Mauritius Holidays: Abolition of Slavery and Thaipusam Cavadee

by Priscilla and Sharon, Production, e2f-Mauritius

Abolition of Slavery

The Mauritius Abolition of Slavery is celebrated on every 1st of February following the event below:

Le Morne Brabant

In the 18th and early 19th centuries, hundreds of slaves used Le Morne Brabant (a hill/mountain with a summit of 556 meters above sea level  located on the south-west corner of Island) as a place to hide in fear because of their holders. After the abolition of slavery in Mauritius, an expedition made its way to the mountain on 1st February 1835 to tell the slaves that they are free now. Unfortunately, the slaves misunderstood the announcement and jumped off the mountain to their deaths, so that they would not be enslaved again. Since then, this day is celebrated as Annual Commemoration of the Abolition of Slavery by Mauritians. Le Morne Brabant has been a site inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list since 2008.

Thaipusam Cavadee

Thaipusam Cavadee will be celebrated on the 7th February this year. It is celebrated primarily by the Tamil community in Mauritius. With events like fire-walking and sword-climbing ceremonies, Cavadee is among the most spectacular Tamil events.

The body of a devotee is pierced with needles and the tongue and cheeks with skewers. Then the devotee, trance-like and in penance, walks in procession to the temple bearing the “Cavadee”, a wooden arch covered with flowers, with a pot of milk at each end of its base which he or she places before the deity.