Music, dance and storytellingSub-Saharan Africa
Sega tambour Chagos
A Sega music and drum tradition of the Chagos islands, kept by Chagossians in Mauritius
Sega tambour Chagos is a Sega music tradition of Mauritius that grew out of the Chagos Archipelago and is sung in Chagossian creole. A large round drum called the tambour carries the rhythm, with whistle, triangle and rattle joining it. Chagossians resettled in Mauritius from 1967 keep it, and UNESCO lists it for urgent safeguarding.
Sega tambour Chagos is a music tradition of Mauritius in the Sega family, and it began in the Chagos Archipelago. Its songs are in Chagossian creole, the language of those islands. A large round drum called the tambour sets the rhythm, with whistle, triangle and rattle around it. Chagossians who left the archipelago for Mauritius keep it today, and UNESCO lists it as heritage in need of urgent safeguarding.
What it is
Sega tambour Chagos is a branch of Sega, the music associated with Mauritius, and it grew out of the Chagos Archipelago. Its songs are sung in Chagossian creole, the creole of those islands. The name points to the drum at the centre of it, the tambour. This is music of one community rather than of a whole island: the Chagossians, whose home islands lie in the Indian Ocean. Mauritius counts it among its Sega music, and it is passed on by the people who belong to it.
Instruments and sound
The tambour is a large circular percussion instrument, and it carries the basic rhythm of a piece. Around that pulse sit three other sounds: a whistle, a triangle and a rattle. Voices sing the words in Chagossian creole. These are the parts named in descriptions of Chagos Sega, and a recording from 2019 shows the Chagos Tambour Group performing a piece called Galoupe bosan, which is one published example of the line-up in practice.
From Chagos to Mauritius
Chagos is administered as part of the British Indian Ocean Territory, and Mauritius claims it. Diego Garcia, the largest island and the one furthest south, has people on it, and a naval support facility run jointly by the United Kingdom and the United States stands there. Between 1967 and 1973 the islands' residents, many of them agricultural workers, were relocated. Most went to Mauritius and some to Seychelles. The music went with them, and what had been island music became largely the music of a displaced community living elsewhere.
Safeguarding the tradition
In 2019 Mauritius put the tradition forward for UNESCO, and it was inscribed on the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding. The decision came at the committee's 14th session, under the reference 01490. Being on that list records that the practice is seen as needing urgent protection rather than as something secure. It places a Mauritian music tradition among the world's living heritage considered to be at risk, and it names the community and the state party as the ones responsible for it.
How Sega tambour Chagos is kept
A performance brings a group together. One person beats the tambour, a big round drum, and that pattern is the base of the piece. Other players take the whistle, the triangle and the rattle. The singing is in Chagossian creole, so the words belong to the islands even when the group is playing far from them. Recordings from 2019 show the Chagos Tambour Group playing in this way. Because the music is on UNESCO's urgent list, keeping players and singers learning it is treated as pressing.
When and where
It is kept in Mauritius, where a large part of the Chagossian community settled, and it began in the Chagos Archipelago, which Mauritius claims. Smaller numbers of Chagossians went to Seychelles between 1967 and 1973, when the islands were emptied of their residents. Within Mauritius the music belongs to Chagossian families and groups.
What Sega tambour Chagos means
The music keeps a language alive, since it is sung in Chagossian creole, the speech of the archipelago. Its name ties it to Chagos as well as to Sega, so listeners hear both the islands and Mauritius in it. UNESCO placed it on the urgent safeguarding list in 2019, which records that the community and the state party see it as something that could be lost.
Questions people ask about Sega tambour Chagos
What is Sega tambour Chagos?
It is a music tradition of Mauritius that grew out of the Chagos Archipelago. It belongs to the Sega family and is sung in Chagossian creole. A large circular drum called the tambour provides the basic rhythm, and a whistle, a triangle and a rattle play alongside it.
Where is it kept today?
Mostly in Mauritius, where the greater part of the Chagossian community settled after leaving the islands between 1967 and 1973. Some former residents went to Seychelles. The tradition's origins lie in the Chagos Archipelago, which Mauritius claims.
Which instruments does it use?
Four sounds are named in descriptions of Chagos Sega: the tambour, a large circular percussion instrument that carries the basic rhythm, and then a whistle, a triangle and a rattle. Voices sing over them in Chagossian creole.
Why is it on a UNESCO urgent list?
In 2019 UNESCO inscribed it on the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding, at the 14th session of the committee, with Mauritius as the state party. That listing means the practice is considered to need protection rather than being secure.
What language are the songs in?
Chagossian creole, the creole language of the Chagos islands. It is named as the language of the tradition's songs, which keeps the speech of the archipelago attached to the music even after the community resettled elsewhere.
See also
SegaA music and dance tradition from Mauritius and Réunion with Afro-Malagasy roots.
RamlilaOpen-air community plays staged across autumn nights, recounting the journey of Rama.
DiwaliA five-day festival of lights celebrated across India and its diaspora to mark the victory of light over darkness.
Raksha BandhanA Hindu festival where sisters tie a protective thread on their brothers' wrists to mark their bond.Good reading and sources
The facts on this page come from the Wikipedia article "Sega tambour Chagos", written by its contributors and used under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence, and from its Wikidata record (CC0). EveryParampara rewrote the text in its own words, with AI assistance, and compares every page with the article to make sure no passage is copied. It may be reused under the same CC BY-SA 4.0 licence with a link back.
It may contain mistakes. Traditions differ from one family, village and community to the next, and the people who keep them know them best. If something is wrong, tell us. Last refreshed 2026-10-11.
More from Mauritius
All the traditions of Mauritius
🇲🇺 Mauritius and 3 moreSegaséga
A music and dance tradition from Mauritius and Réunion with Afro-Malagasy roots.Performance
🇮🇳 Varanasi, India and 5 moreRamlilaरामलीला
Open-air community plays staged across autumn nights, recounting the journey of Rama.Performance
🇮🇳 Ayodhya, India and 10 moreDiwaliदीपावली (Dīpāvalī)
A five-day festival of lights celebrated across India and its diaspora to mark the victory of light over darkness.Festival · Feasts and festival meals
🇮🇳 India and 4 moreRaksha Bandhan
A Hindu festival where sisters tie a protective thread on their brothers' wrists to mark their bond.Festival
The same idea elsewhere
All of this kind
🇳🇿 Auckland, New ZealandPoi
A Māori performing art of swinging tethered weights in rhythmical patterns.Performance
🇵🇭 Philippines and 1 morePangalay
A traditional fingernail dance of the Tausūg and Bajau peoples in the Sulu Archipelago and Sabah.Performance
🇺🇦 Kyiv, UkraineBanduraБандура
A Ukrainian plucked string instrument played to accompany epic songs and folk balladsPerformance
🇵🇱 Kraków, PolandSt. Mary's Trumpet CallHejnał mariacki
A five-note bugle call played hourly from the tower of St. Mary's Church in Kraków, Poland.Performance