Mauritius Culture & Language

Mauritian culture is the sum of its arrivals. Indo-Mauritians are the majority and Hinduism the most practised religion -- uniquely in Africa -- alongside Catholic Creoles and Franco-Mauritians, Muslims and Sino-Mauritians; Creole, born of the plantations, is the language of the home and the street, French of the newspapers and television, English of the law, the parliament and the tourism board's first word. The tourism board's own greeting, "Hello, bonjour, bonzour", is the country in three words.

The food is the clearest expression: Indian curries and dholl puri, Creole rougaille, Chinese noodles and French pastry from the same street of stalls, and rum from the sugar that made the island. Sega, the music and dance of the enslaved Africans, is the national form, played on the beach and in every hotel. The festivals run the whole calendar of four religions.

The manners are conservative and courteous. Modest dress away from the beach, discretion in public affection, no photography of people without asking; police may occasionally ask for identification. Same-sex activity was decriminalised in October 2023 and attitudes vary. The island's pride is its politics -- a full democracy, high human development, a high-income economy on 2,040 square kilometres -- and Mauritians will tell you so.

English is the official language, French the language of the press and much of business, and Mauritian Creole -- Morisien -- what almost everyone speaks at home; the tourism board's greeting is "Hello, bonjour, bonzour", and a visitor can use any of the three. Bhojpuri, Hindi, Tamil, Urdu and Hakka survive in the communities that brought them. French will carry you further than English outside the hotels, and a Creole "bonzour" and "mersi" further still.