Mauritius Culture & Traditions

Mauritius culture is an amalgamation of varied cultures & traditions that living in a harmonious state of unification with people are of different ethnic backgrounds.

History has it that some residents on the Islands are descendants from continental Africa (Mauritian Creole people usually known as ‘Creoles’), China (Sino-Mauritian), India (Indo-Mauritian) and France (Franco-Mauritian) among other places.

It is such diverse multi-cultural, multi-ethnic, multi-religious and multi-lingual backgrounds that define the characteristic behavior of the Mauritians.

Popular is a Sega dance that is performed by social dancers who move their hips to the well tuned and enjoyable melodies. This original style of Sega dances draws in an array of a slow to a fast running beat.

Mauritians are moral beings. A lot of places of worship are scattered all over the country including churches, temples as well as mosques; and they give a lot of respect to these tradition as well as religious / sacred places. Emphasis is put on proper dressing especially when visiting religious premises.

The Islands’ chief festivals are Christmas, Diwali, Idul Fitr and Cavadee. There are no incidents of religious struggles because religious beliefs and their subscribers live collectively in tranquility and harmony.

Language

The Mauritian Constitution makes no mention of an official language and its one million citizens speak Mauritian Creole, a French-based Creole, English or French. It is only in the Parliament that the official language is English but any member of the National Assembly can still address the chair in French. French Creole is the most widely spoken, but due to the amazing assortment of people that call this island home you will also hear Arabic, Portuguese, Hindi, Urdu, Hakka (a Chinese dialect), Tamil, Telegu, Marathi, Mandarin, Cantonese and Bhojpuri – an amalgamation of several Indian dialects spoken by the early Indian settlers.