Joal

Joal!

I remember. Conveys a feeling of wonder and excitement

I remember the regal signare women under the green shade

of verandas,

Those mulatto signare women with eyes as surreal as

moonlight on the shore.

I remember the past glory of Sunset

That Koumba NDofne wanted woven into his royal cloak. Senghor imaginatively
weaves something as colorful and immaterial as a sunbeam into a royal cloak, a
whimsical view of the majesty of his countries history
I remember the funeral feasts streaming with the blood of
slaughtered livestock,
The noise of quarrels, the rhapsodies of the griots.

I remember the pagan voices singing the Tantum Ergo,

The processions and the palms and the triumphal arches.
I remember the dance of the nubile girls,
The wrestling songsOh! the final dance of the young men
Poised slender and tall
And the womens pure shout of loveKor Siga!
Fills the stanza with life and motion
Sensual, implies bodily closeness, women dance and shout for the wrestlers,
increasing the scenes passion
Shout of lovesexual burst of climatic energy
Reflects Senghors nearly orgasmic love of his homeland

I remember, I remember
My head beating the rhythm
Of such a weary walk through the long days of Europe
Where sometimes an orphan jazz comes sobbing, sobbing,
sobbing.
(Lopold Sdar Senghor, Shadow Songs, 1945)

This last stanza tells of how unhappy Senghor was in Europe

How he missed his native Senegal

Pines after Senegal like a woman

Not only references jazz, but also cultural exchange

Reflects on how he missed his homeland during his time in Europe

Picassos work (cubism) was inspired by African masks

In Europe, jazz is uprooted, lacking any of the cultural backing of hundreds of

years of Black heritage as with the joyous shouts of the women in Joal
 Joal (in the original French)
Joal!
Je me rappelle.

Je me rappelle les signares l'ombre verte des vrandas

Les signares aux yeux surrels comme un clair de lune sur la grve.

Je me rappelle les fastes du Couchant

O Koumba NDofne voulait faire tailler son manteau royal.

Je me rappelle les festins funbres fumant du sang des troupeaux gorgs

Du bruit des querelles, des rhapsodies des griots.

Je me rappelle les voix paennes rythmant le Tantum Ergo

Et les processions et les palmes et les arcs de triomphe.
Je me rappelle la danse des filles nubiles
Les choeurs de lutte - oh ! la danse finale des jeunes hommes, buste
Pench lanc, et le pur cri d'amour des femmes - Kor Siga !

Je me rappelle, je me rappelle...
Ma tte rythmant
Quelle marche lasse le long des jours dEurope o parfois
Apparat un jazz orphelin qui sanglote sanglote sanglote.

(Lopold Sdar Senghor, Chants dombre, 1945)

Notes (Dr. Hickey):

Senghor was born in Joal, Senegal, a fishing village south of Dakar. We will be visiting Joal on 5
July 2011.

Signare womensee Culture and Customs of Senegal pages 11, 64, 77, 87-88.

Koumba NDofne was a king of the Sine people* see Culture and Customs of Senegal pages 4,
8, 13-18, 42, 45, 61.*

Tantum ergo are the opening words of the last two verses of the Catholic Pange Lingua a
medieval Latin hymn written by Saint Thomas Aquinas.

*the Kingdom of Sine began in approximately 1200 C.E., was located on the north bank of the
Saloum River, and was composed of Serer (also spelled Srre, Sereer, Serere) people which is
the third largest ethnic group in present-day Senegal. Senghor was a Serer.
http://www.fas.usda.gov/pecad2/highlights/2001/10/senegal/pictures/Senegal_irrigation.jpg