Mauritian Creole people are the people of
African and
Malagasy origin who live in Mauritius. However, the Creole people today also includes minorities of people that have both African and Malagasy origins with Indian, Chinese, French and/or British backgrounds.
Origins
Brought in as slaves to work the plantations of Mauritius (as well as
Réunion and
Seychelles), the slaves were
Malagasy or East-African and were brought mostly from Mozambique, Malawi, Nigeria, Tanzania and Zambia.
Creoles today
The Creoles and the
Indo-Mauritians form the largest ethnic groups in Mauritius. They are divided into two main groups in Mauritius (which aren't exclusive but were used very often in the past) : Mulattos and Blacks. Among the community, there is a lot of multiracial variances from dark skinned Creoles to near white ones. There is still a high political segregation between Hindus and Creoles.
Demographical factors
The majority of Creoles are
Christian (mostly
Catholic with
Protestant minorities including
Seventh-day Adventists). Recently, influences from other communities of African origin, particularly the Caribbean, have influenced a significant number of
Mauritians to become Rastafarian. There is also a
non-religious minority as well as some
Islamic converts. The language spoken at home for the majority of Creoles is
Mauritian Creole, most of them also speak
French and
English.
See also
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