All eyes on Le Morne
Raghav Ramful
By Raghav Ramful
Published on 20th June, 2008
The Morne dossier has successfully made it through the sieve of the International Council on Monuments and Sites some days back and the final round of assessment at the desk of the UNESCO is now awaited. It is now a matter of days and the countdown has already begun.
A favourable consideration from UNESCO for the Morne dossier would mean that Mauritius will carve its name once more in the world heritage list after the Aapravasi Ghat.
Experts in the field say that we stand a very good chance for that prized nomination for the solid proof the mountain holds of the existence of a maroon consciousness which refused to accept domination and life under the threat of forced servitude.
Le Morne Brabant is also the embodiment of a long tradition of maroonage which has existed for almost two centuries in colonial Mauritius.
The statement of universal significance that appears on the nomination dossier says it all. ‘The Le Morne Cultural Landscape is a symbol of resistance to slavery. The history of maroonage that is linked to the Cultural Landscape of the Le Morne Brabant Peninsula, with its prominent mountain of impressive natural monument qualities and the significant role of Mauritius in the slave trade, slavery and maroonage, makes Le Morne an ideal focal point not only for celebrating resistance to slavery in the south western Indian Ocean but also in the world.’
Furthermore, Le Morne is a statement of the achievement of marginalized, dominated and oppressed people, who by their human spirit and sheer determination achieved freedom, independence, dignity and respect for their values and cultures. It symbolizes the birth of a people, the Creoles of Mauritius, a parallel process common to all Creole societies where slavery has played a major role in nation building and shaping. Le Morne is symbolic of its birth and still guards the memory not only of shared suffering through the slave trade, but it is also reminiscent of sufferings of all those who have experienced or are still experiencing oppression of humankind by humankind the world over.
It is contain that all these talks about Le Morne would not have existed had it not been for the maroons and the records of their resistance. Fugitive slaves or maroons were first found on the island during the Dutch period (1638-1710) and became an integral part of the island’s social landscape shortly after French Colonization of Mauritius in 1721. Maroon slaves faced very difficult situations that ranged from hunger, lack of shelter, the need to be continually on the run, and the constant fear of capture which could entail dire consequences, such as branding, whipping, body mutilations and very often to the death sentence.
Despite having to face these harsh conditions while on the run and the severe punishments that awaited them if captured, a large number of slaves still chose to become maroons.
Records state that in the 1770s between 4 and 5% of the islands slave population marooned and this figure increased to 11-13% in the 1820s.
Several visitors to the island such as Abbé de la Caille, Bernardin de Saint Pierre, Maximilien Wilklinski, Georges Clark, Nicholas Pike, mentioned the presence of maroons or maroon bands on or near Le Morne Brabant Mountain. Such accounts are confirmed by official historical documents mentioning the problems created by the maroons residing on or near Le Morne Brabant Mountain that attacked the nearby settlers and their plantations.
Notorious maroon leaders that are known to have been associated to the Le Morne Cultural Landscape are Bellaca, Sans Souci and Barbe Blanche. Will try to have a closer look at their feats next week.
Experts in the field say that we stand a very good chance for that prized nomination for the solid proof the mountain holds of the existence of a maroon consciousness which refused to accept domination and life under the threat of forced servitude.
Le Morne Brabant is also the embodiment of a long tradition of maroonage which has existed for almost two centuries in colonial Mauritius.
The statement of universal significance that appears on the nomination dossier says it all. ‘The Le Morne Cultural Landscape is a symbol of resistance to slavery. The history of maroonage that is linked to the Cultural Landscape of the Le Morne Brabant Peninsula, with its prominent mountain of impressive natural monument qualities and the significant role of Mauritius in the slave trade, slavery and maroonage, makes Le Morne an ideal focal point not only for celebrating resistance to slavery in the south western Indian Ocean but also in the world.’
Furthermore, Le Morne is a statement of the achievement of marginalized, dominated and oppressed people, who by their human spirit and sheer determination achieved freedom, independence, dignity and respect for their values and cultures. It symbolizes the birth of a people, the Creoles of Mauritius, a parallel process common to all Creole societies where slavery has played a major role in nation building and shaping. Le Morne is symbolic of its birth and still guards the memory not only of shared suffering through the slave trade, but it is also reminiscent of sufferings of all those who have experienced or are still experiencing oppression of humankind by humankind the world over.
It is contain that all these talks about Le Morne would not have existed had it not been for the maroons and the records of their resistance. Fugitive slaves or maroons were first found on the island during the Dutch period (1638-1710) and became an integral part of the island’s social landscape shortly after French Colonization of Mauritius in 1721. Maroon slaves faced very difficult situations that ranged from hunger, lack of shelter, the need to be continually on the run, and the constant fear of capture which could entail dire consequences, such as branding, whipping, body mutilations and very often to the death sentence.
Despite having to face these harsh conditions while on the run and the severe punishments that awaited them if captured, a large number of slaves still chose to become maroons.
Records state that in the 1770s between 4 and 5% of the islands slave population marooned and this figure increased to 11-13% in the 1820s.
Several visitors to the island such as Abbé de la Caille, Bernardin de Saint Pierre, Maximilien Wilklinski, Georges Clark, Nicholas Pike, mentioned the presence of maroons or maroon bands on or near Le Morne Brabant Mountain. Such accounts are confirmed by official historical documents mentioning the problems created by the maroons residing on or near Le Morne Brabant Mountain that attacked the nearby settlers and their plantations.
Notorious maroon leaders that are known to have been associated to the Le Morne Cultural Landscape are Bellaca, Sans Souci and Barbe Blanche. Will try to have a closer look at their feats next week.