Indo-Martiniquais
Total population | |
---|---|
36,123 |
Indo-Martiniquais are an ethnic group of
Migration history
In 1851 the Martinique authorities, seeking to replace former slave labourers who had abandoned plantation work on being given their liberty, recruited several thousand labourers from the Indian French colonial settlements of
The past two decades have seen Indo-Martiniquais people increasingly asserting the distinctively Indian aspects of their heritage (a phenomenon known as "indianité"). People of Indian descent have paid renewed attention to the history and culture of India, and local groups have established contact with peoples of Indian descent from throughout the Caribbean and further afield. One token of this has been the recent revival of a traditional Hindu annual
Culture
The majority of Indo-Martiniquais follow Christianity with the minority following Islam and Hinduism. The Hinduism in Martinique consists of a variation of popular Tamil Hinduism, which was characterized by the practice of animal sacrifice, the veneration of village deities and the use of the Tamil language as the ceremonial language, although the language has lost its usage in the plantation and post-plantation society.[6]
One of Martinique's most famous dishes, the Colombo, derives from Indian cuisine. The word Colombo derives from the Tamil word குழம்பு- kulambu meaning curry sauce. The dish is a unique curry of chicken, meat or fish with vegetables, spiced with a distinctive masala of Tamil origin, acidulated with tamarind and often containing wine, coconut milk, and rum.[7]
Notable people
- Serge Letchimy - President of Martinique Regional Council
- Lord Kossity - Ragga-zouk musician
See also
- Indo-Caribbean
- Indians in Guadeloupe
- Indians in French Guiana
- Indians in France
- Tamils in France
- Indian diaspora
- Tamil diaspora
- Telugu diaspora
- Hinduism in Martinique
References
- ^ "Statistiques ethniques". Insee.fr. Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques (INSEE). Retrieved 24 June 2022.
- ISBN 9780824049461.
- ^ : World Directory of Minorities and Indigenous Peoples - Martinique : Overview
- ^ "A SHORT HISTORY OF MARTINIQUE". Archived from the original on 2012-06-10. Retrieved 2010-10-02.
- ^ : Countries and their Cultures: MARTINIQUE
- ISBN 9780252094330.
- ^ Rabikowska, Suzy. "Top 10 Martinican Dishes You Just Have to Try". Culture Trip. Retrieved 2017-01-09.