‘The Most Cosmopolitan Island under the Sun’? Negotiating Ethnicity and Nationhood in Everyday Mauritius Reena Jane Dobson Thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Centre for Cultural Research University of Western Sydney December 2009 The work presented in this thesis is, to the best of my knowledge and belief, original except as acknowledged in the text. I hereby declare that I have not submitted this material either in full or in part, for a degree at this or any other institution. Reena Dobson Dedication I dedicate this thesis to my grandmother, my Nani, whose life could not have been more different from my own. I will always be grateful that I was able to grow up knowing her. I also dedicate this thesis to my parents, whose interest, support and encouragement never wavered, and who were always there to share stories and memories and to help make the roots clearer. Acknowledgements At the tail end of a thesis journey which has involved entangled routes and roots, I would like to express my deepest and most heartfelt thanks to my wonderful partner, Simon White, who has been living the journey with me. His passionate approach to life has been a constant inspiration. He introduced me to good music, he reminded me to breathe, he tiptoed tactfully around as I sat in writing mode, he made me laugh when I wanted to cry, and he celebrated every writing victory – large and small – with me. I am deeply indebted to my brilliant supervisors, Associate Professor Greg Noble, Dr Zoë Sofoulis and Associate Professor Brett Neilson, who have always been ready with intellectual encouragement and inspiring advice. Brett provided valuable guidance to the central chapters which has resulted in a tighter, much stronger core. Zoë has been an endless well of enthusiasm and energy; her standing offers of chocolate, her insightful comments and sharp editing pen were invaluable in the final write-up stages. My special thanks to Greg, who read through countless drafts and was always able to frame his comments incisively yet positively (a skill I shall always be grateful for); he always knew when to push, when to stand back, and what to say to talk me off (metaphorical) ledges. He has been an unfailingly generous, supportive and patient supervisor all the way through. My mille remerciements to my family – mo mama ek mo papa, mo frère Roy Julan, mo belle-sœur Claudia Maria, ek mo deux zolie ti nieces, Antonia Kriani ek Tabea Josephine. Merci pou tou – mo pa kapav kwar mon fini! I also want to thank my extended family and friends in Mauritius. My deepest gratitude to my Mowsis, Gomutty, Ootra, Anila and Devi, who hosted me so generously and always ensured I got more than my fair share of Pearona, puris, bhajias, and zambalaks. My uncles, aunts, cousins and friends generously introduced me into their networks and made my fieldwork a lot easier than it would have otherwise been. My heart-felt thanks to my cousin, Veenaya Nosib, who answered, by email, phone and text, all manner of odd questions with endless good-humour and patience; and also to my Mamou, Dan Madhoo, who, often at very short notice, took numerous terrific photographs for me. I also want to thank my Mowsa Kripaloo who passed away in 2001, and whose gentle spirit and kindness I will always remember. My warmest thanks to my adopted family on the East coast – to Dhyana and Roger, to Trevor, Chemène, Ryan and Ben, and to Peter, thank you from the bottom of my heart for welcoming me into your homes, for helping make Sydney feel like home, and for asking (and not asking!) how the writing was going. The Centre for Cultural Research offered a supportive and stimulating research environment that I am grateful to have been a part of. But I am also grateful to CCR for being such a generous-minded community. I would like to thank in particular, Professor Kay Anderson, who, at a time when her office hours were extremely limited, still found the time to meet with me for regular chats about my research. Thank you also to Professor Ien Ang too, who was always able to make time to chat and offer intellectual advice. I would like to additionally thank Professor Bob Hodge, Professor David Rowe, Dr Fiona Cameron, Associate Professor Elaine Lally, Michelle Kelly and Tulika Dubey who have all offered encouragement, writing advice and a sympathetic ear over the years. And very importantly, I would like to thank Maree O’Neill, CCR Executive Officer, who has been an incredibly supportive friend. No matter how busy she was, she always had time to listen. Finally, I would also like to express my grateful thanks to all my interviewees who all kindly took time out of their busy lives and work schedules to fit me in. I would also especially like to thank those informants who pushed interviews into dialogues with frankness, warmth and generosity, and who welcomed me into their lives without hesitation. Table of Contents List of Tables iii List of Figures iii Abstract v Glossary of Terms and Acronyms vii Introduction: ‘The Most Cosmopolitan Island under the Sun’? 