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Periodical article Periodical article Leiden University catalogue Leiden University catalogue WorldCat catalogue WorldCat
Title:The Creole Malaise in Mauritius
Author:Miles, William F.S.ISNI
Year:1999
Periodical:African Affairs: The Journal of the Royal African Society
Volume:98
Issue:391
Period:April
Pages:211-228
Language:English
Geographic term:Mauritius
Subjects:Creoles
ethnicity
Peoples of Africa (Ethnic Groups)
Ethnic and Race Relations
External link:https://www.jstor.org/stable/723627
Abstract:Creoles, who constitute almost one third of the population of Mauritius, can lay claim to a much longer (albeit involuntary) presence than can the majority population of Indo-Asian descent. Yet of all the sundry communities which compose the Mauritian ethnoscape it is among the Creoles that a sense of collective self is weakest. This amorphousness of Creole identity helps to explain the social disease which is locally referred to as 'le malaise créole'. Only in recent years has a sense of Creoleness begun to develop, one which incorporates Africanity. This article outlines the history of the Creoles on Mauritius, their marginalization, political and cultural aspects of the Creole community, the development of Creole identity and the role of the Kreol language, and Creole organization, which has taken the form of interest group formation. It argues that although the Creole programme encourages the recognition of African folkways in island culture, it does so in the face of anti-African prejudices, shared by many Creoles themselves. Extension of nascent trade and business linkages with the African mainland is critical to correcting the current Creole malaise. Notes, ref., sum.
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