Statue pays tribute to our ‘moutya’ By Patrick Joubert |16 December 2022
A statue was unveiled yesterday in the yard of the National Museum of History in commemoration of one year since our ‘moutya’ was listed as an intangible cultural heritage by the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) on December 15, 2021.
The statue, dubbed ‘Leko Moutya’, depicts a male person singing while beating a ‘moutya’ drum and flanked by two other ‘moutya’ drums.
The statue, sculpted by popular artist Steve Marie, was unveiled by the secretary general of the Seychelles National Institute for Culture, Heritage and the Arts (Snicha), David Andre, in the presence of Vice-President Ahmed Afif.
Also present were the chief of the Seychelles Defence Forces, Brigadier Michael Rosette; the permanent secretary of Snicha, Cecile Kalebi; the ambassador for culture, Patrick Victor; members of the diplomatic corps; staff of Snicha, other guests and the designer of the statue, Mr Marie.
In his opening remarks, Mr Andre said while Unesco has listed ‘moutya’ on its intangible cultural heritage list, we have to work to ensure that it remains alive and vibrant so that it will continue to remain on the list.
He noted that since we have been inscribed by Unesco, a lot of work has been done during this year to further promote our cultural heritage locally and internationally.
He said that being recognised on the world platform, for our cultural heritage achievements, has been a cause for reflection but also a cause for celebrations more of which will feature in the future.
Mr Andre thanked all the artists, individuals and groups in the community for the continued work to promote and to proudly and vibrantly celebrate ‘moutya’.
He added that we, as Seychellois citizens, have a role to play to ensure that the cultural heritage, passed on to us by our ancestors, remains alive in all corners of the country.e thanked
The statue is also in remembrance of the past and the current ‘moutya’ drummers and ‘moutya’ singers whose contributions have resulted in our ‘moutya’ being recognised by Unesco.
The names of 21 among them have been engraved on the statue.
Mr Andre said that having their names engraved on the statue is a way to honour their actions to preserve the cultural heritage which we are celebrating today.
He added that other ‘moutya’ singers and drummers will also be honoured in the future for preserving the cultural heritage and their names will be engraved on the statue.
‘Moutya’, the sensual music and dance accompanied by beats from drums made out of goat skins, is the creation of the African slaves brought to our country in the 18th century. It was their way of communicating and passing on messages among themselves of their sentiments and sufferings without the understanding of their masters.
The ‘moutya’, our national heritage, was among 48 nominations listed for evaluation by the Unesco team. It was Mr Andre who made the announcement that our ‘moutya’ was likely to be listed by Unesco as a cultural heritage art that has to be preserved for humanity after attending the 41st general conference of Unesco from November 9-24, 2021 in Paris, France, following which it was officially inscripted on December 15, 2021.
During yesterday’s ceremony, Vice-President Afif and Mr Andre were both presented with a ‘moutya’ drum. The guests were also entertained with a ‘moutya’ dance performed by some students from the Anse Bioleau and Ile Perseverance secondary schools who participated in a ‘moutya’ workshop earlier this year.
Mr Marie said that he was approached by Snicha to work on the statue and it took him one year to sculpt it. e adWhile he declined to name the materials he used to make the statue, he stated that the figure beating the drum is of his own imagination.
Several activities have been planned by Snicha to celebrate the one year since ‘moutya’ has been recognised by Unesco, among which is a ‘moutya’ extravaganza to be held today at the Stad Popiler car park from 4pm until late in the evening.
The ‘Leko Moutya’ statue joins national monument statues of Queen Victoria (our former Queen in the 1830s) and Pierre Poivre (our French administrator in the 1770s), in the yard of the National Museum of History which faces the Clock Tower, our national monument of over a hundred years.
The 21 ‘moutya’ pioneers engraved on the ‘Leko Moutya’ statue are Olive Niole, Andreix Rosalie, Bernard Dufresne, Channel Kilindo, Brian Matombe, Norville Ernesta, Elvis Seraphine, Barnet Bertin, Joachim Franchette and Derick Andrew (drummer/singers) and Georges Hollanda, Robert-Lai-Lam, Rodolphin Franchette, David Camille, Anthony Niole, Marcel Julie, Philip Revera, Jean Baptist Katern, Alix Melanie, Hendrise Marie (drummers). Lucie Franchette is the only female engraved on the statue as a ‘moutya’ singer.
The accompanying photos show some highlights of the ceremony yesterday.
Photos by Patrick Joubert
