Kala pani

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When slavery was abolished in Mauritius in 1834, the authoritites sent for indentured labour to replace the slaves who had been emancipated. They were to work in sugar or cotton fields, in mines or guano pits in several countries.

1 Reticence to seavoyages
2 Tricks to lure the indentured
3 See also
- 3.1 External links

[edit] Reticence to seavoyages

When emissaries were sent to India, they were very astute in attracting the coolies or indentured to the countries requiring cheap labour, which were often presented as "promised lands". But most of the prospective candidates for the distant colonies expressed their fears of crossing the kala pani.

The kala pani or dark seas reflect the taboo of the sea in Indian culture, for which sailing the high waves and leaving the mainland meant confronting houglis or monsters.

Furthermore, it entailed the end of the reincarnation cycle, as the traveler was cut from the regenerating waters of the Ganges. It also meant the evanescence of family and social ties, besides caste dissolution especially among the higher spheres of society.

This taboo accounts for the low interest paid to high sea commerce and navigation by high caste Hindus, leaving this lucrative field to Muslims, Christians and Jews settled in the spice enclaves like Cochin and Calicut.

[edit] Tricks to lure the indentured

The British authorities often used a trick to dispel the doubts and reticence of many identured. They placed water from the Ganges in large caldrons which they boarded on ships, to ensure the continuity of the reincarnation beyond the kala pani. The seavoyage was then thought of as less fearsome.

Khal Torabully's seminal Cale d'étoiles-coolitude is the very first work of world literature exploring the kala pani as a source not only of identity deconstruction, but also of beauty and reconstruction, leading to a coral imaginary, akin to the mosaic vision one has when meeting the promises of the voyage.