Welcome to Mauritius Culture
Culture of Mauritius
Ever heard about the Sega, ravanne , maravanne, "rougaille", or even the cavadee or did you ever wonder if ever there could be a better place on earth where interreligious groups of people are living peacefully next to each other, the humming of birds and evergreen nature contributing to this peaceful haven? Yes, we are referring to the only gem existent on earth where you can find a myriad of all these aspects; Mauritius. The Mauritian culture is bestowed with various attributes of its own and thus is renowned worldwide as being on one hand fascinating and on the other enclosing vast mysteries contributing to its uniqueness.
400 years ago this small island had known a blend of cultures originating from Europe, India, China, and Africa and so on. This resulted in a single culture, loaded with various traditions and customs still alive throughout all these decades. Its cuisine, religions, festivals, languages and literature are the unabashed proof of this existing culture and maybe it?s the only country where temples, churches, mosques and pagodas are elbowed next to each other. The subsistence of the conglomerate of religions in Mauritius bounds to give rise to diverse festivals being celebrated all year round in the island and they are namely the Mahashivratree, Divali, Eid-Ul-Fitr, Christmas, Easter, Chinese New year Cavadee among others. Visitors all around the world visit Mauritius just to have a glimpse of the celebrations which at times involves penitence ritual, complete devotion and splendor.
Moreover the
Mauritian culture is termed as being a multi-lingual country with a plethora of languages such as Hindi, Mandarin, Urdu, Tamil, Marathi and Cantonese. English is the official language of the country but Creole remains the only native language of this island which unites the hearts of all Mauritians. Creole contains dialects which emerged from both the French settlers and African Slaves. Also the folklore music of the island , which is the Sega is usually sung in Creole, this indigenous music is often accompanied by various traditional instruments such as the ?ravanne? , ?maravanne? and triangle. Another ancestral music is the Bhojpuri songs which originated from the Indian indentured laborers brought to the island long back. Some original artists have even merged Bhojpuri with Sega, giving their songs a unique taste appreciated by all Mauritians and even visitors to the island.
The rich diversity of the Mauritian culture extends till its cuisine. The manifold of spices, aromas flavors renders the Mauritian dishes exquisite. This exotic synthesis of oriental and occidental influences can be seen in the various dishes, such as the ?rougaile?, ?daube?, French gateaux among others. The Mauritian cuisine is a unique culinary experience and it is acclaimed all over the world. Mauritius has been referred so many times as a real rainbow nation; the arts in different domains, arising out of western and eastern origins have all shaped into an amazing kaleidoscopic texture of the Mauritian society. If you are keen to unfold this culture then this can be a journey into some of the most fascinating and refined thousands year old traditions.
Check out our
multicultural festivals that we are proud to celebrate hand in hand with all the other communities and you are the most welcomed to join in the celebration.
