SINGAPORE: THE LAND AND THE PEOPLE

When I was a freshman in high school, a high-profile case out of Singapore made international news. An American teenager going to school there, only a few years older than I was at the time, was caught as part of a group of rowdy kids vandalizing cars, tearing down street signs, and doing other stupid things. What was controversial was the differences in punishment between the US and Singapore. Basically, Singapore doesn't mess around when it comes to this kind of behavior: he was assigned to 4 months prison time, a fine of more than US$2000--and six strokes from a bamboo cane. Many Americans thought the caning was too excessive for a teenager. They did compromise and reduce it to four strokes. Although many Americans were upset with the way it rolled out, there were also many Americans who made the point that you are subject to the laws and ordinances of wherever you visit. 

The name Singapore comes from the Malay word Singapura, which is based on the Sanskrit words simha ("lion") and pura ("town"). For this reason, they're often known as Lion City, even though there were never really any lions in this area. The main central island is known as Pulau Ujong and means "island at the end" because of its location on the end of the Malay Peninsula.

Besides Pulau Ujong, Singapore consists of 62 other islands located in the Singapore Strait at the end of Malaysia and across from the Riau Islands of Indonesia. The Johor Strait separates Singapore from Malaysia and is so narrow, it pretty much looks like a river. Because of urbanization on this limited landmass, Singapore has lost nearly 95% of the forests that were once there. However, in the late 1960s, the government started promoting more green space and gardens, thus giving itself the nickname Garden City. The islands are in a tropical climate, so there are no distinct seasons outside of rainy and dry.

In ancient times, it has been referred to by many names and included as part of local poetry. Once referred to as Temesek, it was considered part of the Indian Kingdoms. Portuguese sailors arrived in the early 1600s and burned down the settlement known as Fort Canning, and the island was generally left alone for the next couple of centuries. Sir Stamford Raffles, a British statesman known for establishing British settlements in the East Indies, arrived in Singapore in 1819 and thought it would be a prime location for a new port for the British East India Company. The sultanate was unstable at the time, and through some shady finagling, he was able to secure the exiled older brother back into Singapore as long as they let him build the port. They did, and Singapore got its start. In 40 years, the population grew from around 1000 to nearly 80,000 as many people from all over arrived to work on the plantations (mainly pepper and gambier at that time). By the 1890s, rubber had become a cash crop, and this area became a global hub for it. After WWI, the British began building a large naval base there; it was finally completed just at the onset of WWII. With the Japanese invasion of British Malaya, the base proved to be moderately useful when the Battle of Singapore took place in 1942. However, it was a huge loss to the British, with about 85,000 captured and 5000 killed (mostly Australians, though). After the war, there were riots and revenge killings and general pandemonium. Food shortages, damaged infrastructure, unemployment, and disease didn't help either. The failure of the British to help rebuild didn't go unnoticed in the eyes of Singaporeans, and thus began talks of anti-colonialism and independence. Chinese communists began to fight against the government during the 1950s, and in 1959 they voted to be a commonwealth with Lee Kuan Yew as their first Prime Minister. At that time Singapore was part of the Federation of Malaysia (made of Malaya, Singapore, Brunei, North Borneo [British territory], and Sarawak [British territory]). However, Singapore disagreed with Malaysia on some key issues, and basically they were voted out. They became the Republic of Singapore in 1965 with that exit, and their first few years started off on a somewhat rocky start. However, it didn't take long for them to establish their place in the world. Their higher-tech economic policies helped push them from a third-world country into a world leader. The Port of Singapore is now one of the busiest ports in the world. Although they weathered through some natural disasters, public health and financial crises, they recently made the news a few months ago as offering a neutral ground for Trump and Kim Jong-un to hold the first meeting between the US and North Korea.

