FESTIVALS
Sankranti January
Holi March
Mehraj Shariff (Muslim) March
Varusha Pirappu (Tamil New Year) April
Shabbe Baraat (Muslim) April
Good Friday March/April
Easter Monday March/April
Seemadree Appana Parsa (Telegu) May
Sittarai Cavadee (Tamil) May
Corpus Christi May/June
Id El Adha (Muslim) August
Raksha Bandhan (Hindu) August
Anniversary of Père Laval’s Death 9 September
Mid-Autumn Festival (Chinese) October
All Saints’ Day 1 November
Yaum Un Nabi November
Ganga Asnan November
Boxing Day 26 December
Sankranti The first of the year’s religious festivals, it is celebrated in the beginning of the Tamil month Thai, and is also known as Thai Pongal. It is an occasion of thanksgiving for the harvest which is represented by the ceremonial boiling of rice. It is customary to wear new clothes at this time.
Chinese Spring Festival This is New Year’s Day and spring-cleaning combined. The festival begins on the eve of the Chinese New Year with an explosion of firecrackers to chase away evil spirits. It takes place in January or February and does not fall on the same day every year because of the irregularity of the lunar month.
During the week before New Year’s Day there is a thorough spring-cleaning of the home. Traditionalists visit pagodas on New Year’s Eve with offerings and prayers of thanksgiving. Neither scissors nor knives are used on the day and the colour red, symbolic of happiness, is favoured. Food is displayed in an honoured place in the home in the hope of abundance in the coming year. Cakes made of rice flour and honey, called wax cakes because of their texture, are shared with relatives and friends.
Thaipoosam Cavadee This Tamil ritual is named after the wooden yoke – the cavadee – decorated with flowers and palm leaves and with a pot of milk suspended from each end, which a devotee fulfilling a vow carries across his/her shoulders in procession to their temple. There it is placed before the deity when, despite the long, hot ordeal, the milk should not be curdled.
The cavadee procession, while colourful and spectacular, is awe-inspiring because of the penance undergone by the participants who walk with their bodies pierced with needles, hooks hanging from their flesh and skewers threaded through their tongues and cheeks.
Maha Shivaratree The Great Night of Shiva is a solemn occasion for Hindus which begins with a night-long vigil in worship of the god Shiva. The following day, devotees dressed in pure white carry the kanwar, a wooden arch decorated with flowers, paper and tiny mirrors, in procession to the sacred lake, Grand Bassin.
The Hindus carry water from the lake home to their temple. Poojas (worship with food) are celebrated that night in the temples dotting the banks of the lake, the air heavy with the sweet smell of burning incense sticks and reverberating with prayers broadcast from loudspeakers.
This is reputed to be the largest Hindu festival celebrated outside India and is reminiscent of the great rituals on the banks of the holy Ganges. Worshippers believe the lights they launch on the lake on banana leaves and their offerings of flowers will float somehow to the Ganges.
Holi A happy time for Hindus when greetings are exchanged and revelry erupts with the squirting of coloured water and the spraying of coloured powder on one another, and on everyone else the revellers come across. A noisy and cheerful festival.
Ougadi Telegu New Year.
Id El Fitr The annual month of fasting (Ramadan) by Muslims, during which they neither eat nor drink between sunrise and sunset, comes to an end with this festival. Prayers are offered at mosques during the day.
Ganesh Chaturthi Celebrated on the fourth day of the lunar month of August/September by Hindus of Marathi faith as the birthday of Ganesh, the god of wisdom and remover of all obstacles. Processions are held with devotees escorting pink, elephant-nosed effigies to the sea and dusting onlookers with scarlet powder.
Corpus Christi Devout Roman Catholics join in a procession through the streets of Port Louis in May or June on the occasion of Corpus Christi.
Id El Adha Sheep and goats are sacrificed in ceremonial slaughter for this Muslim festival and the meat is shared with family and friends. The day commemorates Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his son for god, and the events symbolise the Muslim ideal of sacrifice and dedication.
Père Laval Pilgrims of all faiths gather at the tomb of Father Jacques Desiré Laval throughout September, but particularly on 9 September, the anniversary of his death. Many come in hope of a miracle cure. For more information.
Divali Clay oil lamps and paper lanterns with candles in them are placed in front of every Hindu and Tamil home on this Festival of Lights. Hills and valleys sparkle in the night as lights burn to celebrate the victory of Rama over Ravana, and Krishna’s destruction of the demon Narakasuran, the victory of good over evil.
All Saints’ Day The day on which cemetery cleaning takes place and flowers are placed by Roman Catholics on the graves of the dead.
Yaum Un Nabi The birth and death anniversaries of the Prophet Muhammad are commemorated on the Prophet’s Day, following 12 days during which the faithful gather in mosques throughout the island, devoting themselves to religious study.
Ganga Asnan For Hindus this is the time of ceremonial bathing in the sea for purification, since they believe the holy water of the Ganges will be able to purify them through it. At the beaches special lifeguard units are set up to ensure the safety of bathers.
Muharram An important Muslim festival known in Mauritius as Yamsey, featuring figures and towers called ghoons, carried in procession through the streets in commemoration of the death of the grandson of the Prophet.
Firewalking At the Tamil temple in Terre Rouge and at other temples in predominantly Tamil areas, teemeedee (firewalking) takes place between October and March. Worshippers walk over beds of red-hot embers which represent the outstretched sari of Draupadee. They prepare for the ordeal by fasting, ritual bathing and a blessing before walking unscathed on the glowing embers to the accompaniment of chants from supporters.
Details of where to see firewalking, and the dates each year of the religious festivals and public holidays, are given in a leaflet about ‘Coming Events’ available bi-monthly from the tourist office.
CHURCHES
For Christians there are both Roman Catholic and Anglican cathedrals in Port Louis with Presbyterian and Evangelical churches close by and churches of all denominations throughout the island. Hotels display details of religious services held near them on their noticeboards. The following churches regularly conduct services in English: St Joseph’s Chapel, Rose Hill (% 464 2944) – Roman Catholic Mass; St Paul’s Church, Vacoas (% 686 4819) – Anglican Mass; St Columba’s Church, Phoenix (% 696 4404) – Presbyterian Sunday Service.
100% Privacy Guaranteed
