I have always been impressed and proud of Mauritius’ rich cultural diversity. Our forefathers have hailed from different continents, and at the same time have brought along their own culture with them. I am utterly impressed and proud when I see how the essence of their culture has been preserved. My opinion is that the integration of those different cultures has evolved into what we can call the Mauritian culture. Mauritian culture is also about what we have in common, the most blatant example would be our common language the Kreol. Check out the ‘nou pay, nou la bierre’ ad, it also very effectively portrays Mauritian culture.

Although I believe that it is very important to promote our common culture (for example I believe that Kreol should be taught at school), I feel that it is fundamental to preserve our ancestral culture. Recently I have become even more interested in the richness of our culture diversity.

The most recent example was during the Chinese spring festival, I had the privilege to witness a real display of culture at its best, a lion dance. Neat colorful costumes and acrobatics were a real feast for the eyes. The drums were enchanting to the soul. The best part was that the whole performance was driven by young people.

Another example was a fire-walking ceremony I witnessed for the first time a few months ago. It was a crescendo of drums and a real bouquet of colours. The drums were handled by young people who skillfully managed to drive the beat of everyone’s heart.

I could equally add all the festivals that we celebrate every year like Christmas, Maha Shivratree, Eid, Ougadi etc. My point is that these kinds of display of culture utterly shouts out aloud about our identity. Having the young perpetuating our ancestral culture is something we can really be proud of.

Unfortunately I can foresee impending threats to the preservation of our ancestral culture. We all know that religion is intimately linked to ancestral culture. Without the support of religion, ancestral culture can crumble and at the same time our identity.

I do not want to hurt anyone’s feelings but it is a fact that foreign sects are slowly gaining ground. Missionaries are popping out everywhere like mushrooms with aim of turning everyone into Ned Flanders (I know I chose a really lame joke to illustrate). Do not get me wrong, I believe in freedom of thought and freedom of religion. But I am really concerned, when I see the weak and the ill being targeted and thus by extension entire generations of people.

Some close to me have unfortunately fallen pray to these tactics. They have been stripped of their ancestral culture streaming from ancient civilisations and thus lost their identity. Their future generations are doomed in a similar way.

I know that our ancestral culture is strong but if we let go, I can foresee uniformity, I foresee the fading of our ancestral culture and traditions and I foresee utter dullness. As Chinua Achebe puts it so well “Things fall apart“.

I do not condone any acts of intimidation against anyone practicing the religion they choose. Instead a better way would be to reinforce our ancestral culture and the structures behind. For my part I am to participate and contribute  further in the enhancement of my ancestral culture, so that my children can inherit from the same and perpetuate diversity. In this way we can ensure that our identity is to prevail.