Supertrees a the Garden by the Bay

Singapore is a city-state (like Monaco and the Vatican), so it's capital is... Singapore. However it's divided into planning areas: 55 areas across five separate regions. Of these planning areas, Bedok is the largest with nearly 290,000 people. Singapore has become a world center for finance, education, trade, tourism, and often is ranked high on a number of global lists.

Singapore's economy is not only ranked as one of the highest in Asia, but in the world. It's often ranked as one of the freest and one of the easiest to do business with, and it has shown immense growth over the past several decades. However, it's also ranked as one of the most expensive cities to live in (they're also known for having the largest percentage of millionaires). It's viewed as a tax haven with low unemployment and is known for its zero tolerance when it comes to corruption. And it's for these reasons that nearly 7000 multinational companies have chose to create branch locations in Singapore. Because of and leading to this multi-ethnic environment, around 44% of the workforce consist of foreign or immigrant workers. There's no minimum wage in Singapore, believing it adds to the competitiveness of business, but what it really adds to is a larger gap in income inequality. 

Buddhism is the main religion of Singapore, with nearly a third of its population practicing it. Because of its location and history, there are quite a few followers of Christianity as well, followed by Islam, Taoism, and Hinduism. Surprisingly, there are a significant number of people who do not adhere to any particular religion at all. A Pew Research Center study concluded that Singapore is one of the most religiously diverse, yet conservative, countries in the world. 

There are four languages in Singapore that have been granted official status: English, Mandarin Chinese, Malay, and Tamil. Of these languages, English is the most common language in terms of government, business, and education. Documents may be written in the other languages, but it also has to be translated into English as well. So, it seems like while they're all official, English (which is based on British English) is a little more official, although Malay has been seen as a national language in the past. And most Singaporeans are bilingual between English and one of the other languages. 

I'm not a fast walker. Well, ok, I'm generally faster than kids under 10. But that's mostly because I'm only 5-feet tall. Anyway, I came across this article about a British study of which countries produce the world's fastest walkers. It studied adults who were not on their phones or carrying excessive bags and timed how long it took them to walk 18 meters (about 59 feet). Singaporeans came out on top, averaging the trek in about 10.55 seconds. That just seems insane to me. I would die. I'm only hoping that means they're on their way to eating some fantastic Singaporean food somewhere. Now, I MIGHT walk that fast if there’s food or drink at the end.

Up next: art and literature

SIERRA LEONE: THE FOOD

It’s been a busy month getting the kids off to a new school year. My daughter started middle school this year, which has a 7am drop-off time. So, she and I have been struggling with this early wake-up time. I feel like I’ve been a zombie for the past few weeks. But both kids are doing well and adjusting – both have been picked as Top Five Students of the Week for each of their grades. So, I suppose they’re getting off to a good start. 

This dish was fantastic! Definitely had a fan club.

And it’s taken me a while to cook the food from Sierra Leone (mostly because we’re trying to fix up our house to move into, so all of our extra money has been pouring into floors and cabinets lately). But here we are finally. I divided this cooking between two days. The first dish I made was West African Plasas, or Chicken in Peanut, Spinach, and Tomato Sauce. I got out my large pot and heated up some oil in it. I added in my chicken thighs (with the bones and skins on them) to brown them on all sides. When they were browned, I took them out and put them on a plate off to the side. In the same pot, I added a touch more oil before caramelizing my onions and then adding in 2 cans of tomatoes, a can of tomato paste, a thawed and drained package of frozen spinach, 1/3 c of peanut butter, a vegetable bouillon cube, a little salt and pepper, and a cup of chicken broth. Once it comes to a simmer again, I added my chicken back into the pot and pushed it down into the sauce, covering it some. I covered my pot and turned my heat down low, letting it simmer for another 20-30 minutes. I served this on top of rice. I really liked this, even though I couldn’t really taste any of the peanut butter at all. And I got quite a few compliments from people at work when I took it as leftovers. 

I normally love banana bread, but this needed a little something more.

