Mauritius
Mauritius, stella clavisque maris indici, (the star and the key of the Indian Ocean), is a small island about 530 miles off the east coast of Madagascar. Mauritius was once Dutch, French, and British until her independence in 1968. These ruling countries all exploited the land for different purposes, most of which was used to grow sugar cane to produce sugar (and still is today).
In order to produce enough sugar to be a profitable territory, a work force had to be introduced from China, Africa, Madagascar, India and Saudi Arabia. This workforce along with immigrants and expatriates from South Africa, Australia, Germany, Italy, Canada and others has resulted in a mélange of peoples that speak 22 different languages.
Mauritians are extremely friendly but are definitely on “island time.” Setting up meetings (and actually having them) can be frustrating for a timeline-loving, overworked American like myself. Business affairs are always second to family and religious priorities. However, their kindness more than makes up for a missed meeting. A missed commitment by a Mauritian can result in a home cooked meal as an apology, and shit, with a belly full of roti and a decades old family recipe rhum arrangé, there’s always time for a meeting tomorrow.
Although famous for being the destination for many African honeymooners, infamous for the extinction of the Dodo bird, and a paradise for philatelists who mail themselves from across the world to catch a glimpse of the coveted Blue Penny stamp, I believe the rich and diverse culture of this country is its best asset and is reflected in the beautiful people, religions, cuisine, languages and music.
Hugh and I at Grand Bassin, a sacred Hindu lake. Offerings of fruit and incense are placed on banana leaves and floated out on the water in belief they’ll reach the Ganges River through underground streams. The massive 30m tall statue over my left shoulder is of the god Shiva.
After drudging away in the sugar can fields, slaves from Africa and Madagascar would improvise music using homemade instruments so they could dance away their frustrations. Without access to funds and owners forbidding music in an attempt to severe their slaves’ ties to their origins, instruments were crudely made from whatever resources could be found. Goatskin stretched and dried over a wooden ring is called a ravane and provides the drumbeat. A maravane is wood or gourd filled with seeds or stones and shaken to provide a sound similar to maracas. Triangles round out the trio of traditional instruments used. Lyrics are sung in Creole and often reflected their despondency with second-class treatment, horrid living conditions, discrimination, and low pay. Séga (say-ga) was born. This upbeat, rythmic, passionate, and heated genre is similar to Latin music with its cheerful beats, sultry dances, and vibrant clothing.
This statue in the company gardens, Port Louis is of Alphonse Ravaton, AKA Ti-Frére, playing a ravane. Ti-Frére is widely credited as being responsible for the proliferation of séga. (Interesting side-note; the building in the background of this photo has been under construction for many years. It began as a government funded project to be a permanent location for prostitutes to work and thus keeping them off the streets. However, citizen outcry has turned the project into an office complex.)
Séga, like Mauritius, has developed into different sub-genres and styles based on influences from other cultures. Séggae or régga is a blend of reggae and séga and was popularized by Creole singer Kaya in the 1980’s. Kaya was arrested February 17th, 1999 after admitting to smoking marijuana at a concert to promote the decriminalization of the drug. Four days later he was found in his jail cell beaten to death, seemingly from police brutality.
Street musicians are common throughout public areas and esplanades during the weekends. However, the tuned ear will pick up many popular cover songs and a conversation with one of the band members will confirm this. Cover songs are also popular with the bands playing to the hotel bar crowd.
We’ve spent six weeks in Mauritius and virtually everyday we’ve been immersed in the flamboyant sounds of séga; falling asleep to the steady beat of the ravane bouncing across the baie from a hotel performance, dancing in our seatbelts in the taxi ride to the discotheques, and of course gracefully dancing with beautiful local girls after a few rum punches. Upon hearing the compelling séga billowing from a local record shop in Grand Baie I was instantly drawn inside where I met the owner, Kanna Pillai.
Mr. Pillai is quite the entrepreneurial spirit; along with his record shop he owns a production company, record label and recording studio. After missing multiple meetings (which I believe were eventually being missed on purpose for an excuses to hang out and drink) I was able to sign two records: Leve Zenfans and Mariammen Thimidi. However, before signing these albums we were discussing many others and, as it sometimes turns out, he couldn’t sign for the necessary rights for most of them because of the Mauritian PRO, MASA.
Many of the albums produced in Mauritius are subsidized by MASA, which sometimes acts as a record label and will pay for the master recordings and duplication for those compositions they deem worthy. They’ll do this in exchange for exclusive rights to the master. On top of their ownership rights, small performance royalties are rarely collected and if they are, they’re almost never paid or only paid to the most popular of artists.
The two albums I was able to sign are worth the missed meetings, the evenings of rum and roti, and the difficulties of breaking down the language barrier. Leve Zenfans by Group Eros is of fantastic recording quality and holds its traditional séga charm even when using not so traditional instruments. The first lively track “Lamisik Séga” uses keyboards, organs, and synths and takes a cue from neighboring Rodrigues Island when incorporating the European accordion locally dubbed as the séga-kordian. “Ki Raison” is the second song and incorporates a flute, drums and guitar, but still keeps the beat alive and kickin’.
I’ve always thought the third track on any album is the best and “La Paix Lamour” is no exception to this theory. The séga-kordian is found throughout this track and the instrumentation reminds me a bit of our long-time catalog artist Leonid Nosov.
The title track “Leve Zenfans” utilizes a violin and finishes strong with a tribal drum beat and cheering crowd. The smoky, bluesy lyrics and the guitar of the final track “Remerciment” remind me of a day at the Mount Hood Jazz Festival, but the female back up singers and drum beat put me on a beach in the Caribbean sipping pain killers.
The lyrics throughout the album are Creole, which was developed by slaves who couldn’t speak proper French. Creole is a mixture of French and English, which makes it relatively easy to learn. When the CD is set to repeat, and it likely will be, I’m sure you’ll pick up on it in no time.
The second album, Mariammen Thimidi, is a compilation of original Chinese and Indian religious songs. This album is similar to the call to prayer we hear over loud speakers throughout the country five times per day beginning at 5:00am. The tracks “Prayer On Ganesh,” “Poudalattil,” “Oulagettoukkou,” “Soundari Shavoundari,” and “Mayi Magamahi,” are all very good examples of what we’ve been hearing for the last six weeks.
Madonna must have sampled the beginning of “Mangalam (Anei Anei)” as the beginning is very similar to the beginning of her song “How High” on Confessions On A Dance Floor. Throw in the keyboards Kip is playing at the end of the movie Napoleon Dynamite and the vocal style of the man praying in Madonna’s song “Isaac” and you’ve pretty much reproduced the song “Yen Namoumpada Mmougam.”
In all seriousness, this is a beautiful album full of beautiful songs and is worthy of attention from anyone looking for authentic Chinese and Indian religious music.
Our experiences in Mauritius have been outstanding. Our eyes have been opened to new ways of life and our hearts to many new amazing friends. Saying goodbye to my friends in Oregon was extremely difficult back in June; I didn’t expect I’d have to say goodbye all over again to friends we make at each destination. Although I’m a relatively inexperienced sailor with just 3,800 miles under my keel and only two other ports, I know that since I left a piece of my heart in Mauritius, it will be my favorite.
Sunset over the Indian Ocean at Pereybére beach.
