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Mils Hills Phd Thesis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odes of Association and Differentiation in Mauritius: An Account of Identity in a Situation of Socio-Cultural Heterogeneity. Mils Hills Department of Social Anthropology University of St Andrews Scotland. Supervisor: Professsor Nigel Rapport I, Mils Hills, hereby certify that this thesis, which is approximately 107,000 words in length, has been written by me, that it is the record of work carried out by me and that it has not been submitted in any previous application for a hig~ degree. date 10th of January 1999 signature of candidate I was admitted as a research student in October 1995 and as a candidate for the degree of Ph.D. in Social Anthropology; the higher study of which this is a record was carried out in the University of st. Andrews between October 1995 and August 199& - date 10th of January 1999 signature of candidate I hereby certify that the candidate has fulfilled the conditions of the Resolution and Regulations appropriate for the degree of .................... in the University of st. Andrews and that the candidate is qualified to submit this thesis in application for that degree. date .................... SIgnature. 0 f supervIsor. ..................................................... In submitting this thesis to the University of st. Andrews I understand that I am giving permission for it to be made available for use in accordance with the regUlations of the University Library for the time being in force, subject to any copyright vested in the work not being affected thereby. I also understand that the title and abstract will be published, and that a copy of the work may be made and supplied to any bona fide library or research worker. date 10th of January t 999 signature of candidate l.. : • Table of Contents Abstract 1 Acknowledgements 2 Preface 6 Introduction: necessary locations 14 Part 1: Locating Mauritius - '1a nation arc-en-cie/ 15 Evoking the Image 1 7 History 18 Population, Density, Climate and Life 19 The Economic Situation 23 The Political Situation 24 Languages 28 Ethnographic Residence 31 Part 2: Locating the Author 38 Traveller, Guest, Stranger, Note-Taker 43 Shedding The Researcher's Skin? 44 Entering, Noting and Writing the Field 47 Questions 48 Drinking (in) Identity 50 Vignette 52 A Diversity of Approaches to Best Present Diversities of World Views 55 'Revelatory incidents': The Special ness of the Anthropological Viewpoint 55 Aims 61 Chapter 1: Mauritius: Unity, Diversity, Division - From Sociological Categorisation to Governmental Ideology 64 Part 1: The Sociological Divisions of Mauritius 65 Section One - non-Mauritian academics 66 JF Meade ct al.. 67 Burton Benedict 68 Oddvar Hollup 71 Thomas Hylland Eriksen 72 Overview of Section One 82 Section Two - Mauritian ethnographies 83 Benjamin Moutou 83 Pavi Ramhota 85 Dr. A Cader Raman 86 A Devi Nirsimloo-Anenden 87 National Seminar on the Language Issue - 1982. 88 NJRoy 89 Overview of Section Two 91 Part 2: Governmentality and Division in Mauritius: enacting sociological categorisation 92 'Unity in Diversity' 96 Statistics Creating Division 98 The Multiculturalist Thesis of 'Unity in Diversity' (and its critics) 101 Reprise: 'Unity in Diversity', Social AnthropolO$y and this Thesis 108 The Alternative view: 'Dilo trankil pena fonder' 113 Chapter 2: Individual Expressions of Identity 115 Introduction: Individuals as social dummies? 116 Individual 1: Dev 118 Individual 2: Mrs. Shanti. 132 Individual 3: Mrs. Bogum. 124 Individual 4: Roshun 126 Individual 5: Huri. 129 Discussion 131 Ethnicity and Identity 132 Loops and Strips of Identity 134 Chapter 3: Individual Mauritian Discourses of Categorisation and Division 137 Division 1: Hindu Mauritians v. Hindu Indians 139 Division 2. Mauritians v. Reunionnais and Franco-Mauritians 141 Division 3. Hindus and Muslims 144 Division 4: Creole v. Franco-Mauritians and the Government 151 Commentary 154 From Difference to Similarity 156 Ethnographic Instance 1 - racism as a desirable attribute 156 EthnO$raphic Instance 2: preserving cultural heritage and racism manifested 159 Commentary 160 Chapter Conclusion 161 Chapter 4 Politics, Strategy, Support, Absence and Critique: The Pragmatic and Situational Deployment of Ethnicity and Caste 164 Preamble: Proverbial Ethnicity 166 Instance 1: The strategic employment of ethnicity and caste 168 Instance 2: The strategic employment of ethnic and non-ethnic support 170 Instance 3: secular techniques employed to resolve a work-place problem 172 Instance 4: Individual ethnicity as less important than personal qualities. 