The bread I made was Rice Bread (slightly different than the one I made for Liberia). I started by mashing six kinda ripe bananas in a bowl until it was like a lumpy pudding. Then I slowly added in 1 ½ c of rice flour (I used white rice flour) into the bananas. After stirring to avoid lumps, I slowly poured in almost a cup of sugar, stirring it well again (the riper the banana, the more sugar it makes naturally; since mine weren’t as ripe, I added more sugar). Finally, I added in 2 tsp grated nutmeg, ¼ tsp of cinnamon, and 3 oz (6 Tbsp) of vegetable oil and stirred again. Once I gave it another couple of good stirs to make sure everything was smooth and consistent, I poured it into one of my baking pans (I oiled it beforehand). I couldn’t find my loaf pan, so I had to use a different one. No worries. Setting my oven to 350ºF, I baked this for about 60 minutes. It didn’t seem quite done, so I put it back in for a little longer. I really liked the flavor of the nutmeg with it, but the slightly gooey texture kept making me think it wasn’t done.  

Although everyone thought the mild sausage too spicy, I liked this dish.

The final dish I made was Egusi Soup. I started by browning some mild sausage (the recipe says “meat” – no clue as to what kind; I imagine it’s whatever’s on hand). In a separate bowl, I mixed together a half can of diced green chilies (if you want heat, use some hotter peppers), a half can of diced tomatoes, and about a quarter of a diced onion. Then I took mashed them all together with my pestle and added it to the sausage, letting it simmer for 10 minutes or so. I didn’t have time to look for egusi at the international store, but I did have a small bag of walnuts that I ground up. Not a perfect substitute, but it added a nice flavor. Then I added in my ground “egusi,” a condensed stock cube (in lieu of a Maggi cube – those things are full of MSG), and a tin of smoked salmon. After a few minutes, I added in some spinach leaves and a bit of salt and pepper, simmering for another 5-10 minutes. I could’ve actually left out the salt completely. I served this with some steamed white rice. I was skeptical about the salmon-sausage-walnut combo, but you know what? It was quite tasty! Outside of being a little bit oily, I thought it was fantastic. The rest of my family thought it was too peppery. (Wimps.)

Pictures or it didn't happen. He actually ate part of my food... and liked it.

It took me a while to complete this one, but it got done. I'm not used to having to cook during the week. And even though sometimes I'm grateful for a break, it actually made me a little stir crazy to NOT be cooking something exotic in the kitchen for a while. (My husband probably enjoyed that part. Just kidding -- if you ask him, he'll deny it, but then give you "that look.") All in all, I think everyone enjoyed this meal, even if it was spread out over a couple of days. And oddly enough, I kept running into articles, books, organizations, and people with ties to Sierra Leone.

Up next: Singapore

SIERRA LEONE: MUSIC AND DANCE

The music of Sierra Leone shares many similarities with other West African countries. It is made of their own native traditions mixed with elements of French, British, Creole, and Caribbean music. A variety of percussion instruments (including different kinds of drums and rattles), acoustic guitars and a number of other modern instruments are used in their music today. Not to mention many styles of vocal singing. 

During the 1950s and 1960s, Ebenezer Calendar & His Maringar Band borrowed the parts of calypso and other Caribbean musical styles to create maringa, or what is also known as palm wine music in nearby Liberia. It grew out of the music people made when they sat around drinking palm wine and a few people would grab their guitars. It gave way to influencing the soukous and highlife styles.

Gumbe is a style that was introduced by the Jamaican maroons when they arrived. The music is centered around the gembe, a large drum with legs. While the drum has some spiritual uses, it has a stronger tradition of being used as a method of communication, stemmed in a history of sending messages to fight the British.

Other pan-African styles are also heard in Sierra Leone. Out of combining several different genres including funk, soul, rumba, the style known as Afropop was born. And many musicians created their own styles and variations off of that. Many modern genres likes pop, dancehall, reggae, rap, R&B, jazz, and a mainly British style called grime (an electronic form that mixes in rap, reggae, and related styles.)

