The Title

Ségou: The second city in Mali, former capital of a Bambara kingdom which reigned over the central part of Western Africa during the 18th and 19th centuries. The Bambara kingdom of Ségou was defeated in 1861 by the Tukolor conqueror El Hadji Ouamar Tall. In 1890, his son Ahmadou Sékou was defeated by the French when they took the city.

Fassa : A fassa is an epic narrative, usually told by griots, through which are handed down historical information, moral or religious representations, illustrations of great names from the past and a taste for fine language. The play is inspired by the fassa of Ségou in the version given by the Griot Baba Sissoko.


The Story

Ségou, 21st century. In a "maquis", one of those bars where artists, drinkers and night people of all kinds traverse the night, a European comes to ask for the hand of a young prostitute, but to everyone's astonishment, she refuses …

Ségou 18th century. The Bambara kingdom is subject to tribute by the terrible Bilissi, hero of a foreign power come from over the water. But the noble and courageous Bakary Dian decides to confront him…

The play Ségou Fassa crosses the two stories and places today's Mali in front of the mirror of the grand archetypes which have constructed its identity. An occasion to share the sometimes comical, sometimes tragic adventures of colourful characters, but also to explore the moral crisis which torments contemporary Africa.


Working on the maana

A maana is a great public recital given by griots or hunters on the occasion of social ceremonies. This form of entertainment is the basis of the thinking which led to the writing, then the creation of Ségou Fassa. Based on aligning ancient events with the issues of contemporary society, a maana blends narration, song, known refrains, commentaries on the families present, and political or moral issues. Ségou Fassa attempts to put on the stage this shuttling to and fro, with the ambition of taking the audience into legendary Africa, but also to touch their hearts with the way these great archetypes contribute to construct the identity of today's Mali.


The Text

The play is inspired by the narratives of Djéli Baba Sissoko, one of the most prolific and most valued writers in the Bambara language in Mali. Produced orally, these texts show a remarkable poetic and dramatic art which hold huge audiences spellbound. Jean-Louis Sagot-Duvauroux has translated some of them. In a way, they make up the soul of the play. If the theatrical action sometimes departs totally from the Baba Sissoko text (and even from the events it reports), it returns to it in a recurring way, either by adapting it freely for the stage, or by embedding it purely and simply in the dramatic action.