Maryse Condé's third novel Segu (originally "Ségou: les murailles de terre") is divided into five parts, each of which is titled. Most of the titles are fairly obvious, "Part Two: The Wind Scatters the Grains of Millet", for example, surely refers to the dispersal of Dousika's sons across the world. The first part, however, is titled rather more obscurely as "The Word that Descends by Night". What is meant by this? What is the "word" referred to here, and what is its significance?
asked Aug 23 at 11:27
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I'd love to answer this but it's hard to answer without access to the books. Do you have a copy of it?– LambieCommented Aug 24 at 16:21
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@Lambie The French text and the English translation are available for loan from the Internet Archive.– Gareth ReesCommented Aug 24 at 17:36
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The original French text is La parole qui tombe de nuit, which DeepL translates as The word that falls by night or The word that goes out at night. The verb tomber has lots of meanings in French, so other meanings may also be possible.– Peter ShorCommented Aug 25 at 20:44
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1 Answer
I haven't read very far into the book yet, but I believe that this title refers to the sounds the dubale tree in Dousika Traore's courtyard makes at night, that he believes are the spirits of his ancestors talking to him.
An excerpt from the book in French:
La nuit venue, les esprits des ancêtres se dissimulaient dans son feuillage et veillaient sur le sommeil des vivants. Quand ils étaient malcontents, ils le faisaient savoir en exprimant une série de sons légers, à la fois mystérieux et transparents comme un code. Alors, ceux à qui l’expérience a donné le pouvoir de les déchiffrer, hochaient la tête:
« Attention, nos pères ont parlé ce soir! »
And in English:
At night the spirits of the ancestors hid in its branches and watched over the sleep of the living. When they were displeased, they showed it by making faint sounds, at once mysterious and as clear as a code. Then, those experienced enough to decipher them shook their heads and said “Beware—tonight our fathers have spoken.”
One comment: I suspect the translator misparsed one of the lines of French, and it should really read "simultaneously mysterious and clear, like a code."
A question that was asked in chat was: Why is it "the word" in singular when a message from the ancestors would probably consist of several words.
This may be another infelicitous translation from the French: the word parole in French can mean one word, but it can also mean a phrase. The best definition I've found for the meaning in the title is from the Larousse dictionary:
Parole: Chose dite par quelqu'un et à laquelle on attribue une grande valeur.
Parole: Something said by somebody to which great importance is attributed.