175 Instance 5: where ethnicity has no role 178 Instance 6: Caste in Marriage and Politics 1 79 (a) Lower caste marriage into a Brahmin (higher caste) family 180 (b) Politics 182 Commentary 185 Chapter Conclusion 189 Chapter 5 Transenn tou bann divisyon: Transcending all those divisions 190 A Definition of Terms: 190 EthnO$raphic Moment 1: The Typing Pool 191 Ethnographic Moment 2. Jerome. 194 Ethnographic Moment 3: Cavadee 199 Ethnographic Moment 4: Maha Shivaratree 205 Ethnographic Moment 5: A Village fishing Competition 209 Part 2: Unifying and Shared Moments and Practices. 21 3 Daivanaden's neighbourhood 213 1. Hosts and Guests. 220 2. oro Morisyen Twa?' - Individual Attempts at Being 'Mauritian'. 222 3. 'We all came from ... somewhere else ... to this beautiful island' 225 4. Food 226 5. Fasting 229 6. The Sega: amizc7 bizin sant sante7 danse7 amizc7 sant sante7 danse 230 7. Disinterest as a Strategy of Conflict Avoidance 232 Chapter Conclusions: from Banal Unities to Creolization and Back To 'Unity in Diversity'. 234 Chapter 6: Conclusion 240 Overview 241 Intersubjectivity, Transcendence and Creolization 242 1. Intersubjectivity 244 2. Transcendence 244 3. Creolization 245 Unity in Diversity and Paradise 246 Thesis Politics 250 Multiculturalism and Plural Society 250 Bibliography 253 Appendix 261 Abstract hiS Thesis details the anthropological investigation of socio-cultural heterogeneity in Mauritius, a small island republic in the Indian Ocean. I Tintroduce the island, its population, climate and other salient features in the Introduction, where I also reveal something of the author's intentions, interests and ideology. Although Mauritius has been relatively infrequently written about by anthropologists or other social scientists, when Mauritian social diversity has been discussed it has been conducted on the presumption that difference is synonymous with division. Consequently, in Chapter 1, I develop a critique of this assumption, which has found its way into the texts and discourses of both sociologists and state bureaucrats. I collapse these two categories' products into one, by drawing upon Foucault's notion of 'governmentality', and critique widespread views of Multiculturalism as being founded on the alleged coevalness of difference and division. I also introduce my three main analytical tools: intersubjectivity, transcendence and creolization. Chapter 2 portrays individuals' identity, agreemg that at times those Mauritians that I met did draw divisions between one another, but that this was far from predictable, nor universally practised. Chapter 3 continues this project, by focusing on specific forms of the expression of division, but again I highlight the unanticipated nature of division and difference. Chapter 4 further clouds the picture by noting that even where individuals might be thought to be unproblematically employing ethnic - or caste - based strategies in, for example, the workplace, the use of such tools was again unforseeable, and not always successful. Even where they were successful in securing advantage, there are wider costs not previously noted in the ethnographic record. Chapter 5 is the culmination of my argument. Through a fine-grained portrayal of a number of ethnographic moments, I point up the unifying and shared practices which have hitherto been excerpted from ethnographic accounts of Mauritius (or other 'plural' societies). These unifying features are as relevant to my understanding of Mauritian society as divisions, I claim, and I reflect on the contrast between 'banal' unities and governmental notions of Multiculturalism. The Conclusion draws together the threads of the Thesis and charts where it fits in terms of wider anthropological and political trends. 1 Acknowledgements I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone I met in Mauritius and make special acknowledgements to those without whom both this work and the multitude of experiences comprising my year in Mauritius and the ensuing writing would have been impossible. Here is as comprehensive as possible a list of Thanks and Dedication. To all those Mauritians I met and helped me that I have omitted to mention below: I've given you all the little, that I've to give; You've given me all, that for me is all there is; So now I just give back what you have given - If there is anything to give in this. - Dedication in Woolf: 1975. We must always aim at the bull's eye - although we know that we will not always hit it. - Goethe.
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