|
What About Mauritius Island?
The residents of Mauritius Island claim decadency
largely from immigration from India. Although many also
are from Africa, China, Madagascar and European
countries as well. This wonderfully multiracial group
gets along in general harmony and respect. A wonderful
place to visit! Creole is the predominant language, a
derivative of the French language spoken by African
Slaves, to communicate with their French masters long
ago. Despite that, English is the official language and
all documents and communiqués emanating from government
offices are in English. Both Creole and English are
taught in the school systems. Strangely, French is most
widely used by the newspapers and broadcast media.
As a tourist you may also come within earshot of Hindi,
Bhojpuri, Tamil, Telegu, or Mandarin. Indo-Mauritians,
which comprises all area groups combined, account for
70% plus of the population. With less than 30% claiming
Creole and about 25,000 Chinese.
Area delicacies of Mauritius cuisine include cari poule
or chicken curry and mine frite aka fried noodles. Both
would be common in a Mauritian kitchen. Both claim
origins between India and Chinese flavors. Mine Frite
and dholl puri are common menu fare throughout
restaurants of the towns and villages of the island.
Rum is a native liquor and is commonly consumed across
the island. This would be a remnant of the early Dutch
settlers, there prior to both the French and British
occupations. Early Dutch first planted sugarcane in
order to produce early rum, called arrack, in the early
days. It was some 60 years later sugarcane became an
export. The first distillery constructed in 1850 at the
suggestion of Francois Harel. Currently the major
distillery is at Tombeau Bay.
The multicultural beginnings and continued traits are
much a part of the charm of the island, as is the
beautiful sand beaches. The unique blend is on display
in museums in Prot Louis, the capital and are called the
Blue Penny Museum and #2 the Natural History Museum.
The website, MauritiusVacation.Net, endeavors to
describe the wonderful opportunities available to
vacationers looking for new location for adventure,
romance, and adventure. To say nothing of being a
superbly relaxing venue, the Island of Mauritius offers
friendly reception and both urban and rural settings.
|