There are three main dance styles are have been popularized in the 20^th century: Asiko (or Ashiko), Maringa, and Milo jazz. Gumbe music has a lot to do with their dances and is played as accompaniment to it. Each ethnic group has their own dances. One of the more popular dances in Sierra Leone is the Devil Dance. The people here don’t view devils as the evil entity that most Westerners do. It’s more of a visible representation of secret societies and their leaders. Graham Green wrote about devils and the devil dance as he made his way across Sierra Leone in his book Journey Without Maps.

I only listened to a few musicians/bands from Sierra Leone. The first one I listened to was African Connection. They had a great funk sound to them – I was really digging it. It was complete with the bass and a horn line, but I think I definitely heard some African-influenced percussion rhythms at times. I super liked these guys.

Next on my list was Seydu. I listened to the album Sadaka, and I thought it was very relaxing, very chill. He utilizes the acoustic guitar sound quite a bit along with using African rhythms to accentuate the movement of his music.

The music of Abdul Tee-Jay reminds me of what I think of when I think of African music. I’m not sure exactly what it is: the guitars they use, the rhythms and melody lines, the horn lines that answer each other, the lyrics that I don’t quite understand. But there’s something happy about it, though.

In a way, the music of Bosca Banks reminds me a little of Abdul Tee-Jay, but with more modern, synthesized sounds to it. Not to mention that Bosca Banks sings mostly in English, compared to most of the other musicians I listened to sing in other languages.

Up next: the food

SIERRA LEONE: ART AND LITERATURE

Sierra Leone has many ethnic groups living within its borders, and everyone offers their own perspective on some common ubiquitous art forms. Carving is a common style of art found here, and most commonly found using ivory, stone, or wood.

 

There are certain regional styles, such as use of color, patterns, or technique. Common wood-carved pieces include masks and figurines used for ceremonial or spiritual purposes. Stone carvings were a tradition of the Temne people; many were lost and/or destroyed by the Mende people when they took over the Temne lands. (Nice job, guys.)

 

In light of Ramadan, there were quite a few lantern contests where people would make wooden lanterns and float them down the river. Many of them were designed to look like landmarks, people, animals, or supernatural beings. Although it pretty much ended when the civil war broke out, there are some people who have tried to bring back the tradition.

 

By Mudiama Kammoh

When many countries gain their independence (or starting the uprisings leading up to it), there is usually a surge in a patriotic or national art movement. However, Sierra Leone didn’t really go through that during the 1950s and 1960s when they gained their independence. Their movement came during the civil war of the 1990s when youth artists began to paint national and patriotic themes and leaders during that time.

 

By Louise Metzger

Some of the more well known artists include Cam Coker, Louise Metzger, Alusine Bangura, Mudiama Kammoh, Tarawali Tarazadio, Kwame Haleston, and Alphonso Lisk-Carew.

Literature is typically written in English. There was quite a thriving literary scene before the civil war took place, which pretty much went underground or stopped completely. Except perhaps for some journalistic works, or works from those who fled the country and wrote from abroad. As the country healed from nearly a decade of turmoil, literature and publications have been slow to pick up. But it has picked up, as people wrote about their country and their experiences as a way to heal themselves. Civil War literature and children’s literature have both increased in readership and publication since the end of the war through the publishing efforts and support by organizations like PEN International.

Some of the main authors from Sierra Leone include Eustace Palmer (professor, author, literary critic), Wilfred “Freddy Will” Kanu Jr (author, hip-hop recording artist), Karamoh Kabba (novelist), Adelaide Casely Hayford (feminist, public speaker, started a girls school, short story author), Gladys Casely Hayford (poet, playwright, musician, teacher, daughter of Adalaide Casely Hayford), Syl Cheney-Coker (poet, novelist, journalist, editor), Winston Forde (novelist, playwright), Elvis Gbanabom Hallowell (poet, storyteller), Ambrose Massaquoi (poet, short stories), Lucilda Hunter (novelist, librarian), Shiekh Umarr Kamarah (poet, linguist, professor), and Dr Siaka Kroma (novelist, professor).