1 Mise-en-Scène: Introduction 1 Situating Mauritius 3 Multicultural, Multiculturalism, Cosmopolitanism: Points of Engagement 9 Doing Auto/Ethnography: Fieldwork and Methodology 15 Thesis Directions 19 1. Making Mauritius: From Territory to Nationhood 22 Introduction 22 Imagining Territories, Imagining Nations 24 Initial Discoveries and Settlements 27 Ile de France: French Settlement (1715-1810) 29 British-Occupied Mauritius (1810-1968) 38 Between Ethnicity and Nationhood: The Lead-up to Independence 48 Conclusion 55 2. The Ethnic Imaginary in Everyday Mauritius 57 Introduction 57 The Everyday 59 Identity, Ethnicity, Otherness 60 The Social Imaginary 63 The Ethnic Imaginary 67 Mental Maps: Imagining a Multi-Ethnic Existence 68 Looking and Acting the Part: Performing and Classifying Ethnicity 76 Conclusion 98 3. Negotiating Ethnicity in Everyday Mauritius 100 Introduction 100 Articulations Around Ethnicity: Language and Labels 101 Overlooking Ethnicity: Sidesteps and Transgressions 123 Conclusion 141 i 4. Towards Mauritianité: Ethnicity and Nationhood 143 Introduction 143 Nations, Nation-States and Nationalisms 148 Mauritian Nationalism: A Moral Expectation 152 Mauritianité: Negotiating the Ethnic and the National 157 Laissez-Faire Mauritianité 159 Swaying Mauritianité 172 Fractious Mauritianité 182 Conclusion 196 5. L’Affaire Kaya 198 Introduction 198 Creole Malaise 199 Sega, Kaya and Seggae 204 The Death of Kaya and After – A Chronology of Events 210 Amplification of the Ethnic Imaginary 224 The (Un)Resolution of Mauritianité 234 Conclusion 244 Conclusion 246 A Moment of Multi-Ethnicity 246 Negotiating (Multi)Ethnicity and Nationhood 247 Further Investigations of Mauritian Cosmopolitanism 259 ‘The Most Cosmopolitan Island under the Sun’? 261 Bibliography 262 ii List of Tables Table 1: Ethnic group nicknames 107 Table 2: Ethnic group stereotypes 110 Table 3: Public holidays in Mauritius 165 Table 4: Official Mauritius national anthem: Motherland 180 Table 5: Kreol version of the Mauritius national anthem 180 Table 6: Hindi version of the Mauritius national anthem 181 Table 7: Summary of Mauritius banknotes and their illustrations 187 List of Figures Figure 1: Mauritius Tourism Image 1 Figure 2: Map of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean 4 Figure 3: Map of Mauritius 4 Figure 4: Pieter Both Mountain 22 Figure 5: Eriksen’s taxonomy of Mauritian ethnicities 71 Figure 6: Author’s childhood mental map 73 Figure 7: Maha Shivaratri Procession 91 Figure 8: Pilgrims carrying Kavadees during Thaipoosam Cavedee 93 Figure 9: A popular house colour combination: white with red accents 97 Figure 10: Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam Samadhi 146 Figure 11: Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam national (lotus) memorial 146 Figure 12: Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam lotus monument with its memorialised message in English, Chinese, Hindi and French 147 Figure 13: Visibility of the ocean from inland 156 Figure 14: Year-at-a-glance 2006 calendar listing public holidays 167 Figure 15: Houses flying the Mauritian flag for National Day 2009 170 Figure 16: National flags and banners on display for National Day 2009 171 Figure 17: Images of Mauritius banknotes 188 Figure 18: The order of English, Tamil, then Hindi scripts on banknotes 191 Figure 19: 1999 banknotes with the Tamil and Hindi scripts swapped around 192 Figure 20: Traditional Sega instruments: ravanne, maravanne and triangle 206 Figure 21: Sega dancers 207 Figure 22: Kaya the singer 210 Figure 23: Scenes of disturbances on MBC news Monday 22 February 1999 215 iii Figure 24: Franco-Réunionnais, Dr Jean-Paul Ramstein, invited to carry out the counter-autopsy on Kaya 217 Figure 25: Damages done to a commercial complex in Candos 219 Figure 26: Scene of normality in Port Louis 221 Figure 27: Volcanic rocks used as road obstructions 221 Figure 28: The Chaîne d’amitié during the Rallye pour L’Avenir 222 Figure 29: A child places a bouquet of flowers in a map of Mauritius 223 Figure 30: Kaya’s body, featuring symbols of Rastafarianism and bandages 225 Figure 31: Thousands gather to pay their respects at Roche Bois stadium 225 Figure 32: Rastafarian images and symbols were on display during the funeral procession 226 Figure 33: Fusion of Rastafarian symbols in a Christian funeral ceremony 227 Figure 34: ‘Functionally invisible’ national flags at Kaya’s funeral ceremony 229 Figure 35: Asserting Laissez-Faire Mauritianité after the Kaya Affair 241 Figure 36: A multi-ethnic moment 244 Figure 37: ‘Burgers King’ sign 247 iv Abstract The Indian Ocean island of Mauritius is an intensely multicultural island space. A history of settlement arising out of colonisation, slavery, indentured labour and trade has resulted in a contemporary nation-state that is ethnically and cultural diverse.