Although pertinent historical research is now beginning to emerge, it was previously lacking, and it is still necessary to delve back into literary texts and testimonials. When we do so, we see that Africa is little represented therein. It is rare for African or Malagasy names to be given to Creole children (Palmyre-Florigny, 2003, p. 15). For a long time, movements such as Garveyism, Caribbean pan-Africanism and American black consciousness have had little success in Mauritius. The self-styled 'King Creole', Gaëtan Duval, presented negative images of independent Africa. The 1968 Mauritian independence movement did, however, take a stand against apartheid. In 1977, Rastafarianism was more widely expressed in Mauritius, but it also relied heavily on biblical and Indian references. In 1980, awareness of Creole malaise stirred up emotions, but it was not until 1985 that the assertion of black identity was made manifest by the musician Kaya. On the one hand, the Christian church was said to be responsible for wanting to cut Creoles off from their African roots (Bunwaree, 2004, p. 53); on the other hand,  
'the influence of Indianness could not be under-estimated in the cultural development of the Creole people' (Chan Low, 2003, p. 43).  
The dynamics of miscegenation and creolization, which embody the particularity of the Indian Ocean region, were brought about in part by 'couriers' or 'cultural entrepreneurs' from all the communities in question. On a religious level, although Mauritius does not have the 'marriage of cultures' found on Reunion Island, where every member of a single family may adopt a different religion (Dumas-Champion, 2008), deep-rooted syncretisms between Hinduism, Christianity and the popular Malagasy religion of ancestor worship do exist there. The entire island celebrates both Indian (Cavadee, Maha Shivaratri) and Christian (Père Laval pilgrimage) festivals. Tamils are often baptized and Creoles take part in Hindu rituals from childhood.