| One of the chief pleasures of visiting Réunion
is experiencing its Créole-flavoured French culture,
or French-flavoured Créole culture. It is interesting
to see how the local séga (traditional dance) differs
from the Mauritian, Seychellois and Malagasy versions. There
are more variations in Réunion because the slaves adopted
and adapted the dances of the white settlers, particularly the
quadrille, to their own African rhythms. The more traditional
slaves' dance in Réunion is called the maloya, a slower,
more reflective rhythm, similar to the New Orleans blues. Instruments
used by the band range from traditional home-made percussion
pieces, such as the hide-covered houleur drum and the maraca-like
caiambe to the accordion and modern band instruments.
Réunion mixes the African rhythms of reggae, séga
and maloya with the best of French, British and American rock
and folk music. As for Créole-flavoured modern sounds,
the Réunionnais leave that to their tropical cousins
in Martinique and Guadeloupe. A local favourite is rastaman
Michael Fock, known as Ti-Fock, who adds a synthesised touch
to traditional maloya and séga rhythms.
The Catholic faith dominates the island's religious character.
It is visible in the shrines along every highway and byway,
in caves, on cliff tops and in the many saint's days and holidays.
St-Denis shuts down on Sunday, when half the city goes to
the beach. Hindus and Muslims follow their respective religions
freely and most large towns have both a mosque and a temple.
Popular Hindu rites include pandialé (or teemeedee),
which involves fire-walking, and cavadee, involving piercing
one's cheeks with silver needles, often take place. A great
deal of syncretism with Catholicism has evolved over the years,
and vice versa.
French is the official language, but Créole is the
most widely spoken. Few people speak English. Réunion
Créole is even beyond most French people. A word which
means one thing in French can mean something completely different
in Créole.
As in France proper, much time and effort in Réunion
is devoted to growing, preparing and enjoying food. What's
more, the Réunionnais have an array of culinary traditions
to choose from - French, Indian, Chinese and Créole
- and many recipes contain elements of several cuisines. Graines,
which may be red or white beans, lentils or peas, are common
ingredients in Créole dishes, and are invariably served
as a creamy side dish along with rougail (spicy hot tomato
and vegetable chutney) and brédes, greens resembling
spinach. If you want to spice up the meal, there is often
a bowl of piments (chillies). Beware, you only need a smidgen
of the stuff.
|
