Colors of Mahe Island - traditions, festivals, mentality and lifestyle

Sometimes it might seem that Seychellois Creole people are kind of living in their own world. Loke, if you decide to read the local press, there would be lots of news about, for instance, a sudden disappearance of a one of a local’s favourite cow rather than global incidents. Even though Mahe is the largest island of the archipelago, still everybody here knows each other. By the way, this is the reason why locals officially register their relationships quite rare, as local traditions oblige people to invite all their friends and relatives to a wedding. That is why such a celebration usually appears to be rather complicated to organize.

On the other hand, locals are not actually that serious about marriage. For example, women here can have children from different fathers and no one would say anything against it, including her current partner. It’s actually a matriarchal society. In case of divorce, kids always stay with their mother and, what is more, local laws are quite strict concerning those men who are trying to escape paying alimony or acknowledging paternity. Anyway, there are no many options where to escape here, actually.

People who inhabit the island are extremely friendly and treat tourists really good. Anybody can simply come to you and start talking about one’s hobbies or asking about your homeland. And no, they won’t try to offer or sell you something. It’s just a conversation. But remember that local Creole dialect would probably be hard to understand for a European. It is originated from great influences of French, Danish, Dutch, and diverse African languages. And even today the language includes a great number of specific terms, definitions and metaphors that only native speakers can understand. Copyright www.orangesmile.com

It’s a habit here to just greet each other without any intention. Besides, locals don’t understand awkwardness that people from countries with a high social distance feel because of it. In case you don’t respond to a greeting, a local would think that you just didn’t catch and would repeat it but louder. In addition, not only pedestrians greet each other but drivers too. Usually, they’re simply honking to attract attention. Moreover, Seychellois Creole people are highly emotional during conversations and often raise their voices or can even interrupt each other.

As you’ve agreed about a meeting with a local, remember that punctuality is not their strong suit. There is no fixed bus or ferry schedule, and arranged meetings never start on time. Sure, it’s not about locals’ neglect of other people, local inhabitants simply believe that there is no need to hurry or adhere to strict rules.

Surprisingly, people here don’t chase profit. For example, there are almost no typical gift shops or cafes in touristic places, even though those bring lots of money. So, if you ask one of the locals why is it so, they would rather answer that it would only spoil nature for nothing. However, it may also be due to the reason that they don’t perceive tourists as «wallets on two legs», despite the fact that tourism generates about half of the locals’ profit. They just actually know how to value what one has here and now, not just looking for money. «It’s OK» is their favourite saying.

Local beliefs are also quite fascinating. The majority of the local population is Catholics. Then, descendants of African slaves and settlers from Madagascar have amazingly united their own traditional religions with Christian beliefs. People here still believe in good («Bonfem du Bois») and evil («Ti-Albert») warlocks, in power of rituals and spells and go to church on a regular basis. In addition, parish Catholic churches here look almost the same as the other local houses. You can also see a church service in somebody of the locals invites you. Furthermore, church services here are absolutely different from traditional ones. So, many prayers are replaced by chants, people preach in small groups and the, just in the very end, anyone has a chance to tell something about themselves, sing a song or show a dance – it’s a peculiar kind of mixture of a usual service and a social club meeting. Nevertheless, there is also a Hindu temple and a mosque here on the island. Locals are very gentle about national culture. The majority of them know how to dance traditional dances (e.g. Sega) and play various musical instruments.