Racial/Ethnic Identity among Creole Peoples in Mauritius

Abstract

This article provides the findings of qualitative research into the perceptions of racial/ethnic identity among the Creole community of Mauritius. Participants were 24 Creole Mauritians (males = 16, females = 8, age range = 22–69 years). Interview data were collected and analyzed primarily through a hermeneutic (phenomenoligically-oriented) (van Manen, 1997) process. Six major themes of racial/ethnic identity emerged: experiences of dis-ease, experiences of stuckness (ad-extra and ad-intra), epiphany experiences, experiences of self-appreciation, and experiences of hopeful optimism. The themes describe individual processes of racial/ethnic identity development as well as sociopolitical obstacles to positive identity formation among the Creole.

Keywords:

• Mauritius
• Creole
• race
• ethnicity
• identity