African identities
Good Morning Africa from the people of Seychelles
Good morning Africa from the country with the smallest population of any sovereign African country. Seychelles is home to diverse people, culture and history.
Named after the French finance minister under Louis XV, Vicomte Moreau des Sechelles, Seychelles is located in the Indian Ocean, south of the equator. It has a population of 94,677 as of 2016.
A market in Victoria, Mahe Island. [Photo: Fabio Achilli/Flickr]
The people are a testament to the country’s multi-ethnic roots. Some of the earliest inhabitants of the island include Austronesian seafarers and traders from Maldives and Arab countries. Currently, most of the people are of East African and Malagasy origin, but some come with mixed origins. They arrived on the Island as freed slaves, European settlers, traders, political exiles and adventurers.
They are all referred to as Creole and they speak Seychelles Creole, French and English as the official languages.
Read: Greetings from The Union of the Comoros
In terms of religion, Roman Catholicism is the dominant religion even though there are Anglican and Protestant churches just like Mosques and temples.
Hindu Temple, Victoria. [Photo: Seychelles.org/Flickr]
Read: Good morning Africa from the people of Zambia
Music comes with a mixture of African, Malagasy and European influences and is accompanied by local dances such as moutya- an erotic dance from slavery days; kanmtole, sega and kontredanse.
Seychelles, Victoria, Mahé, Island. [Photo: Pixabay]
