The story can be viewed as an abridged version of West-African history, and the village as a microcosm of the continent. For Sembène, the Ceddo embody the resistance of a culture and a traditional way of life to the encroachments of Islam, Christianity and colonialism. The director argued; "I believe today that Africans must get beyond the question of colour, they must recognise the problems which confront the whole world, as human beings like other human beings.