Xala, by Ousmane Sembene, takes a peak at life in post-colonial Africa. The Africans were successful in driving out the colonizers, but the damage had already been done. The novel portrays the idea of neocolonialism beautifully, as it shows how influential the Europeans were and how they reshaped life in Africa. In fact El Hadji eventually realizes that the powerful Europeans still have control over himself as well as the rest of his business group.
I think the curse of the xala that was placed on El Hadji served as a symbolic warning against becoming "too European," or losing touch with their African roots. Yay Bineta blames the xala on El Hadji's refusal to participate in pre-wedding traditions. But El Hadji seems interested only in following traditions that seem beneficial to him, such as polygamy. His main concern was his own well-being; in particular, his wealth and reputation. He was physically attracted to N'Gone, but he was not in love with her and had no intention of marrying her prior to the persistence of Yay Bineta. He then threw a lavish wedding which showed just how much money he had, and taking on another wife was a huge monetary commitment which further proved his financial stability. In pre-colonial Africa, money was unimportant and for the most part did not even exist. But post-colonial Africa mean that Africans had to be just as concerned with money as the rest of the world, as they could no longer survive on their system of bartering.
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