My mother always told me how she lived on her island. Because of her, I started to enjoy discovering Chagossian culture. Even if I was not born in Chagos, every time I hear their story, I am immensely sad. Without realising it, my mother transmitted this nostalgia for her island, her culture. The sadness.
Mélanie, Madeline, Liseby, Roseline – joint text
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When we celebrated marriages in Chagos, the corsages/decorative pins and crowns were prepared using papaya flowers. If only we could wear our Chagossian clothes like the small blouses and field flowers shirts. Indian shirts and a white robe. Bras were called navké in Chagos.
Author??
I left my country when I was six years old. I left in the dark so I would not see anything. I became Mauritian when I was six years old. I came [to Mauritius] with my mother, my father and my brother(s) and sister(s). I went through a lot of hardship when my mother died. My mother was devastated when she died because she was leaving behind my sister. She [my sister] was four years old and I then had to work to support my family. I was eleven years old when my mother died, thirteen when my father passed away. I grew up with my sister-in-law and it was very hard. My life was very sad. I think that if I was still in my country, I wouldn’t have lost my mother, my father and my sister who died when she was a baby when we became Mauritians. This is the great sadness I have in my heart and I will never forget my country.
Marie Gisèle Thomas
When I prepare Chagossian dishes, I really feel at home. I love fish. I loved eating bird seraz 1 when my father prepared it.
I like the Chagossian drum and when I hear the sound of the drums, I cannot help it, I have to move. I like fish seraz à lot.
I like the music.
1The seraz is part of the Chagossians’ culinary heritage. It can be made using chicken, fish or crabs. Like many Chagossian dishes, it contains coconut milk.
Mélanie, Madeline, Liseby, Roseline (joint text)