Quotes from Xala — Ousmane Sembène
1923–2007 Senegal
← All quotes by Ousmane Sembène
5 quotes
Just as nature re-imposes its life on ruins with small tufts of grass, the ancestral atavism of fetishism was being reawakened in El Hadji.
Xala (1973)
Daughter, don't you know that in this country the man who is in gaol is better off than the worker or the peasant? No taxes to pay and in addition you are fed, lodged, and cared for."
Xala (1973)
In effect, he had three villas and three wives, but where was his real home? At the houses of the three wives he was merely 'passing through.' Three nights each! He had nowhere a corner of his own into which he could withdraw and be alone."
Xala (1973)
El Hadji Abdou Kader Beye was what one might call a synthesis of two cultures: business had drawn him into the European middle class after a feudal African education. Like his peers, he made skillful use of his dual background, for their fusion was not complete.
Xala (1973)
Today, for the first time in three months since he had slapped her on the afternoon of his wedding, they had had a serious conversation. Rama had been the only one who dared oppose the marriage. Pity she was a girl. He would have been able to make something of her had she been a boy."
Xala (1973)