One week ago, island life as I knew it came to an abrupt end following the unexpected death of my Father in Law. The past few days have been, without doubt, the most difficult of my life so far, but have also taught me many things. A blog is not an appropriate place to go into details of what happened; instead I'm choosing to focus on the positive, to share my feelings about this aspect of Mauritian culture I hoped never to see, and to pay tribute in my own way to Papy Pierre.
I grew up protected from the reality of death wherever possible. Talking about dying and funerals seemed dark and morbid; a topic to be avoided and even feared. As a result, I was totally unprepared for the events of this week. This is absolutely not a criticism of my upbringing, but rather an observation on the differences between two cultures.
In Mauritius, a funeral happens as soon as possible after the death, and is preceded by a wake, during which family, friends, colleagues, and neighbours come to pray and pay their respects. I was initally surprised to see at least two young children present, but it quickly became clear that they are used to such events. They were quiet and respectful, but not visibly shocked or upset. I realised, at that moment, that the practical, open attitude that Mauritians have towards death is much healthier than ours. They are teaching their children that dying is a completely natural part of life, and is nothing to be afraid of. It was equally heartening to see family members of several different religions, or with no religious beliefs at all, participating in the Catholic and Anglican prayers said for Pierre.
After a beautiful ceremony in a mixture of Mauritian Kréol, French, and English, we headed to the cemetery in the pouring rain to say our final goodbye. As the grave was filled in and covered in pretty, colourful flowers, a flash of lightning lit up the sky. One of our friends pointed out that Pierre must have just taken a photo! It was exactly what we needed to lighten the mood, and still has me chuckling five days later.
One of the main reasons we decided to move to Mauritius was for me to get to know Merv's family, to see where he grew up, and to learn about his culture. I'm incredibly grateful that I've been able to spend this past year with Pierre. He was a man with a very strong character, and not always the easiest person to get along with, but he welcomed me into his home and his life and was always extremely kind to me. My favourite times with him were those we spent in his kitchen, or at the dining table. He shared all his Mauritian recipes with me, and I maintain that we ate better chez Papy Pierre than in any restaurant on the island!
Here are some of the dishes we cooked together:
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| Mauritian fish vindaloo with carrots and lentils, and a watercress salad |
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| Rougail corned beef with chouchou and cucumber salad |
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| Sausage rougail with sautéed greens and kidney beans |
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| I don't remember what this was exactly but it was delicious! |
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| Patisson, Mauritian style mashed potato, and cabbage salad |
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| Pipangaille (a local vegetable) |
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| The last photo of us together. We were preparing green papaya salad. |
I will miss you Papy Pierre. Mauritius seems empty without you.
