Abdoulaye Sadji was born in 1910 in Rufisque, a little town in the suburb of Dakar, Senegal. His brilliant student career at the William Ponty Teacher Training College which was the breeding ground for the elite of the colonial administration from where he earned a teachers’ diploma.
He died rather unexpectedly in Rufisque in 1961 at the height of his career as an educationist and a writer. In the course of his professional duties he became involved in life of the people. His entire work is a testimony of the sincerity of this involvement. One must see in this will to paint the uniqueness of his people the main theme of this work. Apart from the numerous short stories characteristically full of good humour which he presented in his “Modu Fatim” and his “Tragique Hymenee”, his “Tunka” which appeared in “Presence Africaine” is worth mentioning.
In his mythological work Tunka written in a remarkably classic style he traces the origins of the Lebus of the Cape Verde Islands, narrating the story of this long movement towards the Atlantic and the fantastic adventure of Tunka who is associated with the “People of the Sea.”
“Nini, the Mulatress of Senegal: “(Presence Africaine 1954)
In this book Sadji examines the position of half-castes who torn between Europe and Africa, seek to deny their origins by resorting to snubism and pretention.
“Maimouna:” (Presence Africaine 1958).
His work is famous for its touching moral message and its picture of the life of the young top-level administrators in Dakar as well as its relations about education of a young girl, superstitions, flair for glamour and so on.
This novel is certainly a good boost for those wishing to write novels on morality in Senegal.
MOHAMADU K
