Mauritianism or the mitigated euphoria of the rainbow nation
type: CreativeWork
description: Extensively hailed as an economic miracle, an irrefutable ile durable that even defies until today the extrapolations and predictions of the greatest of writers such as Trinidadian V.S. Naipaul about the economic status of the country after it achieved independence, Mauritius has also grown to be known as the archetypal independent state, nurturing a rainbow nation, enn nation larkansiel. Indeed, one cannot deny such glimpses of Mauritianism, where all come together, "as one people, as one nation", as enn sel lepep, enn sel nation to celebrate the island and to celebrate their Mauritianism, their perhaps-hybrid identities and their unique modes of identification. It is undeniable that, to a certain extent, lines of ethnic and cultural differences have become indistinguishable through cultural assimilation, national events, inter-ethnic marriages and post-independence socio-economic relationships, giving Mauritians the appearance of being "one people". However, whilst the island's movement to a stable and successful economy is obvious, observable and is recognised around the globe, the official discourse of a peaceful multiethnic space, a unified multicultural nation proves limited, is mostly mystical, is outdated, if not deceptive of national Mauritian realities: Mauritianism (the rainbow nation) is not described in its authentic, scientific and complete form, but is interpreted and represented, is mystified, kept romantic, euphoric, poetic, inexplicable, and remains narrow. The Mauritian aspiration to the rainbow nation, as well as progressive co-habitation, reciprocal exchanges and the related socio-economic and political matters (what Mauritians experience) seem to have been simplified, if not misidentified as accomplished non-ethnic and future-oriented national unification and homogeneity (what is depicted of the Mauritian people in much of foreign â€“ and archaic - scholarship and other narratives about the island's social stature). The multicultural Mauritian …
abstract: Extensively hailed as an economic miracle, an irrefutable ile durable that even defies until today the extrapolations and predictions of the greatest of writers such as Trinidadian V.S. Naipaul about the economic status of the country after it achieved independence, Mauritius has also grown to be known as the archetypal independent state, nurturing a rainbow nation, enn nation larkansiel. Indeed, one cannot deny such glimpses of Mauritianism, where all come together, "as one people, as one nation", as enn sel lepep, enn sel nation to celebrate the island and to celebrate their Mauritianism, their perhaps-hybrid identities and their unique modes of identification. It is undeniable that, to a certain extent, lines of ethnic and cultural differences have become indistinguishable through cultural assimilation, national events, inter-ethnic marriages and post-independence socio-economic relationships, giving Mauritians the appearance of being "one people". However, whilst the island's movement to a stable and successful economy is obvious, observable and is recognised around the globe, the official discourse of a peaceful multiethnic space, a unified multicultural nation proves limited, is mostly mystical, is outdated, if not deceptive of national Mauritian realities: Mauritianism (the rainbow nation) is not described in its authentic, scientific and complete form, but is interpreted and represented, is mystified, kept romantic, euphoric, poetic, inexplicable, and remains narrow. The Mauritian aspiration to the rainbow nation, as well as progressive co-habitation, reciprocal exchanges and the related socio-economic and political matters (what Mauritians experience) seem to have been simplified, if not misidentified as accomplished non-ethnic and future-oriented national unification and homogeneity (what is depicted of the Mauritian people in much of foreign â€“ and archaic - scholarship and other narratives about the island's social stature). The multicultural Mauritian …
author: Dewoo, Moshumee Teena
language: eng
date published: 2013
date modified: 2026-07-22T22:22:39Z
provider: University of Cape Town
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: African Studies

PropertyValue
property ID: Handle
value: http://hdl.handle.net/11427/14118