You might know Mauritius as a paradisiac island surrounded by turquoise lagoons and luxurious resorts. But there’s so much more to the country. In this article we’ve compiled fun facts about Mauritius that you might not know, with insights from locals.
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Here are the basics:
A long time ago, Mauritius depended on sugarcane as its main economic gain, and exported sugar to various countries.
Today, there are 3 other important industries that contribute to the economy:
Often called a “rainbow nation” due to its diverse population and multicultural aspect, Mauritius has influences from Africa, France, India, and China. The heterogeneous population consists of
In Mauritius, you will find French cuisine infused with African elements; Chinese food with a touch of Mauritius flavour and spices; snacks, cookies, and chocolates from South Africa, UK, France, Malaysia, and Australia; street food with Indian influences; French pastries; Portuguese and Dutch croquettes; and a few Mauritian inventions.
This mix of cuisine is reflected in society as well, where you will find neighbours of different ethnic and cultural backgrounds living peacefully next to each other and sharing treats from their religious celebrations.
Mauritius has its own unique music called Séga. It is considered the national music of Mauritius, and is not appropriated by any particular ethnicity. It is a rhythmic, lively music which originated from African slaves in Mauritius, as a way to dispel their sadness and misery. Séga is almost always sung in creole.
There are only 3 instruments needed to produce the séga music: the ravanne, the maravanne, and the triangle. The ravanne is a tambourine-like instrument, used for drum beats. It is made out of goat skin. The maravanne is a rattle, and the triangle is a bar of metal shaped into a triangle.
Interestingly, the dance that goes along with the music is also called Séga. The main movements consist of shuffling the feet and swaying the hips, usually simultaneously (it’s a lot harder than it sounds).
Seggae is another type of Mauritian music which is a fusion of reggae, Séga, and Indian beats. The late singer Kaya created seggae because he loved Bob Marley’s music. Kaya was an activist for the Creole population, but loved by all. Listen to one of Kaya’s most popular songs here.
The dodo is widely known throughout the world, and yet many don’t know that it was endemic to Mauritius, i.e. it did not exist anywhere else.
It was a flightless bird that is now extinct, and it was flightless for a number of reasons:
The dodo bird became extinct because of human exploitation and introduced species such as dogs and rats, which ate the dodo eggs.
Mauritius has a low diversity of wildlife due to isolation; there were no mammals and no amphibians prior to colonisation.
However, there is a number of endemic birds in Mauritius, such as:
Green land makes up 85% of Mauritius, and there are about 335 endemic flowering plants on the island. The national flower is the Trochetia Boutoniana, also known as Boucle d’Oreille, which means earring, due to its bell-shaped look.
The Botanical Gardens is home to giant water lilies, as well as the Talipot palm tree which is a tree that dies after a single flowering, that occurs once between 30 to 80 years.
And there you have it. We hope that these facts about Mauritius gave you some insights about this beautiful country.
Don’t forget to check out the best eco hotels in Mauritius.
