Today was my first day back at school after the half term break. In the six weeks I worked before the holidays, we had two public holidays which fell on Mondays and gave us a three day weekend, and two days where the school was closed because of torrential rain warnings. Add that to the fact that classes finish at lunchtime on Wednesdays and Fridays, and you can understand why I feel like I only just started!!
The first of the public holidays was to commemorate the abolition of slavery on 1st February. Slaves were brought to Mauritius by the Dutch in the 17th century, and by the time the British arrived in 1810, 70% of the population were slaves. It took the British 25 years to abolish slavery and cost them £2 million in compensation payments to the plantation owners.
The following week was Chinese New Year. I know that in other places around the world, it's inappropriate to call it that, but in Mauritius that's the name everyone uses. I didn't go to see the festivities because it was raining, but we did see a dragon doing the rounds a couple of days later. They visit all the shops run by Chinese Mauritians, dancing and letting off firecrackers to ward off evil spirits. We have some Chinese children at school who brought in lots of prawn crackers and other goodies to celebrate. My favourite part of this holiday is "
gâteau la cire", a sticky cake made from rice flour, sugar, water, oil, and orange zest. It's an acquired taste; most people I've spoken to think it's revolting, but I really like it, especially the gooey ones.
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| Yummy! |
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| This one was a bit hard, could have done with a few seconds in the microwave, but we don't have one. | | | |
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Yesterday was the biggest Hindu celebration of the year; Maha Shivaratri, or the Great Night of Lord Shiva. It's the day when Hindus from all over the island walk to Grand Bassin carrying "kanwars." Originally they were bamboo poles with pots to hold water, but nowadays they can be pretty fancy - I've seen them covered in flowers and statues, flashing lights and all sorts. It often takes several people to carry or push them, and they're worked on for weeks before the pilgrimage.
When the pilgrims arrive at Grand Bassin, they fast, pray, make offerings of fruit and vegetables, and collect holy water from the lake to take back to their home or local temple. I've never been there during a festival, but you see a lot of the pilgrims on the roads, as well as the resting stations, manned by volunteers, which spring up all over the place. There wasn't a lot of traffic on the roads this weekend, but the cars that did venutre out were pretty much guaranteed to get stuck behind a group of pilgrims at some stage of their journey.
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| There was a policeman guiding this group |
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| Kanwar |
This is the closest thing Mauritius has to a motorway. It's a dual carriageway with a speed limit of 110 km/h but that doesn't stop people riding bikes or crossing on foot. I'd never seen groups of people this size though. They seemed oblivious to the cars speeding past.
There are also people who make the journey by car, discreetly, with a loudspeaker on the roof, or a giant poster like this hanging off the back...
Friday is another celebration, but sadly no day off this time. It's Mauritian Independence Day, celebrating 48 years of freedom from the British. All the school children have to learn the national anthem, in English and French, and there will be a flag raising ceremony and an official speech at school. I was asked to rehearse the anthem in English with my class of 6 years olds, but considering I didn't know it myself, I would have struggled. Fortunately one of my Mauritian colleagues stepped up and we've been singing "Glo-o-ry to thee, Motherland" all afternoon. It's a good anthem, uplifting and patriotic. You should check it out on You Tube.
I think that's it for the upcoming celebrations, and rainy season is coming to a close. We're going to have to go back to working full weeks until our next holidays! It will be tough...
