At the end of the week, Mauritius will celebrate Chinese New Year. Two weeks ago, we celebrated Thaipoosam Cavadee, a tamil festival celebrating Lord Muruga and a few weeks from now, Mauritians of Hindu faith will embark on a pilgrimage to Ganga Talao, a sacred lake on the Central Plateau in honor of the Hindu God Shiva. Mauritius, you must have noticed it by now, is an absolute melting pot of cultures and religions. Four main religious groups can be found amongst the Mauritian population: Islam, Hinduism, Christianism and Buddhism.
How did it happen?
You might know that by now, Mauritius has been a Dutch, a French and a British colony, although the Arabs were the very first to discover the island. When the Dutch, French and British settled, however, they brought with them slaves from the African countries, especially Mozambique and Madagascar. Christianity was imposed on these slaves. The very first inhabitants were mainly Roman Catholics.
Later on, when slavery was abolished, indentured laborers were brought in from India and what is today known as Pakistan. These immigrants were brought in in mass as very cheap labor to work in sugarcane fields and brought with them Hinduism, Islam and Indian culture.
And finally, much later on, a wave of Chinese immigrants brought with them Buddhism in search of a better future in Mauritius, mainly as shop owners.
Because of its immigration history, Mauritius has a rich cultural heritage. And this shows in various aspects of life in Mauritius. Language, cuisine, music, festivals celebrated are just a few areas in which these different cultures are reflected.
Religion
Mauritius is home to the most popular religions in the world, and to religious groups that have also not always been able to live side by side. On the island, however, religious groups cohabitate rather peacefully. It would be untrue to say that there have not been religious and racial tensions in the past. In 1968, for example, while the country was becoming independent, it went through a period of religious tension and later, in 1999 a racially-motivated riot.
Other than that, however, Mauritians of all religions and backgrounds cohabitate in peace and even partake in each other's religious and cultural celebrations. It is not unusual to see Catholics on the Maha Shivaratri pilgrimage and Christmas, for example, is celebrated by all.
Do not be surprised, either, with the plethora of religious buildings and areas dedicated to prayers you can find on the island. Mandirs (Hindu temples), churches, mosques and pagodas cohabitate in Mauritius and you will find one in every town and village on the island.
There are a few not-to-be-missed religious buildings or places on the island. The Grand-Bassin lake on the Central Plateau is one of them. This is a sacred place for Hindus who go on a pilgrimage there every year. The next one is on the 11th of March this year and it is a public holiday. There are a few churches that are worth a visit, too. Churches on the island are not only religious places but also places full of history as a lot of them date back to Mauritius' colonial period.
French, English, Creole and so much more…
The island's last colonial owners were the British and the country has, as a result, inherited English as its official language. However, quite unusually, French is more widely spoken than English in everyday life. Of course, Mauritian creole is the mother tongue of most Mauritians.
But if you thought that was it, think again! When they came to Mauritius, the Indian and Chinese immigrants brought with them their cultures and languages. Therefore, Bhojpuri, Hindi, Arabic, Urdu and Mandarin is also spoken on the island, although mostly by members of the respective communities. The most widely spoken is probably bhojpuri which is a Mauritian dialect derived from hindi and creole. As Hindus make up almost 40% of the population, Bollywood culture is very popular in Mauritius with regular appearances from Indian artists as well as several Bollywood cinemas on the island.