Up next: music and dance

SIERRA LEONE: THE LAND AND THE PEOPLE

Earlier this month, I finished reading Graham Greene’s Journey Without Maps. During the 1930s, he was sent to Africa and tasked with mapping out and exploring the interior of Liberia. He had started out in British-controlled Sierra Leone, gathered a crew to help him navigate his way, and made their way through the jungles and villages in the interior parts of Sierra Leone and Liberia. Outside of the coastal cities, all that the Americans, French, and British had written about the interior of theses countries was very little, just vaguely condemning the entire area as belonging to cannibals. I love his way of describing what he saw and the people he met – and no, none of them were cannibals. 

 

Portuguese sailors during the 15^th century were the first Europeans to give this area a name and called the hills near Freetown Serra Leoa. It translates to “Lioness Mountains.” The Spanish later called it Sierra Leona, and through a series of misspellings, it became known as Sierra Leone. (To be fair, leone is the Italian word for lion, so it’s still close.)

Sierra Leone is located in West Africa, surrounded by Guinea to the north and east and Liberia to the south. It has a significant coastline on the Atlantic Ocean. The country has a variety of landscapes from mountains to river basins to lowlands to swamps, forests, and farmland. They have a tropical climate divided into a rainy season (May to November) and a dry season (December to May). During the dry season, they experience the harmattan winds that come off of the Sahara Desert. 

People have been living in this area for about 2500 years, having migrated from other areas of Africa. Many of them belonged to the Mande group of people. Islam was introduced through the Mali Empire and became widely established during the 18^th century. As the Europeans arrived (mainly the Portuguese, Dutch, French, and British), they set up trading posts throughout the area. Of course, the all three countries helped facilitate the African slave trade between various points in West Africa and the West Indies. After the United States won its independence, there were quite a few freed African slaves who fled to Canada. These Black Loyalists of Nova Scotia, tired of Canadian winters and continued racism, decided they’d rather deal with whatever Africa had to give them over that hot mess. Known as The Settlers, they set up the city of Freetown and established their lives like what they learned how to do when they were slaves in the American South. It was a rough process of getting themselves established, and the British didn’t offer much help or support (of course not). They were still threatened from outside groups with re-enslavement. During the 1790s, they held their first election—including women. The British were reluctant to let them take freehold of the land, and then sent in 500 Jamaican Maroons. And when the British abolished slavery, they dumped more recently freed slaves into Sierra Leone, many sold as apprentices or forced to join the Navy. During the 19^th century, a new ethnicity of mixed cultures emerged, and they called themselves Krio (Creole). The British turned Sierra Leone into a colony, and Freetown became a regional center, building it up and creating a European-style city complete with markets and universities. It later became a British protectorate, often butting heads with tribal leaders of taxes and land control. During the 1950s, Sierra Leone began drafts of pulling away, as many colonial states were doing in Africa, and they finally gained their independence in 1961. While things generally started out fine, it didn’t take long for all hell to break loose and someone to establish a one-party system. For nearly the first 30 years, politics in Sierra Leone were met with riots and corruption and coups, followed by a decade-long civil war during the 1990s. It took a long time to recover from the civil war, which left the country in a state of disarray and inadequate infrastructure and stability. In 2014, they suffered terribly from the Ebola epidemic that hit many areas of the West African coastal countries.

 

Freetown is Sierra Leone’s largest city and capital with a population of around 1.5 million people. It’s also an important port city, located on a harbor of an estuary of the Sierra Leone River. The city is known for Kings Gate, in which former slaves who walked through the gate were considered freed; The Cotton Tree, representing when the city was christened in 1792; Fourah Bay College, the oldest university in West Africa; and Connaught Hospital, the first hospital to utilize modern medicine in West Africa.

