Mauritius Independence Day 2011

Today Mauritius celebrate  its 43rd anniversary of independence.

Rosabelle Boswell, Le Malaise Creole: Ethnic Identity In Mauritius

ROSABELLE BOSWELL, Le Malaise Creole: ethnic identity in Mauritius. New York and Oxford: Berghahn Books. 2006.

Le malaise Creole (the Creole malaise) refers to the persistence of poverty, social problems and political marginalization amongst Creoles of mixed, African or Malagasy descent, who comprise 29 per cent of the Mauritian population (the remainder is 66 per cent Indo-, 3 per cent Sino-, and 2 per cent Franco-Mauritian). Boswell examines four established (and interdependent) interpretations of the phenomenon through the lens of her ethnographic research amongst Creoles in Mauritius. In the first interpretation, le malaise Creole is seen as a consequence of dispossession and physical and psychological violence under slavery, which had a fragmenting impact upon identity, solidarity and economy (although, as Boswell goes on to argue, this fails to account for the continuing Creole evocation of both primordial and hybrid identities). In the second interpretation, le malaise Creole is a social pathology resulting from the lack of a pre-existing, underlying Creole identity (as Boswell points out, this does not explain the existence of other, more positive Creole responses to oppression). Third, Boswell outlines the claim that the African heritage and hybridity of Creoles (rather than their experiences of colonialism and slavery per se) has resulted in their destructive tendencies (a primordialist and essentialist claim that Boswell is quick to refute). Finally, Boswell outlines the suggestion that le malaise Creole is a concept deployed by Creole political and socio-cultural groups to homogenize and mobilize Creoles (she notes that this view fails to recognize the continuing impact of slavery on Creoles' access to resources in Mauritius).

buy

Kaya & Racinetatan - Lam Sacrifice

Rare video from the King of Seggae