�Tribal Scars� by Ousmae Semb�ne opens as a frame story in which a man named Saer and his friends are enjoying a lively discussion. Saer has posed a question to his friends, �Why do we have tribal scars?� The discussion following opened up a lot of conflict between these men. The story is much more than just conflict between slave traders and natives, but actually a deep-rooted heritage steeped in emotion from that conflict. This ends up causing even more conflict.
In the story, Semb�ne describes a leader of a slave-hunting band whose name is Momutu. We find out that Momutu�s childhood was full of screams and terror in the bush. All of this can be reduced to one word describing his childhood- conflict. It�s no wonder Momutu decided to join the enemy so that he himself would not be taken captive. This is a major example of conflict actually pushing a person to disregard his culture and turn against his brothers.
Also in the story, is the protagonist Amoo. Amoo actually killed his wife before the story started to keep her from being a slave. When we first meet him, he is a member of a slave-hunting band. However, he really only joined this band to save his daughter Iome. This shows how conflict can make a man risk his own life for another person. This seems to be an example of internal conflict, choosing between right and wrong. Soon, an external conflict develops between the slave-hinters and Amoo when they have an internal conflict as to whether to keep their word and set Amoo free or keep him as a slave. Amoo escapes this and returns to his village only to find that the slave-hunters are after his own village.
Finally, all of these conflicts come together to answer the question raised by Saer at the beginning of the story. Amoo realizes the slave traders do not take disfigured or ugly slaves, so he cuts his daughter Iome all over her body to save her from the slave traders. They indeed, do not accept her appearance and leave her in peace.
This shows how much conflict had built up and had to be released in one huge explosion of conflict: the scarring of Iome. This huge explosion actually helped lessen the overall conflict because the villagers who scarred themselves would no longer be taken as slaves. Overall, this story was one that could not have taken place without the ever-present help of conflict. Saer and his friends had finally found the answer they sought about their nation�s use of tribal scars. Indeed, a rich history like theirs is one that should be honored.