways of thinking and behaving. Their aim was to conserve the society. Nowadays the griots have lost much of their importance. Their world is vanishing, but not their methods. Awadi, one of the first and best known rappers in Western Africa, picked up the method of the griots to launch his message to the people. But unlike the griots, his aim is to change society. Awadi is fighting Pan-Africanism, a movement which can’t be understood without having colonialism and its still lasting after-effects in mind. This films offers an insight into contemporary Senegalese society, reflecting its ethnic, linguistic, religious and musical diversity.

Language and subtitles
French Wolof Peulh Diola Mandigo and English with English Subtitles
Region
East Africa
Country
Senegal
Keywords
Music / Ethnomusicology Colonialism / Postcolonialism Social Change Political Activists Resistance