Combining high pageantry with raw politics, in Ceddo Sembène gives cinematic form to the ancient verbal tradition by which African history, culture, and myth are transmitted. The film is a period piece set in a feudal village suffering the dual threats of Muslim expansion and French slave traders. The royal family has converted to Islam, while the ceddo, or common people, cling to their customs and fetishistic religion. A champion of the ceddo engineers the kidnapping of a Muslim princess, activating a militant confrontation. In the guise of a dynamic political thriller, Ceddo takes on a number of taboo subjects-the Islamic influence in Senegal, African support for the slave trade to the West, the traditionally low status of women-becoming a reflection on all forms of colonialism in Africa. Ironically, the film was banned in Senegal, ostensibly because Sembène refused to spell the title (pronounced Ched-doe) in the European manner (i.e., Cedo).