Creativity, creolization and identity in Seychelles creole folktales

Abstract

This study aims to expose how the folktales of Seychelles are representative of the different Diasporas that formed its population, and of the islands’ intense creolization process and identity formations, stemming from plantation slavery and insularity. Consequently, a Seychelles Creole Folktale Database has been created which has served as the corpus for the study. Most of the folktales were collected and documented during the 1980s and 90s, and some were published as an ongoing collection by the Creole Institute of Seychelles. However, only a small percentage have been analysed. This is probably the first study that discusses the creativity of creolization and identity formations of the Seychellois people, in juxtaposition with regional and Caribbean creolizations. The methodology employed for the study is an inductive, mixed methods, with an explanatory sequential design, and a constructivist approach. As such, the theoretical framework is a sequential reinterpretation of Robin Cohen and Olivia Sheringham’s discussion of difference through the concepts of Social Identity, Diaspora and Creolization. The study posits that Diaspora, Creolization and Social Identity, in that order, are chronological phases of identity formation in plantation Creole societies like Seychelles, and that in the particular case of Seychelles, its corpus of folktales is representative of these phases. The data population obtained from the folktale database has been coded in Nvivo, under these three themes - Diaspora, Creolization and Social Identity – and the following results have been obtained: (1) By tracing the origins of the stories and the likely periods that they were transferred to Seychelles, it has been possible to identify the different diasporas that formed the early population of the archipelago. (2) An analysis of the stories has revealed the following markers of creolization, as per the grounded theory discussed in the literature review – (i) Adaptation, (ii) Appropriation, (iii) Hybridization, (iv) Localization, (v) Mixed Channels, (vi) Reinterpretation, (vii) Unknown Languages. (3) Coding the data in Nvivo has also permitted an analysis of the stories under the themes ‘Slavery’ and ‘Social Identity’ which has revealed the impact slavery has had on the Seychellois psyche, and their consequent attempts to create new and more positive identities in the post-independence period. It has also been possible to discuss the role played by power structures such as the Catholic Church, in the Seychellois’ concept of their identity and culture. This study has several practical outcomes: (i) it is the first time that all the folktales of Seychelles have been collected and documented in a digitized form, and made available in one space. This is important because a considerable amount of these stories are out of print and were scattered in different places, in varying states of accessibility. (ii) It is the first time that the majority of the Seychelles’ folktale corpus has been classified according to the international folktale classification index, Aarne/Thompson/Uther (ATU), and made available online. This will open up immense possibilities for research locally and abroad. (iii) The study itself will contribute considerably to available research on Seychellois folklore and culture, and identity issues. It is by all considerations, an original piece of research which is likely to have a long-standing impact on the ongoing debate about creolization in the Indian Ocean region.