Sierra Leone’s economy has been struggling to recover since their civil war ended in 2002. High unemployment and slow financial infrastructure (like establishing credit systems) have impacted the growth of their economy. They do receive aid from other countries, however. Agriculture (mainly in rice production) and mining (mostly in diamonds and rutile, a type of titanium ore) are huge economic drivers. While many areas of Sierra Leone’s transportation infrastructure have been built up in the urban and coastal areas, there are still many areas of unpaved roads and rudimentary airports.

Technically a secular state, the main two religions are Islam and Christianity. Islam (mostly Sunni) is far more practiced though, with nearly 78% of the people adhering to the religion. A little more than 20% of the population follows Christianity (mostly various Protestant denominations), while a small number of people still stick with indigenous African religions. However, while people may come from different religions, there is a high religious tolerance in Sierra Leone and has strict guidelines on hate speech against other religions.

Because Sierra Leone was once governed by Britain, English remains the official language. Krio, a Creole made of combining English and several other African languages, is the most widely spoken language. Nearly 90% of the people speak it and use it in everyday living. It was actually used as a lingua franca in the early days of the country when it was set up during the 1700s.

It says "We will defeat Ebola" in Krio.

Mentioned in Journey Without Maps, Sierra Leone’s dense interior and tropical climate makes it a deep haven for various diseases like malaria, yellow fever, hepatitis A, typhoid fever, and Ebola. Rabies, dengue fever, and schistosomiasis are also commonly found there as well. Sierra Leone, Liberia, Guinea and other nearby countries often struggle with managing these diseases, but their infrastructure, political instability, and lack of medical resources makes it hard to combat them. I remember reading an article about the 2014 Ebola outbreak, and in some cases, there were only a handful of doctors with supplies available in the entire country. While quarantines helped stop the flow of people into and out of the country, it also made it more difficult to get supplies and people to help. It was a very scary time. But we could be doing more to help.

Up next: art and literature

SEYCHELLES: THE FOOD

This weekend was a challenge. I had so many things going on and not enough time to do it in. I had my 20^th high school reunion and a family cookout this weekend, so I had a limited amount of time to cook for my blog. I had to cut a couple recipes from my Seychelles menu, but I managed to fit it all in. I’m exhausted, but I did everything I wanted to do.

Yeah, the two that I ate were good. Could've used some more, though.

The first thing I made was Gato Koko, or coconut cake. But this isn’t like what you think. It’s more like coconut cookies. First I mixed about 3 ½ Tbsp of butter with 2 eggs until it was frothy. Then I added in 1 ½ c of flour, ¾ c of shredded coconut, ½ tsp of baking powder, and ½ c of sugar. Then I mixed it again until it all came together and was smooth. On a greased baking sheet, I dipped out spoonfuls of the dough and rolled them into balls. Before I put it in the oven, I sprinkled a little coconut on top. The recipe was a little vague on how hot my oven was supposed to be, so I set it for 375ºF, and I left it in for about 24 minutes. But in all honesty, I could’ve probably pulled them out closer to 20-22 minutes. I thought they were a little dry at first, but the second bite was better for some reason. It actually kind of grows on you. They must’ve been good. The family ate them all up. Out of the 23 I made, I got two.

Amaaaaaaaaaazing!

The main course today is Seychelles-style Coconut Chicken Curry. I grabbed my heavy pot and heated some oil in it and added in some onions. Once they sautéed for a few minutes, I added in some garlic, dried ginger, black pepper, ground cloves, ground ginger, ground nutmeg, ground cinnamon, some curry powder (I was out, so I just added some cumin and turmeric), a pinch of saffron, and a few bay leaves. I stirred and let it simmer for a couple of minutes before throwing in my diced chicken and diced potato. Once I stirred everything to coat the potatoes and chicken with all of the spices, I covered it and let it simmer for about 5 minutes. Then I added in a can of coconut milk, stirred, lowered the heat, and let it simmer covered for about 20 minutes. After that, I took the lid off, stirred and let it cook down for another 15 minutes or so. I really enjoyed this. It wasn’t spicy, but it was spiceful. I’ve always been a fan of North African, Arab, and Indian cooking styles of combining sweet spices with savory ones. I think it creates a very complex flavor. I don’t think we do that well (or often) in American cuisine.

I loved everything about this.

To go with the curry, I made Creole Rice.  I heated some butter (in lieu of ghee) in a pot and sautéed some diced onion, diced red pepper, minced garlic, and a little bit of ground cloves. Then I added in my rice along with some cinnamon, salt, turmeric, and black pepper. Once I let it sauté for a minute while stirring constantly, I added in my water. After it came to a boil, I turned the heat down and let it simmer until the water was evaporated. I garnished it with a little bit of parsley. I thought this was quite tasty and probably could’ve just eaten it by itself as a side dish, but I put my curry on top of it. And it was amazing.

I thought everything on this plate was really, really good. And the family did, too!

This has been a whirlwind of a weekend. I haven’t been this busy for such a long time. But instead of shirking this off somehow, I decided to go ahead and cook. I had to skip on the octopus curry and the banana ladob, but at least I did make a meal and some cookies (that were gone by the time I got home from my reunion). It was also a weekend of meeting some interesting characters, I mean, people. No matter how normal or how weird people are, I always think the same thing: I might put them in a book one day.

Up next: Sierra Leone

SEYCHELLES: MUSIC AND DANCE

Seychelles’ folk music incorporates many different influences. Its history of French and British colonization along with immigrants from India, the Arab states, and mainland Africa all play into their musical storytelling. European styles like the mazurka, polka, and contredance, sega music from Réunion and Mauritius, and several ubiquitous African styles like zouk, taarab, soukous moutye play an integral part in their musical styles. Add in various Polynesian, Indian, and Mediterranean styles, and you get a unique array of musical sounds. 

 

In many cases, two or more of these styles merged to create something new. Kanmtole, a type of complex percussion rhythms is commonly used. Reggae is a common musical style in Africa and African diaspora and has mixed with other styles. For example, sega and reggae became seggae, while reggae and moutya became mouggae. Mainly the lyrics are sung in Creole, French, English, or some combination of these languages. 

At festivals throughout the year, moutya and kontredans (their version of the English contredanse) are so popular that there are competitions. The annual Festival Kreol is one of the biggest festivals held in Seychelles. Both of these along with Kanmtole are dances that have been danced in Seychelles for centuries.

As far as traditional instruments go, there are a few that are incorporated into Seychellois music: makalapo (a wooden pole based in a can, with strings attached to the pole), bonm (calabash with one string), zez (similar to a bonm except with a resonator), tambour moutya (a wooden flat drum with a cow or goat skin for the drum head), and the mouloumba (a type of bamboo drum). Many of today’s songs use modern instruments like the violin, guitar, accordion, banjo, drums, and other percussion instruments like the triangle.  

I wasn’t able to find as many Seychellois musicians as I thought I was going to. Jean-Marc Volcy was one of the main ones mentioned that I found – but I only found one song by him on Spotify. I could definitely hear some of the instruments represented above.

However, I did find some other musicians mentioned in the Suggested section on Spotify. One was a beach chillout compilation with various artists on the album. I was kind of into this one. There were several songs on there that I liked. Because sometimes you just need to chill.

I also found some music from Sonny Morgan. Although he now lives in Australia, his music is quite reflective of his Seychellois heritage. He brings a certain Indian Ocean flair to his music which integrates blues and other styles into his sega/reggae sound.

Up next: the food